Eli Manning knows the New York-New Jersey area just about as well as any athlete.

Since getting traded to the Giants on draft day back in 2004, Manning has called northern New Jersey home, and despite the current coronavirus outbreak, Manning knows that the area will come back as strong as ever.

"We're doing everything possible to get through this," Manning told the New York Post's Steve Serby in a Q&A. "We're taking the right steps, and obviously, this is an uncertain time. But, I think this country, and the Northeast and New Jersey and New York, are resilient and we're tough and we kind of find a way to fight through things. That's what we're gonna have to do.

"You just kind of figure out a way. It's not gonna be easy, it's not gonna be perfect, and there will be ups and downs and struggles. But we're gonna help out each other, we're gonna lend a hand when we need to, and that's kind of what this is about: It is an unknown, it is something that's new. But, it's something like that we will figure out and get a handle on and beat it."

Manning officially retired from the NFL on January 24, ending a 16-year run with the Giants that included two Super Bowl championships.

For now, Manning is like the rest of us: hunkered down at home. He and his wife, Abby, have had to explain the current global situation to their four children, but the family is making the most of their time at home together.

"Right now it's really about the kiddos," Manning said. "… Abby is kind of handling the older two kids [Ava and Lucy], and I get the 5-year-old [Caroline] and the 1-year-old [Charlie], so I gotta entertain them. … That consists of like playing dominoes, coloring … the 1-year-old's walking around, and just kind of preventing him from hurting himself too badly.

"We explained it, just told 'em that there's just another virus going on. They know what the flu is, the virus like the flu goes around your classroom, now it's just going around the whole world, and we just gotta stay inside for a little bit, can't go around people. We can go outside and play in the yard or do things with ourselves, but when we do go out, you just gotta wash your hands a lot and just stay safe and let this pass us by and then things will get back to normal.

Manning also explained that if he were still playing in the NFL, he'd feel anxious about having to prepare for the upcoming season given the current global climate. But now, with his cleats hung up, Manning is focused solely on being a family man.

"It's just an uncertain time. I'm not scared of it, just uncertain and we just gotta wait and as I said, be patient," said Manning. "I think I'd be more anxious if I knew I was playing football next year, and I had to get out and start workouts and really start throwing and I gotta get to a gym, but I don't have those things I have to be doing right now.

"I have the things that are important to me right here in my house, and that's my family, and so I'm taking care of them and do I think I'm at peace with that."

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