Quarterback Eli Manning, who did not appear the Giants’ preseason opener against the Miami Dolphins, is expected to start Saturday afternoon against the Buffalo Bills.

In his first public comments since the 27-10 Giants loss last Friday night, Manning admitted to be taken aback by the decision to bench him.

“Everything kind of got thrown off,” Manning said after Thursday’s practice. “I was told I wasn’t going to dress at all, so I came in here early that day and got a full workout in and a run and did some things, so I was going to go out and just do a pre-pregame and do some throwing with (wide receiver) Odell (Beckham, Jr.) and a few guys. Then I was told that I had to dress and go through warm-ups, so it changed my plan a little bit.”

The rule is that players must be in uniform unless they are injured. Manning is not injured.

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He will be starting against the Bills’ first-team defense. Last week, Bills head coach Rex Ryan and Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay got into a war of words over the Colts’ decision to not start quarterback Andrew Luck.

Irsay alluded to the fact that Ryan is not known to go easy, even in the postseason. Ryan would later admit that while he was head coach of the New York Jets, he would get a little more excited than usual over playing the Giants and had a tendency to throw the entire playbook at them.

“Obviously, I have been going against a Rex Ryan defense a bunch,” Manning said. “Regular season, preseason when he was with the Jets, so you have to understand that they are multiple, they like to bring some pressures and some blitzes and it is our job to get the ball out on time and be prepared for everything.”

In a 2010 preseason game, Manning was hit by Jets linebacker Calvin Pace on one of those blitzes. The hit caused a cut on Manning’s forehead that bled profusely and need 12 stitches to close.

“That wasn’t his fault,” Manning said. “He didn’t do anything wrong. That was on me, so that was a good lesson that I learned on that. It wasn’t because he came on some outrageous blitz or did anything wrong.”

Earlier in the week, Ryan recalled running into No. 10 at a ceremony in honor of his brother Peyton’s retirement. Ryan had nothing but good things to say about Eli Manning. Eli Manning also had good things to say about Ryan.

“I find Rex funny,” Manning said. “I think he is a good coach. I think he has a good scheme. I think he is very entertaining and every run-in I’ve had with him, he has been very nice and always have something creative to say.”

Manning should expect that Rex Ryan (and his brother Rob who is the Bills’ defensive coordinator) will have something creative in the playbook on Saturday afternoon.

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