On Sunday, CBS has just five games, all at 1 p.m. Eastern as it will go to the Women’s Final of the U.S. Open at 4 p.m. CBS will commemorate 9/11 with a story from Lesley Visser as she talks with former New England Patriots offensive lineman Joe Andruzzi whose three brothers, all New York City firemen, responded to the World Trade Center when the attacks occurred.
After that, we’ll have a partial transcript from analysts Phil Simms and Dan Dierdorf discussing Week 1.
“THE NFL TODAY” REMEMBERS SEPTEMBER 11, 2001 AS LESLEY VISSER TALKS WITH FORMER NEW ENGLAND PATRIOT JOE ANDRUZZI AND HIS NEW YORK CITY FIREFIGHTING BROTHERS FOR WEEK 1 OF “THE NFL TODAY” ON SUNDAY, SEPT. 11
THE NFL ON CBS, broadcasting its 52nd year of the NFL, kicks off its 2011 NFL season on Sunday, Sept. 11 (1:00-4:00 PM, ET) beginning with THE NFL TODAY (12:00 Noon-1:00 PM, ET).
THE NFL TODAY’s Lesley Visser sits down with former New England Patriots offensive lineman Joe Andruzzi and his brothers Billy and Marc, New York City firefighters on September 11, 2001, to relive their memories of the events that happened 10 years ago.
On the morning of September 11, 2001 Andruzzi, an offensive lineman for the New England Patriots, was at the dentist’s office in Foxborough when the first plane hit the World Trade Center. Joe’s three brothers, Billy, Jimmy and Marc, all New York City firefighters, were on the scene. It would be five hours before Joe would know that they were physically safe. In the days that followed, the three firefighting brothers divided their time between working at Ground Zero and attending funerals of their fellow firefighters. On Sunday, September 23 when the NFL resumed play, Patriots owner Robert Kraft asked Joe’s three brothers to be honorary captains when the New York Jets played New England. Joe led his team by running out of the tunnel with the United States flag – forever one of the iconic moments of the NFL’s return after 9/11. On February 3, 2002, the brothers all gathered again, this time when they were guests of Commissioner Paul Tagliabue to watch Joe play in Super Bowl XXXVI.
Visser sits down with the brothers to talk about their memories of that day. Jimmy was on the 27th floor of the north tower when he was ordered to evacuate. He still can’t discuss getting out minutes before the tower collapsed. Three-hundred-and-forty-three firemen died that day and the Andruzzi’s estimate they knew 200 of them. Deb Gelman is the producer.
James Brown hosts THE NFL TODAY along with analysts Dan Marino, Boomer Esiason, Shannon Sharpe and Bill Cowher, NFL TODAY “General Manager” Charley Casserly, as well as Visser reporting.
And here are the quotes from Simms and Dierdorf.
THE NFL ON CBS: WEEK 1 (SUNDAY, SEPT. 11)
AUDIBLES WITH “NFL ON CBS” LEAD ANNOUNCE TEAM JIM NANTZ AND PHIL SIMMS AND DAN DIERDORF
The CBS Television Network begins its 52nd year broadcasting the NFL with regional coverage as THE NFL ON CBS kicks off its 2011 NFL season broadcast schedule on Sunday, Sept. 11 (1:00-4:00 PM, ET) beginning with THE NFL TODAY, the Network’s one-hour studio show (12:00 NOON-1:00 PM, ET), live from THE NFL TODAY studio in New York City.
THE NFL ON CBS lead announce team of Jim Nantz and Phil Simms call the action from the Pittsburgh Steelers-Baltimore Ravens game live from M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Md. Lance Barrow is the coordinating producer and lead game producer and Mike Arnold is the lead game director.
Sean McManus is Chairman, CBS Sports, and serves as Executive Producer of CBS Sports’ coverage of THE NFL ON CBS. Harold Bryant is Executive Producer and Vice President, Production, CBS Sports.
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EXCERPTS FROM “THE NFL ON CBS” CONFERENCE CALL ON SEPT. 7
(On Pittsburgh-Baltimore Rivalry in Week 1)
JIM NANTZ: This arguably, is as big a rivalry here in the last five years in the NFL as anyone. To think that they’re going to play in Week 1…To have Pittsburgh at Baltimore…It’s the biggest opener we’ve ever had. There’s just so much bad blood between those two teams, especially with what happened in those last two games last year when Baltimore had the edge and Pittsburgh came back to beat them and ultimately eliminate them in the playoffs.
PHIL SIMMS: I’ve been waiting for this for a couple of weeks. I’ve looked at the game they played in the playoffs many times. From a player’s perspective, if I were a Baltimore Raven I don’t know if I’d still be over last year’s loss. There were so many opportunities for them to win…There were mistakes that the Ravens made where they just basically gave it to the Steelers. That is an awful way to go into the off-season…The dislike is so strong, it’s so real. To get it [this game] on Week 1, I think it’s great.
(On Eagles being favorite in NFC East and a legitimate contender)
DAN DIERDORF: Yes, I would make them the favorite in the East. Again, they haven’t played a down yet in the regular-season. So much depends upon staying healthy…On paper, they look magnificent. We’ve seen great teams on paper not perform well on the field. But I don’t see any reason, given the quality of the coaching that Andy Reid and his staff have, why the Eagles wouldn’t win the NFC East.
NANTZ: I think the Cowboys will take the division, but what do I know? Check back with me in the first week of January. There is way too much attention given to the Eagles right now and it’s going to be hard for them to live up to it, starting with Week 1 at St. Louis.
SIMMS: I’m not convinced about the offensive line, shifting around, not getting to work together, still making adjustments all the way up to the last week before the first game…When you watch the Eagles, I know it’s preseason but it was a carry-over from what we saw last year that sometimes they get mushed…It’s still about men, and can those men, Michael Vick, DeSean Jackson, get it done? A lot of question marks. They’re going into a really rough contest in St. Louis. I’m anxious to see how they perform. The East is going to be a mess. The Eagles will have a hard time with all three teams they’re going to play in that division. If I had to pick a winner, I’d still pick the Eagles. It’s just not going to be easy. Nobody is going to waltz through there 13-3 or 12-4, that’s for sure.
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Following are THE NFL ON CBS assignments for Week 1
WEEK 1 – Sept. 11
1:00 PM, ET starts:
- Pittsburgh @ Baltimore Jim Nantz/Phil Simms
- Cincinnati @ Cleveland Kevin Harlan/Solomon Wilcots
- Indianapolis @ Houston Greg Gumbel/Dan Dierdorf
- Tennessee @ Jacksonville Ian Eagle/Dan Fouts
- Buffalo @ Kansas City Marv Albert/Rich Gannon
There you have it.
