Let’s do the final Sunday NFL pregame show quotage and it comes from NBC’s Football Night in America. Plenty of good stuff from the gang. And the quotage is posted below.
“FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA” NOTES & QUOTES – WEEK 2
“I didn’t expect a veteran team like Baltimore to come out and have that emotional and mental let down.” – Rodney Harrison on Ravens
“I don’t think so. Not from what I saw.” – Tony Dungy on if the Colts are a playoff team
“Who has better young talent in the league right now than the Detroit Lions?” – Cris CollinsworthNEW YORK – September 18, 2011 – Following are highlights from Football Night in America. Bob Costas hosted the show live from the Georgia Dome in Atlanta and was joined on site for commentary by Sunday Night Football commentators Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth. Co-host Dan Patrick and commentators Tony Dungy, Rodney Harrison, Peter King and Mike Florio covered the news of the NFL’s second week live from Studio 8G at NBC’s 30 Rockefeller Plaza studios in New York. Alex Flanagan reported from Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., on the Chargers-Patriots game.
ON CHARGERS
Patrick: “You keep waiting for the Chargers to win these kinds of games. And I know the Patriots played great, but we keep waiting for the Chargers to say, ‘No. We’re not the same old Chargers.’”Dungy: “They’ve got a lot of talent. They’ve got a lot of offensive weaponry. You see the great plays, but sometimes you just have to make those routine plays and get those points in the red zone.”
ON RAVENS
Harrison: “I didn’t expect a veteran team like Baltimore to come out and have that emotional and mental let down. They didn’t create any sacks on defense, just played absolutely soft.”Dungy: “Their offensive line really got dominated. They handled Pittsburgh but up front this was a different type of defense. Tennessee has athletic defensive linemen and they chased Joe Flacco around all day.”
ON STEELERS
Harrison on second hit to Roethlisberger’s legs: “How do you not call that?”Dungy on Mike Tomlin referencing last week’s loss in postgame comments: “That smell he was talking about was last week’s run defense when Baltimore ran all over them. They’ve got it fixed. Today they made Seattle one dimensional. He’s a little happier than he’s letting on there.”
Harrison: “Mike Tomlin has the right perspective. It’s Seattle. They are the worst team in the league, so relax.”
ON COLTS
Dungy on if Colts are playoff material: “I don’t think so. Not from what I saw. They made some improvements but the offensive line is still not protecting well enough. Basically they have to score points. The defense is built to play from ahead.”ON BILLS
Patrick: “The new and improved Bills.”Collinsworth on QB Ryan Fitzpatrick: “It was surgical…not only does he go down the field and score the winning touchdown, but he leaves only 14 seconds left, as only a Harvard man would. (joking)”
Florio on Fitzpatrick contract extension: “In Buffalo, the front office is nervous for a different reason. They’ve got one of the hot quarterbacks in the NFL right now. His contract expires after the year, and with each passing week, his price tag is going to go up. The Bills have broached the subject of the extension. No negotiations yet, but there are some guys out there that have made a lot money, far less proven than Ryan Fitzpatrick, so he’s going to cash in sometime soon.”
King: “I talked to both Fitzpatrick and Bills coach Chan Gailey after the game. Fitzpatrick said, ‘There is no place in the NFL that is as good of a match for me as right here. I want to go nowhere.’ Chan Gailey said, ‘I can’t envision anyone else being our quarterback, other than Fitzpatrick, but I’m not the negotiator.’”
ON LIONS
Costas: “Doormat no more?”Collinsworth: “Matthew Stafford, Calvin Johnson, Jahvid Best and Ndamukong Suh…Who has better young talent in the league right now than the Detroit Lions?
ON TITANS
Dungy on Matt Hasselbeck: “He was very good today.”Patrick on Jared Cook: “Titans tight end, Jared Cook, laying out. Keep in mind; this is a guy who is actually allergic to grass!”
Dungy: “That’s not a good stadium to play in.”
Patrick: “No it’s not. Why wasn’t he drafted by an artificial turf team?”
ON PANTHERS
Harrison on Cam Newton: “Today it seems like he forced a lot of balls to Steve Smith. As a young quarterback in this league, you need to understand your personnel. You have to stay away from Charles Woodson, he’s one of the top play making defensive backs in the league.”ON BRONCOS
Patrick: “Don’t you think Denver fans are looking at Cam Newton and going, ‘Tim Tebow could do that for us’?”Harrison: “Two totally different players; similar but different.”
ON COWBOYS
Patrick: “This is what you want in a big-time quarterback. Romo gets banged up early, comes back, puts up big numbers, and produces in overtime.”Dungy: “I thought it was a huge day for Tony…You can’t say enough about Romo and his perseverance today…I thought that he showed great heart and is the leader of this team.”
Harrison: “Tony Romo has shown a lot of mental toughness with all the criticism last week to come back and perform the way he performed.”
ON BENGALS
Dungy: “Another quarterback who played well is Andy Dalton. As a rookie, A.J. Green is fantastic. Even though Cincinnati lost, those two guys can play.”ON VIKINGS
King on McNabb: “Donovan McNabb is not going to be replaced. I spoke to the head coach of the Vikings, Leslie Frazier, after the game. He acknowledged that this isn’t McNabb’s fault. Don’t look for Christian Ponder anytime soon.”ON THEIR HEADLINES OF THE DAY
Harrison on 2010 playoff teams that are 0-2: “Seattle, Kansas City and Indianapolis. None of these teams will make the playoffs this year.”Dungy: “I’m going to take the other side of it, the surprise 2-0 teams. Detroit…The biggest surprise is Buffalo. And my Washington Redskins. I’m on the bandwagon.” (laughing)
ON EAGLES
Patrick on Vick: “Did you ever think he would get to this point, anywhere near it?”Dungy: “I really didn’t think so as a player. I knew he would as a person.”
And we’re done.
