And we complete our NFL TV partner previews with NBC’s look at Sunday Night Football and its matchup of the defending Super Bowl Champions Green Bay Packers taking on the Atlanta Falcons in a rematch of last year’s NFC Playoff game. And with the Packers at 4-0, they come into the Georgia Dome hitting on all cylinders. The Falcons at 2-2 are looking for that signature win of the early season and a victory over the Packers would certainly be what the doctor ordered.
The usual Sunday Night Football crew of Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth and Michele Tafoya will in the ATL and they’ll be joined by Bob Costas who will try to say something witty at halftime.
Football Night in America precedes Sunday Night Football and we have the press release below.
AARON RODGERS AND THE 4-0 PACKERS TRAVEL TO ATLANTA TO TAKE ON MATT RYAN AND THE FALCONS ON SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL
COVERAGE BEGINS WITH FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA AT 7 PM ET
NEW YORK – October 5, 2011 – Aaron Rodgers leads the 4-0 Green Bay Packers into Atlanta to take on the defending NFC South champion Falcons on Sunday Night Football. In last week’s win against the Broncos, Rodgers became the first quarterback in NFL history to post 400 yards passing, four passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns in a game.
These two teams met in last year’s divisional playoff round when the Packers came into Atlanta and defeated the Falcons, 48-21, on their way to winning Super Bowl XLV.
Calling Packers-Falcons will be six-time Emmy Award-winner Al Michaels (play-by-play), in his 26th season as the voice of the NFL’s premier primetime package; 12-time Emmy Award-winner Cris Collinsworth, who won the Emmy for outstanding event analyst in both of his seasons in the Sunday Night Football booth; and sideline reporter Michele Tafoya, in her first season on SNF.
Coverage begins Sunday with Football Night in America at 7 p.m. ET with 22-time Emmy Award-winner Bob Costas hosting the program live from inside the stadium. Costas is joined on site by Michaels and Collinsworth for reaction to the afternoon games.
Dan Patrick co-hosts Football Night from Studio 8G at NBC’s 30 Rockefeller Plaza studios and is joined by Super Bowl-winning head coach Tony Dungy, two-time Super Bowl winner Rodney Harrison, Peter King of Sports Illustrated and Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk on NBCSports.com. Alex Flanagan will report from Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass., on the Jets-Patriots game.
ON MATT RYAN
Harrison: “The Falcons are very talented across the board, but Matt Ryan struggles throwing the ball down the field. He is not very effective in seven-step drops. He needs to drop back five steps. He doesn’t do a good job of recognizing where the blitzers are coming from. That’s a rookie mistake and he’s a veteran player. He shouldn’t have those problems.”ON AARON RODGERS
Michaels: “Aaron Rodgers is playing about as well as a quarterback can play.”Collinsworth: “This is one of those seasons when you begin to say, ‘Can Rodgers be the next MVP?’
ON PACKERS-FALCONS
Collinsworth: “The Packers are on top of their game, scoring a lot of points. For the Falcons, this is one of those games where they would like to make amends for that playoff embarrassment from a season ago.”Harrison: “Matt Ryan should not come out and feel pressure to match Aaron Rodgers score-for-score. They have to run the ball, take time of possession and work Tony Gonzalez against some of those safeties.”
Dungy: “For Atlanta to win this game they have to get back to their formula of last year; running Michael Turner, pounding the ball, and using Matt Ryan and his play-action game as a complementary weapon. They are not going to win a shootout against the Packers.
Dan, Tony and Rodney break down Packers-Falcons:
That’s it.
