Let’s do the quotes from Football Night in America this evening.
“FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA” NOTES & QUOTES – WEEK 11
“I really think they are. It’s not really fun to look at, but they know how to win.” – Dungy on if 49ers are good enough to win the Super Bowl
“They are going to get good quarterbacking, and that probably makes them the favorite (in the AFC West).” – Dungy on the RaidersNEW YORK – November 20, 2011 – Following are highlights from Football Night in America. Bob Costas hosted the show live from MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., 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 10th week live from Studio 8G at NBC’s 30 Rockefeller Plaza studios in New York. Alex Flanagan reported from Soldier Field in Chicago on the Chargers-Bears game.
ON PACKERS
King: “The Green Bay Packers won their tenth in a row today and they’re 10-0 now. So I asked Mike McCarthy, coach of the Packers after the game, ‘hey are you going to go for a perfect season if you can?’ He said, ‘talk to me when we get to 13 or 14 wins.’ But I believe strongly that he will go for it if he gets to that point because last year the Chicago Bears did the exact same thing, played a meaningless game to the hilt against Green Bay because Green Bay was playing for something at the end.”
Dungy: “With all those mistakes, there are still some chinks in the Green Bay armor. Protection has been an issue for Rodgers all year, Tampa got to him. We’re not used to seeing these incompletions, the tough throws on third down, interceptions where he misread the coverage. Aaron put up good numbers today, but just a little bit off. They could not put Tampa away.”
Harrison: “What, do you expect them to be perfect?”
Dungy: “I want them to be perfect. These next two games will tell the story. They’re at the Lions, at the Giants. If they win those two games I think they could go undefeated.”Dungy: “I still see some chinks in the armor, I’m not sold on this Green Bay defense yet.”
Harrison: “They won Tony, relax.”ON GIANTS
Dungy on Eli Manning: “Sitting there talking to him, he sounded so much like Peyton. He’s doing the same things. He’s having the Friday meetings with the receivers getting those guys ready to play. I really think he’s taken on more of a leadership role with the Giants.”
ON COWBOYS
Collinsworth on Romo: “We’re talking about a guy who played through some pretty painful stuff and is coming out on the other end and is red-hot right now. 11 touchdowns, one interception over the last five games.”
Dungy on Romo: “He was the difference. They were down, on the road, and they needed some big plays and Tony Romo made them. He made great decisions all day. No interceptions. That was the key.”
Harrison: “Early in the game they have a tendency of going to Dez Bryant, getting him started early. But as the game goes on they kind of go away from him. He only had three catches today. He needs at least 10 targets per game.”ON BENGALS
Patrick, following highlights of Jermaine Gresham’s overturned touchdown: “Do (the Bengals) have reason to be upset?”
Dungy: “I think so, I know the rulebook. Rodney, I hate the rule on this. This should be a touchdown to me. Jermaine Gresham makes a great play, catches the ball, and stays with it. He’s got the ball, one foot down, two feet down, three feet down — he’s out of bounds with the ball. Rodney, to me this should be a touchdown.”
Harrison: “Coach, this is clearly a touchdown. He holds onto the ball. I don’t know what’s a touchdown, what’s not a touchdown, what’s a catch, what’s not a catch.”Patrick: “Did he complete the act?”
Dungy: “I think he completed the act. He caught the ball and got in the end zone, and they ruled him out of bounds. To me, this should be a touchdown, but it all goes back to the Calvin Johnson play.”ON 49ERS
Patrick: “All precincts are in; I’m going to declare them the winners in the NFC West.”
Harrison: “The one thing that impressed me, they can win at home, on the road; they win it in their division, but they’re not losing. There is no such thing as a trap game. They beat Washington, they beat Arizona, so the defense is the key.”
Dungy: “Jim Harbaugh talked about quarterback play, and he has done a great job getting the best out of Alex Smith, giving him these throws that he is confident he can make.”
Harrison: “The defense is the key. They forced five turnovers today. Patrick Willis was all over the field. This is the key to this team. I know Alex Smith has played well, but the key is the defense.”Patrick: “Are they good enough to go to the Super Bowl?”
Dungy: “I really think they are. It’s not really fun to look at, but they know how to win. They know how this team can win, and they believe in themselves and that is half the battle.”Patrick: “They run the football, and they play good defense. [talking to Dungy] It is sort of like the blueprint you had in Tampa, wasn’t it?”
Dungy: “We did. It reminds me of my team in ‘97 in Tampa. We ran, and we minimized the play of the quarterback. And we played good defense. I think these guys can do the same thing. They may run into Green Bay just like we did that year.”ON BEARS
Patrick: “Are you now on the Jay Cutler bandwagon?”
Dungy: “Well they’re playing well. He’s relying on this defense getting turnovers and field position. He’s relying on his running game and Matt Forte. He’s not feeling like he’s got to force every ball.”
Harrison: “He’s a different quarterback when he has time to throw the ball down the field.”ON LIONS
Dungy: “The thing about this year’s Lions group, no matter what the score is, they play hard and it starts with their defense.”
Harrison: “Yeah, and it is easy to play defensive back when you have players like Kyle Vanden Bosch. He’s active and energetic, rushing the pass and creating turnovers.”Harrison on Matthew Stafford’s performance today: “Very accurate and he kept his confidence. Great job by Matthew Stafford.”
ON BEST TEAM IN THE AFC
Dungy: “I’m not sure who the best team in the AFC is. I wanted to anoint Baltimore. They had a chance. They won the game today, but they didn’t show me greatness.”
Harrison: “I still believe in the Pittsburgh Steelers. I know they have an unconventional offense with Big Ben running around, but they have explosive wide receivers. They are very difficult to cover down the field, and they have a veteran defense. They’ve been injured, Coach.”
Dungy: “But they lost to Baltimore twice already.”
Harrison: “I still believe in them!”ON RAIDERS AND AFC WEST
Patrick: “If you look at the standings for the Raiders and what is ahead, is it the first team to eight or nine wins that is going to win the (AFC) West, Tony?”
Dungy: “It is. They have a tough road, but right now they are in control of things. They are in first place, and I think they have confidence that they are going to get good quarterbacking, and that probably makes them the favorite (in the AFC West).”ON BUCCANEERS
Patrick: “Is Tampa done there, Rodney?”
Harrison: “Yes, last week they played soft and with no effort. This week they played tougher, but they didn’t play smarter. When you have a young defense you have to play smart.”
Harrison on LeGarrette Blount: “Nobody wants to tackle a 260 pound back. Are you kidding me?”ON CHARGERS
Patrick on Philip Rivers: “It seemed like he wouldn’t settle for a field goal. He felt in his mind, you could almost see him thinking too much, I’ve got to get touchdowns here or we have no chance.”
ON COLTS
King on Peyton Manning: “We’ve all assumed that there are two options for Peyton Manning going forward. Either the Colts trade him or they keep him. Well scratch that trade option because the Colts owe him $28 million before the start of the next league year. You can’t make any trades until the league year begins. So the Colts’ options simply are cut him and get nothing or keep him.”
ON SAINTS
Florio on Drew Brees contract situation: “Another quarterback that would like to get a payment like (Peyton Manning) is Drew Brees, Saints quarterback. His contract ends after the season and weeks have gone by without any progress between the Saints and Drew Brees. They are in their bye week now, what seems to be the perfect time to get something done. Nothing’s happening. This is something that could play out over the rest of the season and into the off-season.”
ON COACHES ON THE HOT SEAT
King: “A lot of coaches this year are in dire trouble like Steve Spagnoulo of the Rams, like Jack Del Rio, who lost another one today in Cleveland for the Jacksonville Jaguars. But I believe right now that there will be no coaches fired during the regular season, and the firing season is going to come afterward.”
ON JAGUARS-BROWNS
Patrick: “Scoring figured to be just a rumor as the Browns hosted Jacksonville.”
DUNGY AND HARRISON ON BIG WINNERS OF THE DAY
Dungy: “Tony Romo and the Dallas Cowboys. They have a division road win; they’re keeping the pressure on the Giants to win tonight.”
Harrison: “Jay Cutler. He trusts his offensive line, and he is making plays down the field. He also has a pretty good running game.”
That’s going to wrap up the Sunday NFL pregame quotage. We’ll have one last post for this evening and that will be Bob Costas’ halftime commentary.
