This Thursday, CBS will have the first of three Thanksgiving Day NFL games across the country. Jim Nantz and Phil Simms will call the Houston Texans-Detroit Lions game at 12:35 p.m.
It begins with a Thanksgiving Day edition of The NFL Today at noon ET hosted by James Brown with the usual cast of characters, Bill Cowher, Boomer Esiason, Dan Marino and Shannon Sharpe plus insider Jason La Canfora.
In this preview, Jim Nantz talks about turkey and football in Detroit. Check it out.
THE NFL ON CBS: WEEK 12 (THANKSGIVING DAY, NOVEMBER 22)
AUDIBLES WITH “NFL ON CBS” LEAD PLAY-BY-PLAY ANNOUNCER JIM NANTZ
The CBS Television Network, home of Super Bowl XLVII, continues its 53rd year broadcasting the NFL with coverage of THE NFL ON CBS on Thursday, Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 22 (12:30 PM, ET) beginning with THE NFL TODAY, the Network’s studio show, (12:00 Noon-12:30 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 live from the Houston Texans-Detroit Lions game from Ford Field in Detroit, Mich. 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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JIM NANTZ
Thanksgiving Day has turned into the perfect alignment of a sport and a holiday. In professional sports, I can’t think of anything that resonates like the NFL and Thanksgiving Day. It’s part of the fabric of America.
It’s been awhile since we’ve been to Detroit with as meaningful of a game as we have on Thursday. Detroit has to win. There are no more mulligans, no more second chances for a team that everyone thought was ready to take that next step this season and be a playoff team. Now they are coming off another wrenching loss on Sunday to Green Bay. They have to win here or it’s just too late to work their way back into the wild card equation. The division is too strong. They’ve got to start a winning streak now.
Beyond the pageantry of the pigskin, there is some pressure. The Lions have a must-win scenario. And Houston is trying to maintain its position as the leader of the pack in the AFC. It is going to be a wild home stretch for the AFC to see which teams get the top two seeds and a first-round bye. Right now Houston as the No. 1-seed has the pole position. But there are three other teams that are worthy and good enough to be a No. 1-seed at the end of the season. Denver, New England and Baltimore, the same divisional winners of the AFC a year ago, look as though they are going to win their divisions again. So it’s all about positioning.
Even though there’s a buzz around the league about how good the Texans are, there is still not a real familiarity with them in the spotlight. Now they have the coveted Thanksgiving Day game and a great chance for them to showcase why they have Super Bowl potential.
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Following are THE NFL ON CBS assignments for Week 12.
WEEK 12 – November 22 (Thanksgiving Day)* & November 25
12:30 PM, ET start:
- Houston @ Detroit* — Jim Nantz/Phil Simms
WEEK 12 – November 25
1:00 PM, ET starts:
- Oakland @ Cincinnati — Bill Macatee/Steve Tasker
- Pittsburgh @ Cleveland — Kevin Harlan/Solomon Wilcots
- Buffalo @ Indianapolis — Marv Albert/Rich Gannon
- Tennessee @ Jacksonville — Spero Dedes/Steve Beuerlein
- Denver @ Kansas City — Greg Gumbel/Dan Dierdorf
4:00 PM, ET start:
- Baltimore @ San Diego — Ian Eagle/Dan Fouts
And we have what you’ll see on The NFL Today on CBS this Thanksgiving Day.
“THE NFL TODAY” FEATURES THANKSGIVING STORY ON DETROIT LIONS’ JEROME HARRISON AND “THE NFL TRADE THAT SAVED A LIFE” FOR WEEK 12 OF “THE NFL TODAY” ON THURSDAY, NOV. 24
Detroit’s Own to Perform National Anthem and at Halftime as Kid Rock to Perform at Halftime of Houston-Detroit Thanksgiving Day Game; and Long-Time “Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band” Saxophonist Alto Reed to Perform National Anthem
THE NFL ON CBS, broadcasting its 53rd year of the NFL, continues its 2012 NFL season on Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, Nov. 22 (12:30 PM, ET) and Sunday, Nov. 25 (1:00-7:00 PM, ET) beginning with THE NFL TODAY (12:00 Noon-12:30 PM, ET) and (12:00 Noon-1:00 PM, ET), respectively, live from THE NFL TODAY studio in the CBS Broadcast Center in New York City.
THE NFL TODAY features a special Thanksgiving Day story on Detroit Lions running back Jerome Harrison. Charlie Bloom produces.
Every trade in sports is contingent upon the player passing a physical exam, but the results of running back Jerome Harrison’s physical were anything but normal. The Lions’ running back was in the process of being traded to the Philadelphia Eagles in October of 2011 when doctors in Philadelphia discovered that he had a brain tumor.
Harrison immediately returned to Detroit for surgery. Four hours into the what was expected to be a three-hour operation, the surgeon came to the waiting area and told Harrison’s pregnant wife Michelle, his parents and friends that there were some “complications” and that the surgery would continue for several more hours.
Twelve hours later, the surgeon returned to deliver the news that he could not promise the outcome. The following day, Harrison suffered a series of strokes, which only complicated matters further. It seemed to the family that Jerome might never awaken or if he did, he would surely be unable to walk, talk or care for himself.
Last Thanksgiving, the family’s emotions were stressed beyond overload. Despite her pregnancy, Michelle never left her husband’s side. She followed him from the hospital to a rehab facility in Ann Arbor, where he was registered under an alias to safeguard the family’s privacy. Those outside of the Harrison’s immediate circle remained unaware of his condition, prognosis, or even where he was situated while battling for his life.
On this Thanksgiving Day, Michelle Harrison narrates their story as she and Jerome speak for the first time and share their remarkable journey with THE NFL TODAY on CBS.
In addition, Detroit natives will perform the National Anthem and at halftime as Grammy Award-winning recording artist Kid Rock will perform live during the halftime of the Houston-Detroit game, and long-time member of “Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band” saxophonist Alto Reed will perform the National Anthem.
James Brown hosts THE NFL TODAY, along with analysts Dan Marino, Boomer Esiason, Shannon Sharpe and Bill Cowher, NFL TODAY Insider Jason La Canfora, as well as Lesley Visser reporting.
Eric Mann is senior producer and Bob Matina is director of THE NFL TODAY.
Sean McManus is Chairman, CBS Sports, and serves as the Executive Producer for THE NFL ON CBS. Harold Bryant is Executive Producer and Vice President, Production, CBS Sports.
I’ll post NBC’s preview of Pats-Jets on Thanksgiving Night when it arrives in the Fang’s Bites inbox.
