Let’s move to CBS’ quotage from its pair of pregame shows.
NEWS, NOTES & QUOTES FROM CBS SPORTS’ “THE NFL TODAY” WITH JAMES BROWN, DAN MARINO, SHANNON SHARPE, BILL COWHER AND BOOMER ESIASON
AND
“THAT OTHER PREGAME SHOW” WITH ADAM SCHEIN, AMY TRASK, BART SCOTT AND BRANDON TIERNEY FOR WEEK 9 ON NOVEMBER 3
? QUICK HITS
(On Miami’s Jonathan Martin)
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BILL COWHER: I think in the National Football League, we always say that perception is reality. The perception you have here is the coaching staff does not have a pulse for their football team. For this to get to this point, obviously, there was something that had to lend itself to it. You’d like to think the leadership in the locker room would have mended it before it got to that point. But at least the head coach, immediately, should have addressed this from the top. Because now it’s taken on a life of its own.
SHANNON SHARPE: You mentioned the leadership situation. Being in two locker rooms, the Broncos and the Ravens, I was a guy that made fun and had a lot of other guys that made fun of different players. But me being a leader, I knew when enough was enough. I knew to go to the other guys and say, ‘Okay, it’s time to back off this guy.’ Because that was my role as a leader. To have fun, but know when to pull back. If these allegations are true and the alleged leader is Richie Incognito, him being a team leader, he should have put his arm around the guy and said, ‘I’m sorry.’ He should have told the other guys, ‘Guys, he’s had enough. He’s reached his point.’ That’s what team leaders do. That’s how you become a team. You don’t become a team by continuously having a pattern of bad behavior and not correcting it.
(On Denver Head Coach John Fox and Broncos)
COWHER: We all wish him a speedy recovery, but it’s not like you’re down there with Sean Payton. It’s more like Chuck Pagano (health issue). You have a lot of pieces in place right there, right now. He’s not a signal caller. It will have a minimal impact on game day. I think a guy like Jack Del Rio, who has been a head coach, can handle some of those duties. We all wish him back quickly. But in terms of game day mechanics, I don’t think it will be a problem.
BOOMER ESIASON: This is a close team as it is already, and they’re a very good football team. This galvanizes them even more. As they move forward here during the season, they will be playing for their coach. And they can’t wait for him to get back.
DAN MARINO: Peyton Manning. They have Peyton Manning.
ESIASON: Enough said.(On Mid-Season AFC Playoff possibilities)
SHANNON SHARPE: I’m looking at a team and people are going to say you’re crazy they’re in the same division of the Kansas City Chiefs that are 8?0 and Broncos are 7?1. I’m looking at the San Diego Chargers. I believe if they win this game today, they’re not going to lose all four games. They played the Chargers twice. They play the Broncos twice. They’re not going to lose all four of those ballgames. They’re going to be in this thing all the way until the end. I believe they win five of their last seven games. They get to a mark of 10?6 and become the six seed.
(On Kansas City)
SHARPE: That’s why the question marks still remain about the Kansas City Chiefs. Five of the last seven ballgames, they get (Peyton) Manning twice. They get (Philip) Rivers twice.They get Andrew Luck. We’ll know more about the Kansas City Chiefs over the next seven weeks.
? THAT OTHER PREGAME SHOW (TOPS) NOTES
(On Miami’s Jonathan Martin leaving team due to a non-football related injury)
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AMY TRASK: This is why you need leaders in your locker room. This is why you need, in your locker room, men who understand lines that can’t be crossed. It’s almost like your leaders are in charge of the gas pedal and the brake pedal and they know that if things go too far, it’s time to tap the brakes. They know when it’s okay to be full speed ahead on the gas pedal. Locker rooms are a delicate environment.
BART SCOTT: It’s a place for big boys. Rule number four in our playbook is: Have skin like an armadillo. You have to be able to give it and you have to be able to take it. It’s like being around a bunch of your big brothers if you’re a younger player… But if you see somebody has had enough, you kind of step back and say, ‘Hey man, he has taken a little bit (too much)…’ With all of the criticism (Jonathan Martin) has taken and with Bryant McKinnie coming in, sometimes that is a lot of emotion for a young player and you kind of crash. I think it is good for him to get away, reboot and figure out if it is worth him coming back.
(On Denver Broncos head coach John Fox’s heart surgery and what this means for Broncos)
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SCOTT: You have Jack Del Rio that can man the defensive side. There’s a lot of veteran leadership (on the Broncos). The great thing is these guys have a bye week in which they can really figure out how they’re going to go about operating who is going to take leadership. Maybe get these guys back a day earlier so they can address what’s going on and they can get their game plan ready.
BRANDON TIERNEY: I’m not saying that the Broncos are the Saints or John Fox is Sean Payton, but there’s something to be said for stability. There’s something to be said for showing up at work, whether it’s this show, whether it’s a 9-to-5 job, and (there is) an expectation of how a message is delivered and received. We make it seem like it’s going to be a seamless transition. We hope it’s going to be a seamless transition. But the Broncos are trying to win a Super Bowl. Let’s not forget that.
(GIANTS PUNTER STEVE WEATHERFORD ON TEAM’S MOMENTUM):
WEATHERFORD: This is the first time in nine years in the National Football League that I haven’t wanted to take my bye week. I feel so good about where we are mentally. But I think this bye comes at a good time as far as getting people healthy. We’re going to get Andre Brown back, Brandon Jacobs back, Victor Cruz healthy, get Hakeem Nicks a week to get fresh. So I think it comes at a good time for us. But we’re rolling right now. We’ve got some momentum. We dug ourselves a pretty deep hole, but the NFC East on the whole is struggling, so we still have a shot.
And some bonus quotage:
THE NFL TODAY’s Boomer Esiason, Shannon Sharpe, Bill Cowher and Dan Marino reacted to Washington Redskins Brandon Meriweather’s statement about tackling low and whether or not this is a byproduct of the new rules which try to prevent concussions.
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ESPN’s Sunday NFL Countdown quotage is next.
