NBC’s Football Night in America Quotage for Week 10

We now provide the quotage from NBC’s Football Night in America and complete the Sunday NFL pregame press releases. I’ve embedded three videos for you.

 
FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA NOTES & QUOTES – WEEK 10

“You get the feeling listening to his comments that that’s the last meaningful game of his career.” – “Football Night’s” Dan Patrick on Brett Favre

“I’ve coached 30 years. I don’t know what a touchdown is anymore.” – “Football Night’s” Tony Dungy

“This is a totally different team…They played smart with a lot of emotion.” – “Football Night’s” Rodney Harrison on the Cowboys

Bob Costas interviews Tom Brady

NEW YORK – November 14, 2010 – Following are highlights from NBC Sports’ “Football Night in America.” Bob Costas hosted the show live from Heinz Field and was joined on site for commentary by Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth. Co-host Dan Patrick, analysts Tony Dungy and Rodney Harrison, and reporter Peter King covered the news of the NFL’s ninth week live from NBC’s 30 Rockefeller Plaza studios. Alex Flanagan reported from the New Meadowlands Stadium on the Cowboys-Giants game.

ON STEELERS

Costas: “I’m wondering if the crackdown on illegal hits is in any way affecting their approach?” 

Collinsworth “It’s a really good question and we talked to Troy Polamalu about that a little bit…He said, ‘You can’t take away the essence of the Pittsburgh Steelers defense. We are a team and a defense that is all about intimidation.’ You can’t tell me that Jordan Shipley on that final play a week ago against the Bengals wasn’t thinking about the possibility of James Harrison giving him one heck of a shot coming in there. He said, “If all of a sudden now, the Commissioner or the NFL can legislate out the intimidation factor, we are not the Pittsburgh Steelers anymore.’”

Costas: “I’m not speaking on behalf of the league, but I’m sure they would say we are not trying to legislate out the intimidation factor, we’re trying to legislate out blatantly dangerous hits, the ramifications of which we now understand better than we did a few years ago.” 

Collinsworth: “And I agree with what they are doing, but I also know that there is an extremely strong bond now on this Steelers defense because they think that’s what the Commissioner is trying to do to them.”

ON PATRIOTS

Harrison on Tom Brady: “It didn’t matter if it was in practice or if it was in a game, Tom Brady was really upset if he made a mistake. We were at the Super Bowl and its offense against defense (in practice). I picked off Tom Brady twice. He takes a ball, he’s chasing me around the practice field throwing balls at me.”

Dungy: “And you’re running from him?” 

Harrison: “Heck, yeah. He had two balls he was throwing at me. He’s a very competitive guy. It says something special when your best player is that competitive.” 

Dungy: “He is competitive, but I can’t overstate how smart he was. When we played against him, you couldn’t show him defenses you used in the past. You couldn’t show him pre-snap. We worked on disguising so much because if he got any hint what you’re in, he’s going to pick you apart.” 

Collinsworth on trading Randy Moss: “You ask Tom Brady about it and he said, “No. It doesn’t impact anything.’ You ask Bill Belichick, ‘No there’s nothing at all.’ Then I ask Dick LeBeau and he says, ‘What are you stupid? Of course there’s a huge impact. You’ve got maybe the greatest deep threat receiver that the game has ever known. Yes, it changes our approach to playing the New England Patriots.’ This is a team that is almost completely on Tom Brady right now.”

ON COWBOYS

Head coach Jason Garrett to Alex Flanagan: “I think we played for each other. I thought we played well really in all areas. It wasn’t perfect. We are going to look at the tape and find that out, but I think we played the right way. We talked a lot about playing the Cowboys way, great emotion, playing for each other, overcoming adversity. I think we did that in all areas.” 

Garrett to Flanagan on changes he saw: “I don’t want to talk about what was different or what was the same. I just think we played the right way. There was a lot of intensity there. Again, we overcame some different adversities that happened in the game. We made some plays. We made some plays in all three areas. Obviously, when you intercept a ball in their end zone and you run it back for a touchdown, those are some big swing plays in the ball game. I think we were able to do that in all three phases. The guys fought for each other.”

Garrett to Flanagan on the future: “You just got to keep going. You got to keep going. We talk a lot about stacking good days on top of each other. That gives you a chance to play well on Sunday. This was a good week for us. We are going to watch the tape, clean up some of the things that weren’t good, build on some of the things that were positive and then get back to work.”

Patrick: “Jon Kitna. He had plenty of electricity.”

Harrison: “They came out with a lot of emotion, a lot of intensity. The most important thing: they played smart.”

Dungy: “The Cowboy’s played much differently today. They played aggressive they hit…(interrupted by Harrison)”

Harrison: “You’re the one who talked about, ‘Oh, there’s no success in a mid-season coaching change.’ This is a totally different team. They came out, they played smart. They played with a lot of emotion. Coach Garrett said they made plays in all three phases. And that’s what you have to do if you’re the Dallas Cowboys. One play in particular: fourth down and one, they had four guys on Brandon Jacobs, and they stopped him.”

Dungy: “I’ll have to admit, they did look like a different team but the Giants looked like a different team, too. This is a team we saw in the first couple of weeks, making mistakes, penalties, getting touchdowns called back, big plays given up on defense. Both teams looked completely different today.”

Harrison: “This is what you want. You want that spark when you get a new coach. You get fired up, you get excited, and you go out there and you make plays. That’s what it’s about.” 

Patrick: “They played as if a cloud had been lifted from them. Let’s see how long it lasts.”

ON VIKINGS

ON WHAT IS A TOUCHDOWN CATCH & ON A FUTURE L.A. TEAM: 

ON TITANS

Patrick on Randy Moss, who head coach Jeff Fisher said was tired at the end of the game: “We already have one cardiovascular problem with McNabb in Washington. They’re two-minute drills. He can’t be in there for that?”

Harrison: “They are talking about how tired he is. This is the 10th week of the season. They just came off a bye. He had one catch. How tired could he be? I think everybody else is tired around there, too.”

ON BROWNS

Dungy on play calling towards end of the game: “That’s my problem with it. If you’re going to try to go for the win, get those wide receivers in there and play ball…I’m not sure what they were trying to do. It looked like they went back and forth, try to win, try to run the clock out. They did neither one.”

Harrison: “If you look at the way they played against New Orleans and the Patriots, they were very aggressive taking shots down the field. All of a sudden, now, you get into one of the most critical parts of the game…(and) they want to run the ball on second down. It looked like he kind of got nervous.”

ON JETS

Dungy: “My big winner is the New York Jets going 5-0 on the road and getting that big overtime win. But Mark Sanchez, specifically. He played great after getting hurt. He let them know, ‘You can count on me, guys.’”

ON CHIEFS

Dungy on Todd Haley’s finger pointing at Josh McDaniels: “I think he should have been going like this (waves his finger) to his team and not worry about Josh.”

ON CHARGERS

Dungy: “Do you know who was the biggest winner today? The San Diego Chargers. They didn’t play but they are right back in the race. Look out for the Chargers.”

ON SEAHAWKS:

Dungy: “It’s hard to sort out, but I’m glad Seattle got back rolling. After I talked about them maybe being the best team, they didn’t play like it for two weeks. Today, they played like it with a lot of energy. My boys in Foster’s Barber Shop will be happy Mike Williams is catching the ball again.”

ON 49ERS

Patrick on Troy Smith: “I think they found their quarterback and his name is Smith. But it’s not Alex, it’s Troy.”

Harrison: “I like San Francisco and what they did today, winning in overtime. A renewed sense of energy since they have a new quarterback in Troy Smith. They’re able to run the ball with Frank Gore. I like San Francisco to win this division.” 

Dungy: “Wow, win the division. You’re like Jed York. Troy Smith has given them a big boost though.”

ON TEXANS

Harrison on Hail Mary pass that the defensive back knocked down into the hands of a receiver: “I’ve always been taught to knock the ball down. But me, personally, I like to catch it.”

Dungy: “You are better off catching it if you’re clean, like he was there, unless you’re a professional volleyball player.”

ON DOLPHINS

Patrick: “The Chad Pennington era lasted for two plays.”

ON BILLS-LIONS

Patrick: “We start with the resistible force against the very movable object.”

The following is Bob Costas’ interview with Tom Brady:

 

That’s it.