Tonight, Bob Costas interviews Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin and Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton in advance of tonight’s Sunday Night Football game. The interviews will be seen on Football Night in America which airs at 7 p.m. on NBC.
Bob will host the show live from Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati while Dan Patrick will do the highlights from the NBC 30 Rock studios in New York with accompaniment by analysts Tony Dungy and Rodney Harrison.
Here are partial transcripts of the interviews that will be seen live tonight. Check it all out.
“FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA” PREVIEW – WEEK 7
BOB COSTAS INTERVIEWS STEELERS HEAD COACH MIKE TOMLIN & BENGALS QB ANDY DALTON
“It’s something that comes with being a Pittsburgh Steeler.” – Mike Tomlin on high expectations
“I don’t think it’s holding me back. I don’t think it’s holding this team back.” – Andy Dalton on his arm strengthNEW YORK – October 21, 2012 – Bob Costas interviewed Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin and Cincinnati Bengals QB Andy Dalton for tonight’s Week 7 edition of Football Night in America, which will preview Steelers-Bengals, and will also include highlights, analysis and reaction to earlier Week 7 games.
Football Night In America, the most-watched pre-game studio show in sports, airs each Sunday at 7 p.m. ET with Costas hosting the program live from inside the stadium. He will be joined on site by Sunday Night Football commentators Al Michaels (play-by-play) and Cris Collinsworth (analyst) as well as NBC NFL analyst Hines Ward for reaction to the afternoon games and to preview tonight’s match-up.
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 New England on the Patriots-Jets game.
INTERVIEWS: Below are excerpts from Costas’ interviews with Tomlin and Dalton.
MIKE TOMLIN WITH BOB COSTAS
On high expectations: “I embrace that. I want to spoil our fans. I want them to have that sense of expectation. I don’t see anything negative about that. We have to deliver. I embrace that. I think our guys embrace that. I think it’s something that comes with being a Pittsburgh Steeler.”
On it still being a young season: “I don’t think you have to remind any of us in this business that; obviously, there’s a lot of talk radio and commentary and things of that nature and they’ve got to fill air time. We’re in Week 6 for us…Those shows got to run. They got to talk about something. We understand that. What we need to start doing is winning games on a consistent basis and it will take care of itself.”
On reigning in Ben Roethlisberger: “I think we’re doing a nice job, even in the midst of running the ball as poorly as we are, because we’re minimizing negative plays. And if you minimize the negative plays, that means your quarterback is upright. That’s one of the goals that we had here for this season, along with winning more games than we have to this point.”
On Roethlisberger having the instinct to make a play: “I hope that never leaves him. We just want to tighten up some things around him to make sure that we’re keeping him as safe as we possibly can.”
Costas: “You made a transition this year from Bruce Arians to Todd Haley. Ben Roethlisberger told me before the first game against Denver, ‘Every coach, at some point, their temper starts to come out. But when it comes to that time, we’ll be able to deal with it and move on.’ Has that time come yet?”
Tomlin: “I don’t know. I’m usually pretty busy when they get a little down time. I’ve always got guys on the grass, as we say in this business. I’m not worried about those interactions. If it hadn’t happened already, I’m sure at some point it will and it won’t be catastrophic. I’m sure we’ll all move on.”On Steeler nation at away games: “I no longer think they travel. I just think they’re there. I just think they’re everywhere (laughs). I refuse to believe Steeler nation travels. I just think we have fans all over the world and it’s something that’s special when we touch down in different locations and get an opportunity to entertain them.”
ANDY DALTON WITH BOB COSTAS
On his arm strength: “Everything that’s been questioned about me has been in my arm strength. I don’t think it’s holding me back. I don’t think it’s holding this team back…”
On what QBs he looks up to: “Being able to do everything, I think Aaron Rodgers is one of those guys. He’s not just beating you throwing the ball, he’s beating you with his feet as well. And, Drew Brees, there’s not a better guy with footwork and things like that. These are guys I definitely watch.”
On his favorite nickname: “The one that’s stuck is Red Rifle. At first, I wasn’t too sure about it, but now they’ve made shirts, they’ve done a lot of stuff. I guess I’ve learned to accept it.”
On his favorite red-headed athlete: “I think Shaun White. He is one of the best ones. His hair — growing it out long. You can’t beat that.”
On if he’s ever grown his hair out: “I did in high school a little bit. Look at my Rivals picture going into college. It’s pretty bright there.”
On Cincinnati fans now that the Reds are out of the MLB Playoffs: “Cincinnati is very proud of their sports teams and it’s unfortunate for the Reds to go out the way they did. Hopefully all of those fans will come over and start supporting us. There’s a lot of excitement around town. It seems like everywhere you go everybody’s saying, ‘Hey, you’ve got to beat the Steelers. You’ve got to beat the Steelers.’ You know, it is Sunday night. It is a primetime game. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”
And that concludes the press releases from Sunday afternoon. I’ll post quotage from Football Night in America later tonight.
