Let’s move to the preview of tonight’s interviews on NBC’s Football Night in America. NBC will air the Dallas Cowboys at New Orleans Saints game and host Bob Costas will interview one player from each team.
From the Cowboys, Costas talked with linebacker Sean Lee and from the Saints, Bob interviewed quarterback Drew Brees.
Let’s see what they said in the partial transcripts posted below.
BOB COSTAS INTERVIEWS SAINTS QB DREW BREES AND COWBOYS LB SEAN LEE
Football Night in America Preview – Week 10
“It’s like old times. He just has that presence. We tried to fill that void, but there are certain things that only he can say.” – Drew Brees on Sean Payton
“If we want to win, we are going to have to find a way to stop him.” – Sean Lee on Saints TE Jimmy Graham
“I would be lying if I said there was not a little something extra when playing the Cowboys.” – Drew Brees on being from Texas, and playing against the CowboysNEW YORK – November 10, 2013 – Bob Costas interviewed New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees and Dallas Cowboys LB Sean Lee for tonight’s Week 10 edition of Football Night in America, which will preview Cowboys-Saints, and include highlights, analysis and reaction to earlier Week 10 games.
Football Night, the most-watched pre-game show in sports, airs each Sunday at 7 p.m. ET on NBC 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 famous Studio 8H at NBC’s 30 Rockefeller Plaza studios in New York City. He is joined by Super Bowl-winning head coach Tony Dungy; two-time Super Bowl winner Rodney Harrison; Peter King of Sports Illustrated; Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk on NBCSports.com and NBCSN; and Scott Pioli, the former NFL Executive of the Year who is new to the NBC NFL team this season. Alex Flanagan will report from Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, Calif., on the Broncos-Chargers game.
INTERVIEWS: Below are excerpts from Costas’ interviews with Brees and Lee.
DREW BREES WITH BOB COSTAS
On having head coach Sean Payton back: “It’s like old times. He just has that presence. He would be preaching and teaching. We tried to fill that void, but there are certain things that only he can say, in his way. That was the biggest thing we missed.”
On his relationship with Payton: “There are a lot of times where I can anticipate what is coming. More times this year, than any, I feel like we have been on that same wavelength. I just chuckle at times, when I’m thinking something and then sure enough it comes out of his mouth.”
On calling an audibles and explaining those decisions to Payton: “A lot of those things are built in… or are things we have talked about in advance. If I do go off the reservation a little bit, he might ask for an explanation. Otherwise, I think he trusts me.”
On being from Austin, Texas, and playing against the Cowboys: “I would be lying if I said there was not a little something extra in that regard. I grew up a Cowboys fan and grew up watching the team win those Super Bowls in the early 90’s. Those were great years. Texas being the football state that it is, and playing high school football in Texas, there is always a little something extra when playing the Cowboys.”
On fellow West Lake High School graduate and current Philadelphia Eagles QB, Nick Foles, throwing seven touchdown passes: “That was unbelievable. There are a lot of Texas guys out there. I think there is a source of pride there for all of us.”
On Ted Williams and the game of baseball: “My following of Ted Williams began when I was a kid. Every morning before church, my brother and I would pop in a cassette tape called “The Golden Greats of Baseball.” Something stuck out about Ted Williams. I always tried to model my swing after him. Baseball was really my sport when I was growing up. I’d like to think I was good. I never thought football would take me anywhere. I had always hoped it would be baseball, but I wouldn’t trade this for anything right now.”
SEAN LEE WITH BOB COSTAS
On playing against Drew Brees and the Saints: “It’s going to be an extreme challenge. He’s a fantastic quarterback. They have a ton of weapons. We are really going to have to be in our game if we want to win.”
On who covers Saints TE Jimmy Graham: “It’s going to be a group effort. The guy is unbelievable. He is extremely fast, he runs great routes and is huge. We are all going to have to rally around him. Everybody is going to share the challenge. If we want to win, we are going to have to find a way to stop him.”
On being one of two linebackers in the history of the NFL to have intercepted both Peyton Manning and Tom Brady: “It’s unbelievable to have interceptions against Hall of Fame players like that. My first career interception was off of Peyton Manning… He came to Dallas this year and put up 51 points. I didn’t come close to getting the ball. He’s an unbelievable player, and no matter what, he is going to find a way to get you.”
That concludes the Sunday afternoon portion of the quotage. I’ll post the Football Night in America quotage when it becomes available later this evening.
