Tonight on NBC, Football Night in America will attempt to get us to watch the Pittsburgh-Indianapolis game as this has the potential for the Steelers to take out the Colts in a big way. Of course, anything can happen and the Colts could pull off the upset, but without Peyton Manning, NBC will be hardpressed to get people to watch. But we’ll see.
We have excerpts of two interviews conducted by Bob Costas that will be seen when the show airs starting at 7 p.m. ET.
“FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA” PREVIEW – WEEK 3
BOB COSTAS INTERVIEWS STEELERS HEAD COACH MIKE TOMLIN AND COLTS CENTER JEFF SATURDAY
“There are definitely differences” – Saturday to Costas on playing without Peyton Manning
“They are a quality team and they have some other guys with some quality resumes.” – Tomlin to Costas on the ColtsNEW YORK – September 25, 2011 – Bob Costas interviewed Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin and Indianapolis Colts center Jeff Saturday for tonight’s Week 3 edition of Football Night in America, which will also include highlights, analysis and reaction to Week 3’s afternoon games.
Football Night airs each Sunday at 7 p.m. ET with Costas hosting the program live from inside the stadium. In addition to his interviews, Costas is joined on site by Sunday Night Football commentators Al Michaels (play-by-play) and Cris Collinsworth (analyst) for reaction to the afternoon games.
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 Soldier Field in Chicago, Ill., on the Packers-Bears game.
Football Night is averaging 10.7 million viewers and a household rating of 6.6/11 (7:30-8:15 p.m. ET) through the first two weeks, up 12 percent and 14 percent, respectively, from last year’s first two weeks.
INTERVIEW: Below are excerpts from Costas’ interview with Tomlin and Saturday.
MIKE TOMLIN
Costas on the Steelers opening day loss to the Ravens: “What effect did it have on your team?”
Tomlin: “That remains to be seen. I believe that we have a team that is capable of responding to adversity. We’ve created some adversity with how we performed in Week 1. I think they’ll continue to write that story, not only in terms of what we were able to do coming off that game, but just moving forward. Good teams don’t have performances like that.”Costas: “You win Super Bowl XLIII, you lose Super Bowl XLV. The cliché goes something like this, ‘Losing hurts more than winning feels good.’ True for you?”
Tomlin: “I would agree with that (laughs). Particularly for those of us who expect to win, the loss is more devastating. I consider myself in that group.”Costas on the difference of preparing to face the Colts without Peyton Manning:
Tomlin: “First it’s strange, of course. Peyton Manning and the Colts are synonymous, they’re one in the same. If you see one you expect to see the other. We recognize that they are a quality team and they have some other guys with some quality resumes. That’s what we’ve been focusing on.”JEFF SATURDAY
Costas asks how defenses sense a difference without Peyton Manning on the Colts:
Saturday: “When you have Peyton on the field, there was a lot more disguise. It’s just because teams understand it’s not about trying to fool anybody. It’s about execution at this point. They’re believing that we have to execute to our fullest to make something happen. So there are definitely differences.”Costas asks Saturday about his role in ending the lockout. Jerry Jones told Costas this week, ‘Without Jeff Saturday, no deal.’
Saturday: “I am very appreciative of all those guys. They’ve been really kind in the words they’ve used. I took that very serious. I took our negotiations very serious. It was important to me. It was important to the other men that we represented, and I felt like Jerry Jones, Jerry Richardson, Robert Kraft, all those men showed up prepared to make concessions. Everybody was forthright with what they wanted and felt like they had to have, and anytime you have negotiations like that you can get it done.”Costas: Do you worry that for all the glory of the game, at the highest levels it’s so fundamentally violent?
Saturday: “There is part of this game where fast hits happen and fast players who are big, strong, physical people knock each other out. It’s part of our game. But I know going out there, that’s the risk I am willing to take and it’s okay with me.”
One more press release follow this.
