CBS begins its 55th year of broadcasting National Football League games by airing mostly American Football Conference games with a few NFC-centric contests sprinkled in.
This weekend marks the final year that CBS will have to deal with the U.S. Open tennis tournament in the late window and only 1 p.m. ET games. Overall, CBS will divide 6 games across the country including New England at Miami (called by Greg Gumbel, Trent Green and Evan Washburn), Oakland at the New York Jets (Jim Nantz, Phil Simms and Tracy Wolfson) and Cleveland at Pittsburgh (Ian Eagle, Dan Fouts and Jenny Dell).
It also marks the return of full-time sideline reporters to the NFL on CBS.
With that in mind, we have the previews from CBS for this weekend with thoughts on the season from analyst Dan Fouts and NFL Today panelists Boomer Esiason, Tony Gonzalez and Bart Scott.
THE NFL ON CBS: WEEK 1 (SUNDAY, SEPT. 7)
AUDIBLES WITH “NFL ON CBS” ANALYST DAN FOUTS AND “THE NFL TODAY’s” BOOMER ESIASON, TONY GONZALEZ AND BART SCOTT
The CBS Television Network begins its 55th year broadcasting the NFL with regional coverage as THE NFL ON CBS kicks off its 2014 NFL season broadcast schedule on Sunday, Sept. 7 (1:00-4:00 PM, ET) beginning with THE NFL TODAY, the Network’s one-hour studio show (12:00 NOON-1:00 PM, ET), and THAT OTHER PREGAME SHOW on CBS Sports Network (9:00 AM-1:00 PM, ET) live from the CBS Broadcast Center in New York City.
THE NFL ON CBS lead announce team of Jim Nantz and Phil Simms call the action, along with sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson, from the Oakland Raiders-N.Y. Jets game live from MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. Lance Barrow is the coordinating producer and lead game producer and Mike Arnold is the lead game director.
Sean McManus is Chairman, CBS Sports, and serves as Executive Producer of CBS Sports’ coverage of THE NFL ON CBS. David Berson is President, CBS Sports. Harold Bryant is Executive Producer and Senior Vice President, Production, CBS Sports.
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EXCERPTS FROM “THE NFL ON CBS” CONFERENCE CALL ON AUGUST 28
(On Johnny Manziel, Blake Bortles and Teddy Bridgewater)
BOOMER ESIASON: I think it’s inevitable that all three of these young players are going to end up playing at some time during the season. They’re first round Draft picks. The guys that are playing in front of them, while they are NFL quarterbacks, they are basically backups who have not proven their worth as a starter or the teams would not have gone out and traded for or drafted players as high as they did at this position. It’s just a matter of time. Like I said on Johnny Manziel weeks ago, he’s not ready. There is no way that he will be ready to start against Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh. I say the same about the other guys as well. This could be like an Eli Manning–Kurt Warner situation. He took over in Week 7 or so… They will probably end up starting sooner than later.
(On pressure on Chicago QB Jay Cutler this year)
DAN FOUTS: The pressure is on Cutler and the Bears because the expectations are there. When you have expectations and mix it in with high dollars then the pressure is even greater. Cutler is very talented and he’s got some talented receivers that any quarterback would love to throw to. He’s just got to get over that hump.
BART SCOTT: They have surrounded him with some tremendous talent. It is one of the most talented rosters in the NFL. We can talk about how dynamic they were on offense last year. A couple of years ago they had problems keeping Cutler upright. They went and solidified that offensive line. So he has no excuses. The pressure is on him. They have to get over that hump and get over that mental block. They have to win that division which is a tough division, with the Lions and Green Bay…He understands the pressure that he is going to have to perform and stay healthy.
(On New England Patriots)
TONY GONZALEZ: They are even better than they were last year, and they were a championship team last year…The AFC Championship game that happened last year could be the same game that will happen this year. But New England is going to be a much better football team this time. Obviously it’s a long way off and things have to go right as far as staying healthy. But right now on paper I think that they are the only team in the AFC that can match the Denver Broncos. They are balanced on both sides of the ball.
(On Denver Broncos)
GONZALEZ: Right now, it’s their defense. In the offense they went and addressed their weaknesses and did what they need to do to get even better. They’re a playoff football team. They’re a Super Bowl caliber football team. They are my favorite to make it back to the big show.
And next, what you’ll see on That Other Pregame Show and The NFL Today.
“THE NFL TODAY” FEATURES BILL COWHER’S VISIT WITH PITTSBURGH STEELERS QUARTERBACK BEN ROETHLISBERGER; AND DISCUSSION ON COMPETITIVE DIVISION AFC NORTH FOR WEEK 1 ON SUNDAY, SEPT. 7
Tony Gonzalez and Bart Scott Make Debut on THE NFL TODAY as Analysts; and New NFL Rules Expert Mike Carey Will be In-Studio
“THAT OTHER PREGAME SHOW” INTRODUCES NEW CAST WITH ADDITION OF LONDON FLETCHER, FRED SMOOT AND ANITA MARKS JOINING ADAM SCHEIN, AMY TRASK AND BRANDON TIERNEY ON CBS SPORTS NETWORK
THE NFL ON CBS, broadcasting its 55th year of the NFL, kicks off its 2014 NFL season on Sunday, Sept. 7 (1:00-4:00 PM, ET) beginning with THE NFL TODAY (12:00 Noon-1:00 PM, ET) and THAT OTHER PREGAME SHOW on CBS Sports Network (9:00 AM-1:00 PM, ET) live from the CBS Broadcast Center in New York City.
James Brown hosts THE NFL TODAY along with analysts Boomer Esiason, Bill Cowher and newcomers Tony Gonzalez and Bart Scott, along with NFL Rules Expert Mike Carey, NFL TODAY Insider Jason La Canfora, and Lesley Visser contributing.
THE NFL TODAY features Cowher sitting down with Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to talk about the upcoming season and what to expect in their early-season divisional rivalry games.
THE NFL TODAY also introduces new members of the team: Gonzalez, Scott and Carey; and features in-depth discussions on one of the most competitive divisions in the NFL, the AFC North; this season’s rookie quarterback class; the much improved New England Patriots with the addition of Darrelle Revis. And, the guys maker their Super Bowl predictions.
Drew Kaliski is producer and Bob Matina is director of THE NFL TODAY.
Returning for its second season, THAT OTHER PREGAME SHOW (TOPS) breaks from the familiar pregame show format presenting a unique fan-focused take on all the week’s NFL and college action, headlines and hot-button issues. Former 16-year NFL veteran and All-Pro linebacker London Fletcher and nine-year NFL veteran Fred Smoot join TOPS this season, along with former Women’s Professional Football quarterback Anita Marks, and returning panelists Adam Schein, Amy Trask and Brandon Tierney.
Deb Gelman and Andrew Finger produce and Jay Kincaid directs THAT OTHER PREGAME SHOW.
Sean McManus is Chairman, CBS Sports and serves as the Executive Producer for THE NFL ON CBS. David Berson is President, CBS Sports. Harold Bryant is Executive Producer and Senior Vice President, Production, CBS Sports.
The NFL on Fox preview is next.
