Football Night in America
Mar
21
NBC Sports Group Crows About Its 58 Sports Emmy Nominations
NBC received a total of 58 nominations for the 34th annual Sports Emmy Awards. The NBC Sports Group consisting of NBC, NBC Sports Network, Golf Channel, Bravo, CNBC, MSNBC and NBCOlympics.com received the most nominations of any sports media group over ESPN, Fox Sports Media Group, CBS and Turner Sports. Of course, NBC is coming off an Olympics so that will increase its nominations.
Among the major nods include Bob Costas and Dan Patrick for Studio Host, Al Michaels for Play-by-Play, Cris Collinsworth as Event Analyst, Tony Dungy for Studio Analyst, multiple nominees for Sports Reporter including last year’s winner Michele Tafoya and last year’s nominee Pierre McGuire (why?), Sunday Night Football for Live Sports Series, Super Bowl XLVI in the Live Sports Special category and there were plenty for the London Olympics.
Let’s take a look at what NBC Sports Group is saying.
NBC SPORTS GROUP GARNERS 58 SPORTS EMMY AWARD NOMINATIONS, MOST OF ANY SPORTS MEDIA COMPANY
Total Nominations for NBC Sports Group up from 33 Last Year
NBC Leads All Networks (Broadcast or Cable) with 36 Nominations
London Olympics Receives 19 Nominations
NBC Sports Group’s NFL Coverage Receives 16 Nominations
Super Bowl XLVI Receives Nomination for Outstanding Live Sports Special
Sunday Night Football & Football Night in America Nominated for Outstanding Live Sports Series & Outstanding Studio Show – Weekly
On-Air Personalities Costas, Michaels, Emrick, Collinsworth, Dungy, Patrick, Mayock, Tafoya, McGuire, Boldon & Joyce Nominated
NBC Sports Network Garners 9 Nominations; NBCOlympics.com Receives 3; Golf Channel Earns 2NEW YORK – March 20, 2013 – NBC Sports Group received 58 total Sports Emmy Award nominations for 2012, the most nominations for any sports media company or network. NBC led all networks, broadcast or cable, with 36 nominations. The announcement was made today by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The winners will be announced by the Academy on Tuesday, May 7.
Highlights of NBC Sports Group’s nominations include:
- The London Olympics received 19 nominations, including Outstanding Live Event Turnaround;
- NBC’s NFL coverage received 16 nominations;
- Super Bowl XLVI on NBC was nominated for Outstanding Live Sports Special;
- Once again, Sunday Night Football on NBC was nominated for Outstanding Live Sports Series, which it has won each of the last four years;
- Football Night in America was nominated for the third consecutive year for Outstanding Studio Show – Weekly;
- NBC’s NFL Wild Card Saturday received its second nomination for Outstanding Playoff Coverage;
- NBC Sports Network received nine nominations, the most in its history, and Golf Channel earned two.
- NBC Sports Group’s digital assets NBCOlympics.com and NBCSports.com received a combined four nominations.
- 11 nominations in individual talent categories:
- Bob Costas (Studio Host)
- Dan Patrick (Studio Host)
- Al Michaels (Play-by-Play)
- Cris Collinsworth (Event Analyst)
- Michele Tafoya (Reporter)
- Tony Dungy (Studio Analyst)
- Mike Mayock (Event Analyst)
- Mike Emrick (Play-by-Play)
- Pierre McGuire (Reporter)
- Ato Boldon (Event Analyst)
- Andrea Joyce (Reporter)
All of the national platforms of NBC Sports Group — NBC Sports, NBC Sports Network, Golf Channel, NBCOlympics.com and NBCSports.com — received nominations. Most notably, NBC Sports Group received 19 nominations related to coverage of the London Olympics and 16 nominations for its NFL coverage. Golf Channel earned two nominations, NBCOlympics.com received three nominations and NBCSports.com was honored with one. MSNBC, CNBC, Bravo and Telemundo each received nominations for their London Olympics coverage.
The complete list of NBC Sports Group nominations are as follows:
- Outstanding Live Sports Special: Super Bowl XLVI (NBC)
- Outstanding Live Sports Series: Sunday Night Football (NBC)
- Outstanding Live Event Turnaround: London Olympics (NBC)
- Outstanding Live Event Turnaround: USA Pro Challenge (NBC)
- Outstanding Playoff Coverage: NFL Wild Card Saturday (NBC)
- Outstanding Edited Sports Special: Still Standing: The Earl Campbell Story (NBC Sports Network)
- Outstanding Studio Show – Weekly: Football Night in America(NBC)
- Outstanding Long Feature: London Olympics – Olga Korbut (NBC)
- Outstanding Open/Tease: Sunday Night Football (NBC)
- Outstanding Open/Tease: London Olympics – Measure & Motion (NBC)
- Outstanding Open/Tease: Red Bull Signature Series – Show Open (NBC)
- Outstanding New Approaches, Sports Event Coverage: Super Bowl XLVI Extra (NBCSports.com)
- Outstanding New Approaches, Sports Event Coverage: London Olympics – Live From London (NBCOlympics.com)
- Outstanding New Approaches, Sports Programming: London Olympics – Countdown to London (NBCOlympics.com)
- Outstanding Sports Personality, Studio Host: Bob Costas (NBC/NBC Sports Network)
- Outstanding Sports Personality, Studio Host: Dan Patrick (NBC/NBC Sports Network/DirecTV)
- Outstanding Sports Personality, Play-by-Play: Al Michaels (NBC)
- Outstanding Sports Personality, Play-by-Play: Mike Emrick (NBC/NBC Sports Network)
- Outstanding Sports Personality, Studio Analyst: Tony Dungy (NBC)
- Outstanding Sports Personality, Sports Event Analyst: Cris Collinsworth (NBC)
- Outstanding Sports Personality, Sports Event Analyst: Mike Mayock (NBC/NFL Network)
- Outstanding Sports Personality, Sports Event Analyst: Ato Boldon (NBC)
- Outstanding Sports Personality, Sports Reporter: Michele Tafoya (NBC)
- Outstanding Sports Personality, Sports Reporter: Pierre McGuire (NBC/NBC Sports Network)
- Outstanding Sports Personality, Sports Reporter: Andrea Joyce (NBC/NBC Sports Network)
- Outstanding Technical Team Remote: America’s Cup World Series (NBC)
- Outstanding Technical Team Remote: London Olympics (NBC)
- Outstanding Technical Team Studio: London Olympics (NBC/NBC Sports Network/MSNBC/Telemundo/Bravo)
- Outstanding Camera Work: London Olympics – Measure & Motion (NBC)
- Outstanding Camera Work: 2012 Ironman World Championship (NBC)
- Outstanding Editing: London Olympics – Profiles of the London Games (NBC)
- Dick Schaap Writing Award: London Olympics – Measure & Motion (NBC)
- Outstanding Post Produced Audio/Sound: London Olympics – Measure & Motion (NBC)
- Outstanding Graphic Design: Sunday Night Football (NBC)
- Outstanding Graphic Design: London Olympics (NBC/NBC Sports Network)
- Outstanding Production Design / Art Direction: Sunday Night Football – Open (NBC)
- George Wensel Technical Achievement Award: London Olympics – The Multi-Screen Olympics (NBC/NBC Sports Network/ NBCOlympics.com/ MSNBC/ CNBC/ Telemundo/Bravo)
- George Wensel Technical Achievement Award: London Olympics/NBC Golf Tour – 360 Cam (NBC)
- Outstanding Sports Promotional Announcement – Episodic:
- London Olympics – Britain Just Got Great (NBC)
- Triple Crown Trailer (NBC)
- Feherty Live from Ryder Cup(Golf Channel)
That will do it. More Emmy nomination press releases next.
Mar
20
34th Annual Sports Emmy Awards Nominations Announced
Just received this from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, the full press release of the nominations for the 34th Annual Sports Emmy Awards.
NBC Sports Group received the most nominations with 58 followed by ESPN with 43 and Turner in third with 27.
Bob Costas was nominated yet again for Outstanding Studio Host along with Dan Patrick, James Brown, Ernie Johnson and Rich Eisen.
There were only four nominees for Outstanding Play-by-play, Mike Breen, Mike Emrick, Al Michaels and Jim Nantz.
Cris Collinsworth received another nomination for Outstanding Event Analyst. He’s joined by Ato Boldon of NBC Olympics, Jon Gruden, Jim Kaat and Mike Mayock.
Studio Analyst was full with Charles Barkley of TNT, Tony Dungy of NBC’s Football Night in America, CBS’ Boomer Esiason, MLB Network’s Harold Reynolds, Bill Ripken also from MLB Network and Kurt Warner of NFL Network.
Let us take a look at the full list. We need a jump break in here as well. Let’s go. Lots of things to read through. Get ready to scroll.
THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF TELEVISION ARTS & SCIENCES ANNOUNCES THE NOMINEES FOR THE 34th ANNUAL SPORTS EMMY® AWARDS
Winners to be Honored During the May 7th Ceremony At Frederick P. Rose Hall, Home of Jazz at Lincoln Center
New York, NY – March 20, 2013 – The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) today announced the nominees for the 34th Annual Sports Emmy® Awards.
More than 170 nominees were announced in 34 categories including Outstanding Live Sports Special, Live Series, Sports Documentary, Studio Show, Promotional Announcements, Play-by-Play Personality and Studio Analyst. The Awards will be given out at the prestigious Frederick P. Rose Hall, Home of Jazz at Lincoln Center located in the Time Warner Center on Tuesday, May 7th, 2013 in New York City.
“What a world we live in,” said Malachy Wienges, Chair, NATAS. “The Olympics, NASCAR, the Super Bowl, the Final Four, the World Series, The Stanley Cup, The NBA, the US Open, the Masters…it just goes on and on! This is another outstanding year for the sports community and for The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. The entries received in this year’s Sports Emmy Awards illustrate the high-water mark of quality each of us gets to enjoy every time we turn on our favorite program. With so much talent vying for the prestigious Emmy Award and with many of the today’s leading sports broadcasters, personalities, and television professionals in attendance, it promises to be an exciting evening.”
The networks of NBC Sports Group (NBC, NBC Sports Network, Golf Channel nbcolympics.com, Bravo, CNBC, MSNBC, nbcsports.com, & Telemundo) lead the nomination totals with 58, ESPN (ESPN, ESPN2, grantland.com, ABC, ESPN3D, ESPNU & ESPNews), garnered 43, and Turner Sports (TNT, TBS, NBA TV, NCAA.com & truTV) garnered 27. A complete list of all Networks and individual show nominations follows below.
A complete list of all nominees is attached and also available at www.emmyonline.tv/sports
34th Annual Sports Emmy Award Nominations by Network Group
Network or Network Group NominationsNBC Sports Group (NBC, NBC Sports Network, Golf Channel, nbcolympics.com, Bravo, CNBC, MSNBC, nbcsports.com, Telemundo) — 58
ESPN (ESPN, ESPN 2, grantland.com, ABC, ESPN 3D, ESPNU, ESPNews) — 43
Turner Sports (TNT, TBS, NBA TV, truTV, NCAA.com) — 27
FOX Sports Media Group (FOX, SPEED, FOX Soccer Channel) — 17
HBO Sports — 17
NFL Network (NFL Network, NFL Media, NFL.com) — 16
CBS (CBS, Showtime, CBS Sports Network) — 15
MLB Network — 9
DIRECTV — 1
YouTube — 134th Annual Sports Emmy Award Nominations by Network
NETWORK — NOMINATIONS
NBC — 36
ESPN — 23
HBO Sports — 17
FOX — 13
NFL Network — 13
TNT — 13
CBS — 10
ESPN2 — 10
MLB Network — 9
NBC Sports Network — 9
TBS — 5
NBA TV — 4
Showtime — 4
truTV — 4
grantland.com — 3
NBCOlympics.com — 3
Speed — 3
ABC — 2
Bravo — 2
ESPN3D — 2
ESPNU — 2
Golf Channel — 2
MSNBC — 2
NFL Media — 2
Telemundo — 2
CBS Sports Network — 1
CNBC — 1
DIRECTV — 1
ESPNews — 1
FOX Soccer Channel — 1
nbcsports.com — 1
NCAA.com — 1
NFL.com — 1
YouTube — 1BREAKDOWN OF MULTIPLE PROGRAM — SERIES NOMINATIONS
Program/Network/Nominations
Games of the XXX Olympiad (NBC/Bravo/CNBC/MSNBC/NBC SportsNetwork/NBCOlympics.com/Telemundo) — 14
NBA on TNT (TNT) — 6
Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel (TNT) — 6
E:60 (ESPN2) — 5
24/7 (HBO) — 4
Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Miami Dolphins (HBO) — 4
MLB on FOX (FOX) — 4
Outside the Lines (ESPN) — 4
Sunday Night Football (NBC) — 4
NASCAR on FOX (FOX) — 3
NFL Films Presents (NFL Network) — 3
30 for 30 (ESPN) — 2
A Football Life (NFL Network) — 2
College Gameday (ESPN) — 2
The Dream Team (NBA TV) — 2
Inside the NBA (NBA TV) — 2
Inside the NFL (Showtime) –2
MLB Network Division Series (MLB Network) — 2
MLB Tonight (MLB Network) — 2
Namath (HBO) — 2
NCAA March Madness (TBS) — 2
NFL on FOX (FOX) — 2
SportsCenter (ESPN) — 2
Sport Science (ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNews) — 2
UEFA Euro 2012 (ESPN) — 2
The nominations are coming after a jump break.
(continue reading…)
Jan
04
NBC Covers Wild Card Saturday, 2013 Edition
For the sixth straight season, NBC will carry the Wild Card Playoff doubleheader on Saturday. And it mark the next-to-last time NBC will do so. After next season, it’s expected that ESPN will carry one Wild Card Playoff game to add to its almost-$2 billion contract for airing Monday Night Football. NBC has contracted (thus far), to carry one Wild Card and one Divisional Playoff game starting with the 2014 season.
On Saturday, NBC will air Cincinnati at Houston at 4:30 p.m. ET for the second year in a row. And while Mike Mayock and Alex Flanagan will be there again for NBC, Dan Hicks will call the game in place of Tom Hammond. You may remember that for the Pro Bowl last year, Hicks called the game. I’ve contacted NBC for a reason as to why Hicks is calling the game, but have not received a response. If you speculate that NBC may be phasing Hammond off football, you might be correct. But I digress.
The nightcap of Minnesota at Green Bay will hit the air at 8 p.m. with the Sunday Night Football crew of Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth and Michele Tafoya.
NBC starts it all with a half-hour edition of Football Night in America. Here’s the NBC preview.
NFL WILD CARD SATURDAY DOUBLEHEADER ON NBC FEATURES VIKINGS-PACKERS AND BENGALS-TEXANS
Coverage Begins with Football Night in America at 4 p.m. ET
Bengals-Texans at 4:30 p.m. ET
Vikings-Packers at 8 p.m. ET
NBC Sports Live Extra to Live Stream Vikings-Packers and Bengals-Texans on NBCSports.comNEW YORK – January 2, 2012 –NBC Sports kicks off its NFL postseason coverage with a Wild Card doubleheader on Saturday featuring the Cincinnati Bengals (10-6) at Houston Texans (12-4) at 4:30 p.m. ET and the Minnesota Vikings (10-6) at Green Bay Packers (11-5) at 8 p.m. ET. NBC’s Wild Card coverage begins at 4 p.m. ET with a special 30-minute edition of Football Night in America.
Football Night In America is hosted by 24-time Emmy Award-winner Bob Costas, who will report from Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis. Costas will be joined on site by Hines Ward, the former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver and Super Bowl MVP.
Dan Patrick co-hosts Football Night from NBC’s Studio 8G at 30 Rockefeller Plaza. Patrick will be 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 Pro Football Talk on NBC Sports Network and NBCSports.com.
In the early game, Matt Schaub and the Texans host Andy Dalton and the Bengals in rematch of last year’s AFC Wild Card game at Reliant Stadium, which the Texans won 31-10. Veteran play-by-play announcer Dan Hicks will be in the booth, joined by analyst Mike Mayock and reporter Alex Flanagan.
After a thrilling victory at home last week, in which the Vikings beat the Packers 37-34 and claimed the last Wild Card spot in the NFC, Minnesota will travel to Green Bay, Wis. for a rematch at Lambeau Field. Coverage of Vikings–Packers will begin at 8 p.m. ET on NBC. Handling play-by-play for Vikings-Packers is six-time Emmy Award-winner Al Michaels, who will be joined by 13-time Emmy Award-winner Cris Collinsworth, and sideline reporter Michele Tafoya.
That’s going to be it.
Jan
04
NFL Viewing Picks For Wild Card Weekend, 01/05 & 01/06/2013
All Times Eastern
Saturday, January 5
Pregame & Studio Shows
NFL Matchup — ESPN2, 8:30 a.m.
First on the Field — NFL Network, 10 a.m.
Sunday NFL Countdown — ESPN, 11 a.m.
NFL GameDay Morning — NFL Network, noon
Football Night in America — NBC, 4 p.m.
NFL GameDay Scoreboard — NFL Network, 7:30 p.m.
NFL PrimeTime — ESPN, midnight
NFL GameDay Overtime — NFL Network, midnight
NFL GameDay Final — NFL Network, 12:30 a.m. (Sunday)
4:30 p.m.
NBC
Cincinnati Bengals at Houston Texans — Dan Hicks/Mike Mayock/Alex Flanagan
8 p.m.
NBC
Minnesota Vikings at Green Bay Packers — Al Michaels/Cris Collinsworth/Michele Tafoya
Sunday, January 6
Pregame & Studio Shows
First on the Field — NFL Network, 7 a.m.
NFL Matchup — ESPN2, 8:30 a.m.
NFL GameDay Morning — NFL Network, 9 a.m.
Sunday NFL Countdown — ESPN, 10 a.m.
The NFL Today — CBS, noon
Fox NFL Sunday — Fox, 4 p.m.
NFL GameDay Scoreboard — NFL Network, 4 p.m.
NFL GameDay Overtime — NFL Network, 7:30 p.m.
NFL PrimeTime — ESPN, 8 p.m.
NFL GameDay Final — NFL Network, 8 p.m.
1 p.m.
CBS
Indianapolis Colts at Baltimore Ravens — Jim Nantz/Phil Simms
4:30 p.m.
FOX
Seattle Seahawks at Washington — Joe Buck/Troy Aikman/Pam Oliver/Erin Andrews
Dec
30
NBC’s Football Night in America Quotage For Week 17 of the 2012 NFL Season
We now conclude our Sunday NFL pregame quotage with Football Night in America. We’re done for the night.
“FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA” NOTES & QUOTES – WEEK 17
“Adrian Peterson is the sole reason why this team made the playoffs.” – Rodney Harrison
“He wanted Indianapolis and he’s got them now.” – Tony Dungy on John Harbaugh
“You lose to a team that has lost five straight. There has to be a sense of doubt with the Atlanta Falcons.” – Rodney Harrison
“Andrew Luck is the difference between a two-win Colts team last year and an 11-win team this year.” – Tony DungyNEW YORK – December 30, 2012 – Following are highlights for Football Night in America. Bob Costas opened the show live from inside Fed-Ex Field in Landover, Md., where the Washington Redskins are hosting the Dallas Cowboys. Costas was joined on-site by Sunday Night Football commentators Al Michaels (play-by-play) and Cris Collinsworth (analyst), and Hines Ward, the former Steelers wide receiver and Super Bowl MVP.
Dan Patrick co-hosted the program from Studio 8G at NBC’s 30 Rockefeller Plaza studios and was joined by Football Night in America analysts Tony Dungy and Rodney Harrison, and NFL insiders Peter King of Sports Illustrated and Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com. Carolyn Manno reported on Eagles – Giants, from MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. Alex Flanagan reported on Packers – Vikings, from Mall of America Field in Minneapolis, Minn.
Following are highlights from Football Night in America:
PETER KING AND MIKE FLORIO ON POSSIBLE COACHING CHANGES
King on Rex Ryan: I believe Rex Ryan will save his job and will be back for a fifth year with the New York Jets. He won’t have his two coordinators back. They will both be gone.”
King on Eagles: “On a very short list to replace Andy Reid, Oregon coach Chip Kelly.”
Florio on Andy Reid and Norv Turner: “I’m told Andy Reid would love to coach the Chargers. It is not known whether or not the Chargers would love Andy Reid to coach them. Money could be the issue there. Either way, Norv Turner is out in San Diego.”
Florio on Browns: “In Cleveland, yet another new coach. Pat Shurmur out with the Browns.”
King on Ron Rivera: “I think he saved his job by winning the last four games of this year in Carolina.”
King on Jaguars: “Gene Smith, the GM in Jacksonville, will be fired. His replacement will determine the fate of head coach Mike Mularkey. The leader to replace Smith is Tom Gamble of the San Francisco 49ers.”
King on Chiefs: “Black Monday is going to be off to an early start. I expect Romeo Crennel of the Kansas City Chiefs to be fired by owner Clark Hunt.”
King on Bills: “In Buffalo, Chan Gailey is going to be gone on Monday.”
Florio on Jason Garret: “Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has said head coach Jason Garrett is safe. An ugly showing tonight, failing to miss the playoffs, who knows what happens. Keep an eye on John Gruden if Jones decides to move on from Jason Garrett.”
Video link: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/22825103/vp/50327091#50327091
ON FALCONS
Harrison on Falcons: “You lose at home. And not only do you lose, but you lose to a team that has lost five straight. There has to be a sense of doubt with the Atlanta Falcons.”
ON TEXANS
Harrison: “This was a devastating loss against the Colts today. Houston was the No. 1 seed and they dropped to the No. 3 seed. Quite frankly, I think they bowed down to the pressure.”
ON RAVENS
Dungy: “I’m a little surprised that John Harbaugh is saying that they were not playing for more. They had a chance to get to the No. 3 seed. He was very comfortable at No. 4 and that tells me that they want to play in Indianapolis. I would have played my guys to go ahead and get a chance to get to the No. 3 spot.”
Harrison: “I believe it was the right move. What is the difference between Cincinnati and Indianapolis? It’s not like the difference between Cincinnati and the Patriots.”
Dungy on Harbaugh: “He wanted Indianapolis and he’s got them now.”ON PATRIOTS
Harrison: “They have struggled the last couple weeks, but they are starting to gel. I think they need that going in to the playoffs. Denver has a better defense, but the front seven of New England is better. The Patriots have a better offense.”
ON BRONCOS
Dungy on Peyton Manning: “The MVP for today and the season is Peyton Manning — 11 wins in a row, he has made them a believer. Taking them from an eight-win team to 11 straight wins, Peyton Manning is the most valuable performer of the year.”
ON COLTS
Dungy on Andrew Luck: “Andrew Luck is the difference between a two-win Colts team from last year and an 11-win team this year.”
ON COWBOYS
Ward on Romo: “He reminds me a lot of Ben Roethlisberger. Both quarterbacks are very good, but they are even better when they get outside the pocket. The one difference is that Ben wins the big games. For Romo, tonight could be a big game. He needs to step up.”
Ward on Dez Bryant: “I’m very surprised that Dez Bryant did not get selected to the Pro Bowl.”
ON PACKERS
Dungy: “I don’t know if the Packers want to see Adrian Peterson again.”
Harrison: “I don’t know if Minnesota wants to go back and play Green Bay at home.”ON VIKINGS
Harrison: “Adrian Peterson is the sole reason why this team made the playoffs. He runs hard and he runs tough.”
Harrison: “Adrian Peterson should be the MVP of this league.”
ON 49ERS
Harrison on LaMichael James: “If I’m coach Harbaugh, there are two guys I have to get more involved in this offense. LaMichael James and Randy Moss. He (James) is fantastic.”
ON REDSKINS
Michaels on Robert Griffin III: “You don’t want to go overboard on somebody, but this guy is the real deal on every level. I think 10-years from now, we will be sitting here talking about Robert Griffin III in very glowing terms.”
INTERVIEWS
Below are excerpts from Costas’ interviews with Cowboys TE Jason Witten and Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan.
JASON WITTEN WITH BOB COSTAS
On being in a win-or-go-home situation for the second consecutive year: “It’s tough to get to the situation we are in and play for the division title. It’s been an up and down year. There is no question about that. But to get this opportunity, hopefully our past experiences will allow us to make that jump and get a win.”
On Tony Romo taking blame when things go wrong: “I think it is something he handles really well and does a great job not allowing it to effect his game and his ability to lead our team.”
On Romo’s ability to improvise: “His ability to improvise is like none other. I know that those plays are always alive. It’s great to have a guy like that who you have such great chemistry with on and off the field.”
On being in a familiar win-or-go-home situation: “Our mind-set is one that we are going to find a way to win this game. Our team has embraced that opportunity, and this is why we have played football since we were little kids.”
On the outcome of the game having an impact on the playoffs: “The energy and emotion is going to be through the roof. You are so fortunate to be in that situation and I want our team to enjoy that. It puts chills down your arms just thinking about it. So much work has gone in to getting to this point.”
Video Link: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/22825103/vp/50325856#50325856
MIKE SHANAHAN WITH BOB COSTAS
On the Redskins game against the Panthers on November 4: “We lost four games in the fourth quarter, when we were ahead or tied. We could have easily been 6-3. I was a little disappointed in how we finished up that game. You find out more about your football team in the second half of the season. I told our players, ‘If we win the rest of our games, we have a chance to win the NFC East. The only thing that has to happen is the Giants have to lose a game.’”
On his relationship with Dan Snyder and the long-term plan to build the team: “When I came here, I looked at our football team and said to Dan, ‘If you plan to fire me before five years, then you are picking the wrong guy. This football team needs to be rebuilt. If you want me to do it the right way, I’ll do it the right way. If you want me to do it the quick way, then that’s not me. So if you are going to hire me, give me five years and I’ll do it right.’”
On the durability and longevity of Robert Griffin III: “I think it is the opposite of what most people think. Robert can run our offense and he will be very successful. When he first started with the option, he wanted to run guys over. He has got to learn how to slide. He can’t take the punishment that he did early in the season, but he has gotten much better at that.”
On RG III’s composure going in to the game against the Cowboys: “Based on my experience with him, it will just be another night. He’s a guy that doesn’t blink. He’s handled himself that way in every game he has played this year. I don’t see why this game will be any different.”
And the night is complete.
Dec
30
NBC Previews Sunday Night Football For Week 17 of the 2012 NFL Season
Now to our last NFL preview, NBC’s look at Sunday Night Football which will involve the NFC East blood rivalry between Dallas and Washington. This will be the battle for the NFC East. This is not necessarily “loser go home” as the DC NFL Team can still make the playoffs with a loss depending on earlier action. The Dallas Cowboys will go home if they lose.
Al Michaels will call the game and be joined in the booth by Cris Collinsworth and on the sidelines by Michele Tafoya.
Bob Costas will be at the Stadium Formerly Known as Jack Kent Cooke in Landover, MD with analyst Hines Ward. And Dan Patrick will be in the NBC Sports’ New York studios for Football Night in America with Tony Dungy and Rodney Harrison.
Here’s NBC’s press release.
WASHINGTON HOSTS DALLAS TO DETERMINE NFC EAST CHAMPION IN FINAL “SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL” GAME OF 2012 SEASON
Coverage Begins with Football Night in America at 7 p.m. ET
Sunday Night Football Extra to Live Stream Dallas-Washington on NBCSports.comNEW YORK – December 26, 2012 – Dallas travels to FedExField in Landover, Md., to take on Washington on Sunday Night Football in a game that will determine the NFC East champion. Coverage begins with Football Night in America at 7 p.m. ET on NBC.
The victor of the Dallas-Washington matchup will win the division title and move into the playoffs. Dallas can only advance to the postseason as the NFC East champion. Washington can advance as either a division winner or as a Wild Card team, if both the Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings lose in their respective Sunday afternoon games.
Calling the game is six-time Emmy Award-winner Al Michaels (play-by-play), in his 27th season as the voice of the NFL’s premier primetime package; 13-time Emmy Award-winner Cris Collinsworth, who has won the Emmy for Outstanding Event Analyst in each of his three seasons in the Sunday Night Football booth; and sideline reporter Michele Tafoya, who, last year in her first season with SNF, won the inaugural Emmy Award for Outstanding Sports Reporter.
Football Night in America is hosted by 24-time Emmy Award-winner Bob Costas, who will report from FedExField in Landover, Md. Costas will be joined on site by Michaels, Collinsworth and Hines Ward, the former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver and Super Bowl MVP.
Dan Patrick co-hosts Football Night from NBC’s Studio 8G at 30 Rockefeller Plaza. Patrick 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 Pro Football Talk on NBC Sports Network and NBCSports.com. Carolyn Manno will report on Eagles-Giants, from MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., and Alex Flanagan will report on Packers-Vikings, from Mall of America Field at the H.H.H. Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minn.
PREVIEW VIDEO:
Florio, Dungy and Harrison on Cowboys-Redskins:
http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/22825103/vp/21428022#50287507
And we’ll complete the NFL posts with the Week 17 Viewing Guide.
Dec
28
NFL Viewing Picks For Week 17, 12/30/2012
All Times Eastern
Pregame & Studio Shows
First on the Field — NFL Network, 7 a.m.
NFL Matchup — ESPN2, 8:30 a.m.
NFL GameDay Morning — NFL Network, 9 a.m.
Sunday NFL Countdown — ESPN, 10 a.m.
Fantasy Football Today — CBS Sports Network, 11 a.m.
Fantasy Football Now — ESPN2, 11 a.m.
The NFL Today — CBS, noon
Fox NFL Sunday — Fox, noon
NFL Red Zone Channel — DirecTV Channel 703, 12:55 p.m.
NFL RedZone — Check your local listings, 1 p.m.
NFL GameDay Scoreboard — NFL Network, 4 p.m.
Football Night in America — NBC, 7 p.m.
The OT — Fox, 7:30 p.m.
NFL GameDay Highlights — NFL Network, 7:30 p.m.
NFL GameDay Overtime — NFL Network, 11:30 p.m.
NFL GameDay Final — NFL Network, midnight
1 p.m.
CBS
Baltimore at Cincinnati — Kevin Harlan/Solomon Wilcots
Cleveland at Pittsburgh — Spero Dedes/Steve Beuerlein
Houston at Indianapolis — Greg Gumbel/Dan Dierdorf
Jacksonville at Tennessee — Don Criqui/Randy Cross
New York Jets at Buffalo — Marv Albert/Rich Gannon
FOX
Carolina at New Orleans — Ron Pitts/Mike Martz/Krista Voda
Chicago at Detroit — Kenny Albert/Daryl Johnston/Tony Siragusa
Philadelphia at New York Giants — Thom Brennaman/Brian Billick/Laura Okmin
Tampa Bay at Atlanta — Dick Stockton/John Lynch/Jennifer Hale
4:25 p.m.
CBS
Kansas City at Denver — Ian Eagle/Dan Fouts
Miami at New England — Jim Nantz/Phil Simms
Oakland at San Diego — Bill Macatee/Steve Tasker
FOX
Arizona at San Francisco — Gus Johnson/Charles Davis/Kristina Pink
Green Bay at Minnesota — Joe Buck/Troy Aikman/Pam Oliver
St. Louis at Seattle — Chris Myers/Tim Ryan/Jaime Maggio!!!
8:30 p.m.
NBC
Dallas at Washington — Al Michaels/Cris Collinsworth/Michele Tafoya
DirecTV NFL Sunday Ticket Channel Assignments
SiriusXM Satellite Radio Channel Assignments
Dec
25
Nominees for 6th Annual Fang’s Bites NFL TV Awards
Merry Christmas! Happy to provide you with the nominees for this year’s NFL TV Awards. Last year’s nominees ended up this way.
And later, this was the result for the 2011 season.
Let’s take a look at the nominees in each category.
Best Play-by-Play: Ian Eagle (CBS), Kevin Harlan (CBS), Al Michaels (NBC), Brad Nessler (NFL Network), Mike Tirico (ESPN)
Best Game Analyst: Troy Aikman (Fox), Cris Collinsworth (NBC), Dan Fouts (CBS), Rich Gannon (CBS), Mike Mayock (NFL Network)
Best Sunday NFL Pregame Show: First on the Field (NFL Network), Fox NFL Sunday (Fox), NFL Matchup (ESPN), NFL Today (CBS)
Best Studio Show, Daily or Weekly: Around the League Live (NFL Network), Inside the NFL (Showtime), NFL Live (ESPN), NFL PrimeTime (ESPN), NFL Turning Point (NBC Sports Network)
Best Highlights: Football Night in America (NBC), NFL GameDay Final (NFL Network), NFL PrimeTime (ESPN), The OT (Fox)
Best Studio Host: Rich Eisen (NFL Network), Curt Menefee (Fox), Dan Patrick (NBC/NBC Sports Network), Melissa Stark (NFL Network), Andrew Siciliano (DirecTV), Trey Wingo (ESPN)
Best Studio Analyst: Tony Dungy (NBC), Boomer Esiason (CBS), Marshall Faulk (NFL Network), Rodney Harrison (NBC), Kurt Warner (NFL Network), Steve Young (ESPN)
Most Valuable Network: Fox, ESPN, NBC, NFL Network
Best NFL Insider: John Clayton (ESPN), Jay Glazer (Fox), Peter King (NBC), Jason La Canfora (CBS), Chris Mortensen (ESPN)
Best Sideline Reporter: Alex Flanagan (NFL Network), Jennifer Hale (Fox), Jaime Maggio (Fox), Lisa Salters (ESPN), Michele Tafoya (NBC)
Best Announcing Team: Ian Eagle/Dan Fouts (CBS), Kevin Harlan/Solomon Wilcots (CBS), Al Michaels/Cris Collinsworth (NBC), Brad Nessler/Mike Mayock (NFL Network), Mike Tirico/Jon Gruden (ESPN)
Best Game Production: Monday Night Football (ESPN), NFL on CBS (CBS), NFL on Fox (Fox), Sunday Night Football (NBC), Thursday Night Football (NFL Network)
Best Debut: Carolyn Manno on Football Night in America (NBC), First on the Field (NFL Network), Amber Theoharis on NFL Total Access (NFL Network), Hines Ward on Football Night in America (NBC)
Worst Play-by-Play: Chris Berman (ESPN), Thom Brennaman (Fox), Chris Myers (Fox), Ron Pitts (Fox), Dick Stockton (Fox)
Worst Game Analyst: Dan Dierdorf (CBS), Daryl Johnston (Fox), John Lynch (Fox), Mike Martz (Fox)
Worst Studio Host: Chris Berman (ESPN), Chris Rose (NFL Network)
Worst Studio Analyst: Michael Irvin (NFL Network), Eric Mangini (ESPN)
Dec
23
NBC’s Football Night in America Quotage for Week 16 of the 2012 NFL Season
Now we conclude our Sunday NFL pregame quotage with Football Night in America. Lots of quotes made by the cast and let’s post it now.
“You don’t know week to week which Dallas Cowboys team will show up.” – Rodney Harrison
“et every scout in your organization to look for a new quarterback.” – Tony Dungy on the Jets
“He will be cut.” – Mike Florio on Eagles QB Mike VickNEW YORK – December 23, 2012 – Following are highlights for Football Night in America. Bob Costas opened the show live from inside CenturyLink Field in Seattle, Wash., where the Seattle Seahawks are hosting the San Francisco 49ers. Costas was joined on-site by Sunday Night Football commentators Al Michaels (play-by-play) and Cris Collinsworth (analyst), and Hines Ward, the former Steelers wide receiver and Super Bowl MVP.
Dan Patrick co-hosted the program from Studio 8G at NBC’s 30 Rockefeller Plaza studios and was joined by Football Night in America analysts Tony Dungy and Rodney Harrison, and NFL insiders Peter King of Sports Illustrated and Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com. Carolyn Manno reported on Giants – Ravens, from M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Md.
Following are highlights from Football Night in America:
ON BRONCOS
Dungy on speaking with Peyton Manning during the off-season: “I couldn’t envision at the time them winning 13 games. And, if he can get a little help from his former team, in Indianapolis with a win against Houston, they are going to be the No. 1 seed. Remarkable year by Peyton.”
ON REDSKINS
Harrison on RGIII: “Today, he proved that he can sit in the pocket and become that pocket passer we expect him to be.”
Dungy on the NFC East: “Mike Shanahan almost conceded it early on and now they’ve got a chance to win it.”
ON COWBOYS
Harrison: “You don’t know week to week which Dallas Cowboys team will show up.”
ON COLTS
Dungy: “I’ve been really impressed with Andrew Luck.”
Harrison: “They finally have cornerbacks…my biggest concern, that rush defense; can they stop people in the playoffs?”
Dungy: “They have an opportunistic defense and a great quarterback.”ON JETS
Dungy on if he was the owner: “First, you back your head coach. He’s taken you to championship games. Stay behind Rex, but get every scout in your organization to look for a new quarterback, please.”
ON RAVENS
Ray Rice to Manno post-game on why this year’s team can go further than last year’s: “We’re battle tested. We’ve been through a lot this year — injuries, losses, ups and downs, highs and lows. We’re battle tested.”
Harrison on his MVP of the week: “Dean Pees. He’s my former defensive coordinator, now he’s the Ravens defensive coordinator. He texted me and told me had a special plan for the Giants. That special plan worked.”
ON STEELERS
Dungy: “With 14 seconds left, we had bad coaching and bad play.”
ON TEXANS
Harrison: “If I’m Houston, I’m concerned offensively. They can’t even score a touchdown at home against Minnesota.”
ON PACKERS
Harrison: “They’ve got to protect Rodgers. If they do, they can be very dangerous.”
ON BEARS
Patrick on win vs. Cardinals: “Bears keeping their playoff hopes flickering.”
ON VIKINGS
Patrick on Christian Ponder: “I don’t think you get too many athletes who say after a big win, ‘Why did you play well? … Marriage.’”
ON BENGALS
Harrison: “You have to give Cincinnati props. They went into Pittsburgh and won a football game.”
ON PATRIOTS
Patrick on Tom Brady’s post-game remarks, which lamented the Patriots mistakes: “Channeling his inner Belichick there.”
King on offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels taking a head coaching job: “I think it’s highly unlikely that he’ll go. First of all, he’ll only go to a place where he can win now because he already figures he has the best job in football – coaching Tom Brady and coaching under Bill Belichick.”
http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/22825103/vp/50286475#50286475
ON EAGLES
Florio on Michael Vick not accepting a reduction to his salary: “He will be cut. Look for that to happen as early as early February. So where does he go from there? There’s been some talk that maybe Mike Vick and Coach Andy Reid have a reunion in some new city. Forget about that one. I’m told that Mike Vick is concerned about the lack of support that he has received this season from Andy Reid.”
ON SEAHAWKS
Dungy on Marshawn Lynch: “This guy is a great back…He gives their offense attitude.”
Harrison: “He’s not just a power back, but he’s a finesse back. He can catch the ball out of the backfield, and he’s a lot faster than he looks.”ON 49ERS
Collinsworth on Colin Kaepernick vs. Patriots last week: “Physically, he got things done that I just didn’t think possible for a young player like that.”
Ward on Vernon Davis’ lack of production since Kaepernick became quarterback: “I’m proud of the way he’s handling the situation…it shows a great sign of maturity.”
Costas on Davis: “He’s really grown up.”ON NHL
Michaels: “As long as Cris had that minute to congratulate the Bengals, can I congratulate the Los Angeles Kings on winning the Stanley Cup since we may never see hockey again for crying out loud?
Costas: “They are maybe the eternal defending champions.”ON INJURIES
Florio and King: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/22825103/vp/50286599#50286599
That’s all.
Dec
23
NBC’s Football Night in America Previews Interviews For Week 16 of 2012 NFL Season
On tonight’s Football Night in America on NBC, host Bob Costas talks with San Francisco 49ers tight end Vernon Davis and Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson.
We have the partial transcripts of each interview in the following press release.
Bob Costas Interviews Seahawks QB Russell Wilson and 49ers TE Vernon Davis
“I believe that you have to just step up and change people’s minds. I want to change the game and that’s the way I look at it.” – Wilson on his height as a quarterback
“I have faith that it will happen in the playoffs. I will do whatever I can to help this team win.” – Davis on playing more gamesNEW YORK – December 23, 2012 –Bob Costas interviewed Seattle Seahawks QB Russell Wilson and San Francisco 49ers TE Vernon Davis for tonight’s Week 16 edition of Football Night in America, which will preview Seahawks-49ers, and will also include highlights, analysis and reaction to earlier Week 16 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 and former Steelers WR 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. Carolyn Manno will report on Giants-Ravens, from M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Md.
INTERVIEWS: Below are excerpts from Costas’ interviews with Wilson and Davis.
RUSSELL WILSON WITH BOB COSTAS
On being a third-round pick and thinking he could be replaced after: “I don’t ever think negative. I can’t. You have to think on the positive, you have to believe in yourself and what you do and just play the game. You have to go out there and trust your preparation, what you’ve learned and what you’ve done so far and the experience has really helped me a lot.”
On possibly being the “Rookie of the Year”: “Well who knows. All I’m trying to do is help our football team win. The goal is to obviously play a great game against the 49ers.”
On being a shorter quarterback and how much his lack of size has impacted his carrier: “I think it’s helped me. It’s motivated me. I believe that you have to just step up and change people’s minds. I want to change the game and that’s the way I look at it. There have been so many other great quarterbacks before me who have done such a great job. The Doug Flutie’s of the world and Fran Tarkenton’s, Steve Young’s a little bit taller but not by much. Drew Brees for example, guys like that I really look up to and have watched and studied and learn from. I think that’s really what helps me and motivates me for all the future generations to come.”
On looking for windows that may be different for taller quarterbacks: “My significant years of playing football in terms of college and high school, I’ve been my height my whole entire life so, being used to being this height it doesn’t change for me. I’m used to seeing through the lanes, I trust what I see; I know where the defense is going. Sometimes you have to play on your toes too, you have to stand tall in there and try to elevate yourself a little bit off the ground, but I have long arms and big hands and that’s what helps me.’
On why Seattle is so tough on road teams: “Well there’s no place like home. The fans are just so energetic, the energy that they bring to our football team, and just the atmosphere is unreal.
VERNON DAVIS WITH BOB COSTAS
On why he went back to Washington, D.C., after last week’s game: “I had a toy drive at my elementary school that I went to as a kid. Through my foundation, I was hoping to give back.”
Costas: “So that was something you planned to do, as it happened, it was just a few days after Sandy Hook.”
Davis: “Yes, I planned to do it, but I wasn’t sure if Coach (Jim) Harbaugh would let me go. So initially I was just going to do the drive and have someone represent me. I asked Coach thinking he would say yes, and he did.”
Costas: “You drove overnight to D.C.”
Davis: “And I flew back right after the drive.”
Costas: “And you were at practice on Tuesday?”
Davis: “Yes, yes.”On only getting minimal opportunities to catch the football in the last four games: “In practice, the coaches, they are always putting me in the game plan, but it just doesn’t work out that way. I have faith that it will happen in the playoffs. I will do whatever I can to help this team win.”
On having little chemistry with quarterback Colin Kaepernick who recently replaced Alex Smith: “It takes time. With Kaepernick coming in, he and Alex have totally different styles of play and I know that. But, with Kaepernick, it’s going to take some time and adjustments but I think it can happen really fast. He’s one of those guys that you want to play for. It’s getting there and I think this week should be much better.”
That is it. I’m still waiting on ESPN’s quotage and if and when it arrives, I’ll post it.
Dec
23
NBC Previews Sunday Night Football in the Great Northwest for Week 16 of the 2012 NFL Season
The first flex of the season for Sunday Night Football boots the originally scheduled San Diego Chargers-New York Jets game out of primetime, into the early afternoon window and has the NFC West Division battle between last year’s NFC Championship finalist the San Francisco 49ers visiting the upstart Seattle Seahawks.
Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth and Michele Tafoya will be live at CenturyLink Field in the coffee capital of the United States. Bob Costas and Hines Ward will be there as well to do live segments for Football Night in America and halftime of SNF.
Dan Patrick, Tony Dungy and Rodney Harrison man the NBC 30 Rockefeller Plaza studios in New York.
Here’s the press release.
49ERS CAN WIN NFC WEST WITH WIN AGAINST RED – HOT SEAHAWKS ON “SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL”
Coverage Begins with Football Night in America at 7 p.m. ET
Sunday Night Football Extra to Live Stream 49ers-Seahawks on NBCSports.comNEW YORK – December 20, 2012 – Colin Kaepernick and the San Francisco 49ers (10-3-1), who have clinched a Wild Card spot and are currently leading the NFC West, travel to Seattle to take on Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks (9-5), who have won three-in-a-row, five of their last six games, and are undefeated at home this season, in an NFC West matchup on Sunday Night Football. With a win, the 49ers will secure their second straight division title. A Seahawks victory keeps Seattle alive to win the NFC West. Coverage begins with Football Night in America at 7 p.m. ET on NBC.
Calling 49ers-Seahawks is six-time Emmy Award-winner Al Michaels (play-by-play), in his 27th season as the voice of the NFL’s premier primetime package; 13-time Emmy Award-winner Cris Collinsworth, who has won the Emmy for Outstanding Event Analyst in each of his three seasons in the Sunday Night Football booth; and sideline reporter Michele Tafoya, who, last year in her first season with SNF, won the inaugural Emmy Award for Outstanding Sports Reporter.
Football Night in America is hosted by 24-time Emmy Award-winner Bob Costas, who will report from CenturyLink Field in Seattle, Wash. Costas will be joined on site by Michaels, Collinsworth and Hines Ward, the former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver and Super Bowl MVP.
Dan Patrick co-hosts Football Night from NBC’s Studio 8G at 30 Rockefeller Plaza. Patrick 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 Pro Football Talk on NBC Sports Network and NBCSports.com. Carolyn Manno will report on Giants – Ravens, from M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Md.
PREVIEW VIDEO:
Michaels and Collinsworth on 49ers vs. Seahawks:
http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/22825103/vp/50221119#50221119
PREVIEW VIDEO:
Patrick, Dungy and Harrison on 49ers vs. Seahawks:
http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/22825103/vp/50220702#50220702
In addition to the weekly Sunday Night Football and Football Night in America broadcasts, NBC Sports Group’s NFL coverage also includes digital content and social media extensions that are available online, as well as NFL-related shoulder programming available on NBC Sports Network.
That is all.
Dec
21
NFL Viewing Picks For Week 16, 12/22 & 12/23/2012
All Times Eastern
Saturday, December 22
Studio & Pregame Shows
Monday Night Countdown — ESPN, 7 p.m.
NFL Total Access — NFL Network, 7 p.m.
NFL Total Access: Postgame — NFL Network, 11:30 p.m.
8:30 p.m.
ESPN
Atlanta at Detroit — Mike Tirico/Jon Gruden/Lisa Salters
Sunday, December 23
Studio & Pregame Shows
First on the Field — NFL Network, 7 a.m.
NFL Matchup — ESPN, 8:30 a.m.
NFL GameDay Morning — NFL Network, 9 a.m.
Sunday NFL Countdown — ESPN, 10 a.m.
Fantasy Football Today — CBS Sports Network, 11 a.m.
Fantasy Football Now — ESPN2, 11 a.m.
The NFL Today — CBS, noon
Fox NFL Sunday — Fox, noon
NFL Red Zone Channel — DirecTV Channel 703, 12:55 p.m.
NFL RedZone — Check Your Local Listings, 1 p.m.
NFL Today Postgame Show — CBS, 4 p.m.
NFL GameDay Scoreboard — NFL Network, 4 p.m.
Football Night in America — NBC, 7 p.m.
The OT — Fox, 7:30 p.m.
NFL GameDay Highlights — NFL Network, 7:30 p.m.
NFL GameDay Overtime — NFL Network, 11:30 p.m.
NFL GameDay Final — NFL Network, midnight
1 p.m.
CBS
Buffalo at Miami — Don Criqui/Randy Cross
Cincinnati at Pittsburgh — Jim Nantz/Phil Simms
Indianapolis at Kansas City — Bill Macatee/Steve Tasker
New England at Jacksonville — Kevin Harlan/Solomon Wilcots
Oakland at Carolina — Spero Dedes/Steve Beuerlein
San Diego at New York Jets — Marv Albert/Rich Gannon
Tennessee at Green Bay — Greg Gumbel/Dan Dierdorf
FOX
Minnesota at Houston — Chris Myers/Tim Ryan/Jaime Maggio!!!
New Orleans at Dallas — Kenny Albert/Daryl Johnston/Tony Siragusa
St. Louis at Tampa Bay — Ron Pitts/Mike Martz/Kristina Pink
Washington at Philadelphia — Thom Brennaman/Brian Billick/Laura Okmin
4:05 p.m.
CBS
Cleveland at Denver — Ian Eagle/Dan Fouts
4:25 p.m.
FOX
Chicago at Arizona — Dick Stockton/John Lynch/Jennifer Hale
New York Giants at Baltimore — Joe Buck/Troy Aikman/Pam Oliver
8:30 p.m.
NBC
San Francisco at Seattle — Al Michaels/Cris Collinsworth/Michele Tafoya
DirecTV NFL Sunday Ticket Channel Assignments
Sirius XM Satellite Radio Channel Assignments
Dec
16
NBC’s Football Night in America Quotage For Week 15 of the 2012 NFL Season
We conclude the Sunday NFL pregame quotage with NBC’s Sunday Night Football. Because we did not receive an advance transcript of FNIA’s interviews, this post will include them here.
So let’s take a look at what was said on Football Night in America on NBC.
NFL Honors Victims of Newtown Tragedy with Tributes
NEW YORK – December 16, 2012 – Following are highlights for Football Night in America. Bob Costas opened the show live from inside Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., where the New England Patriots are hosting the San Francisco 49ers. Costas covered the numerous tributes the league and its teams were making in honor of the victims of the Newtown tragedy. The program then showed prominent NFL figures discussing the tragedy in post-game press conferences, including New York Giants head coach Tom Coughlin, Miami Dolphins head coach Joe Philbin, Houston Texans DE J.J. Watt, and New York Giants WR Victor Cruz.
Costas was also joined on-site by Sunday Night Football analyst Cris Collinsworth and Hines Ward, the former Steelers wide receiver and Super Bowl MVP.
Dan Patrick co-hosted the program from Studio 8G at NBC’s 30 Rockefeller Plaza studios and was joined by Football Night in America analysts Tony Dungy and Rodney Harrison, and NFL insiders Peter King of Sports Illustrated and Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com. Alex Flanagan reported on Steelers-Cowboys, from Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Costas interviewed San Francisco 49ers DT Justin Smith and LB Aldon Smith together, as well as Patriots DT Vince Wilfork.
Following are highlights from Football Night in America:
ON CHANGING THE NUMBER OF PLAYOFF TEAMS
Florio: “The Commissioner this week raised the possibility of increasing the playoff field from 12 teams to give it 14 or 16. An important thing to keep in mind though – the players union would have to agree to any such change. So, if the NFL wants to do it, they’re going to have to give something in return to the players’ union.”
King: “I tell you what I think the deal is going to be: I’ve talked to influential people around the league and they believe the best change is to give up two preseason weeks, which are useless anyway, and trade those to add two playoff teams. So, go from 12 to 14 playoff teams, and take away two preseason games.”ON BROWNS
Florio on RG III: “Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III was in Cleveland for the first time today and the fact that he’s not in Cleveland more frequently could be the thing that gets general manager Tom Heckert fired. I’m told that if Heckert is let go, the primary reason will be the failure of the Browns to move up No. 4 to No. 2 in the draft to get Robert Griffin III.”
King: “I wouldn’t go buying that Nick Saban stock in Cleveland, if I were you. I don’t see Saban going to Cleveland at all, for this reason: he knows that if he goes back to the NFL, he’s going to have to have a solid long-term quarterback. There’s no way in the world he could look at the Cleveland Browns right now and think that Brandon Weeden is going to be a top 10 quarterback for the next 10 years.”King on Chip Kelly: “I believe that two of the teams that are going to have some serious interest in him are Philadelphia and Cleveland.”
ON 49ERS-SEAHAWKS
Harrison on first game this year: “I watched a lot of tape and it was probably the most physical game I’ve watched all year.”
Dungy: “Seattle had a chance to win that game and they’re playing much better now. Watch out for Seattle, I’m telling you.”Harrison on Seahawks:
“They’re the real deal.”
Patrick on Seahawks: “They are sneaky, sneaky good.”ON REDSKINS
Dungy on Kirk Cousins’ performance: “You really have to credit Mike Shanahan and Kyle Shanahan. They didn’t change the offense. They ran a lot of the same things and let Kirk Cousins play.”
ON VIKINGS
Harrison on Adrian Peterson: “Hands down, he is the most valuable player in the league.”
ON RAVENS
Patrick: “So much for those hand signals that Jim Caldwell was telling the Ravens defense about.”
Dungy: “Yeah, too bad Jim couldn’t play.”
Harrison: “This team is in trouble.”
Dungy: “They’re not playing good ball. They’re not stopping the run and they’re not running the ball. A lot of problems.”ON PATRIOTS
Harrison on Vince Wilfork: “I saw it every day in practice. It didn’t matter whether it was practice or a game, a double team. He’s a disruptive force in the middle, and he’s the main reason why this defense has improved this year…He can throw a tighter spiral than Tom Brady.”
ON 49ERS
Dungy: “San Francisco has to win this game to stay ahead of Green Bay for the bye situation, but also, if they lose, that sets up a huge game next week with Seattle basically playing for the division lead.”
INTERVIEWS:
Below are excerpts of Costas’ interviews with Justin and Aldon Smith, and Vince Wilfork.
JUSTIN SMITH & ALDON SMITH WITH BOB COSTAS
Costas: “You’re both named Smith. You both create havoc for quarterbacks. You both went to the University of Missouri. It’s like you’re twins.”
Aldon: “We are; just different colors.” (laughter)
Justin: “I don’t know about twins, but, he’s a good player. I wish I was his twin. He’s a talented, talented player. That’s where we start with that.”Aldon on possibly breaking the single-season sack record: “I’m human, so you know it’s in my mind, but I’m just going out there playing every game, taking it one game at a time.”
Justin on Patriots high-scoring offense: “From watching them the week before with what they did to the Texans, whose a defense we respect, players that they have, the defense that they run is similar to ours, we are going to have our hands full. Tom Brady has been doing this for a long time. It’s important not to give him early looks. We’re going to have our hands full.”
Justin on Brady’s successful maneuverability in the pocket: “Well, that’s why you’ve got guys like this (Aldon), to close him down.”
Aldon on being compared to players like Demarcus Ware and Lawrence Taylor: “It means a lot. Those are truly great players. For me, this being my second year, my first year starting, to even be in the conversation with those guys means a lot, so I’ve just got to keep trying to make it happen.”
VINCE WILFORK WITH BOB COSTAS
On his deceptive speed: “I grew up athletic. I always played with guys that were smaller, guys that were faster than me; two, three, four years ahead of me in school. A lot of times, I would find myself chasing those small guys around. That’s the way I started training — quicker guys. It just made me the guy who I am today. God forbid we get all our quarterbacks knocked out of the game, the next guy that would be running the ship would be me. I’m like the fourth or fifth guy on the depth chart. If we don’t have anybody, they can turn to me.”
On the number of texts his wife sends him during the game, even though he doesn’t have his cell phone: “Oh, 41, 50. Oh yeah. It’s everything. It’s, ‘why are you out of the game? Why you didn’t make that play? Good tackle. Man, you almost had that sack. Man, I’m telling you, the defense is ballin. Tom looks good.’ Everything you could possibly imagine, she would tell you.”
Costas: “She can’t control herself.”
Wilfork: “No, she can’t. She loves football. And she’s not just a fan of myself, she’s a fan of the New England Patriots and football. That’s one thing I love about her. She loves sports.”On telling NBC prior to Super Bowl XLVI that he can beat Tom Brady in a footrace: “Absolutely, still can. No, we didn’t (have the footrace). He’s avoiding me. But that’s ok.
Costas: “Straight ahead, standing start, you can beat Tom Brady?”
Wilfork: “Absolutely, 100 percent sure.”
Costas: “He wants no part of you.”
Wilfork: “Not at all.”Costas: “Rodney Harrison says you can throw a spiral 60 yards. Want to go out and prove it to me?”
Wilfork: “Absolutely.”Costas and Wilfork proceeded to the field, had a brief warm-up catch, and then Wilfork threw a 59-yard pass.
And we have the halftime commentary from Bob Costas on Tom Brady’s career.
Costas: “Back at halftime of 49ers-Pats where the home team will have to rally, if they’re to win their eighth straight, and, more broadly, position themselves for a sixth Super Bowl appearance of the Tom Brady-Bill Belichick era.
“Of course, the pursuit of a fourth Super Bowl victory has stalled with losses to the Giants, both last season and just short of perfection four years prior. So for Tom Brady, he’s still one ultimate game victory behind the player he grew up rooting for, Joe Montana.
“Brady was raised less than 20 miles from Candlestick Park, and he was there as a four-year old the day the 49er dynasty really began — in January of 1982, when Montana found Dwight Clark in the back of the end zone for the catch.
“But as Brady’s career has gone on, the achingly close Super Bowl losses to the Giants have changed the ledger. Joe Montana never lost a Super Bowl, but now Brady has a 3-2 record in them. So, raising the Lombardi trophy in February in New Orleans would tie Tom Brady with his idol, and get him back in the win column in the games that have defined his career.”
Hines Ward on if Tom Brady’s the best ever: “If I was forced to choose, I would have to go with Tom Brady, just because he’s the most clutch quarterback at big moments. I remember when he was playing, anytime he gets the ball, I just get to the bench and pray — ‘Oh, my God. I hope they don’t win the game.’ … and in his two losses to the Giants, they were able to apply pressure to Brady the same way the 49ers are doing tonight.”
Costas: “Something else to keep in mind, if David Tyree doesn’t make an impossible catch in the first loss and the usually reliable Wes Welker doesn’t drop a pass he usually catches in the second, then Brady’s already 5-0.”***
Rodney Harrison on Giants: “The Giants will get in. It’s not about winning the division or the records or anything like that. They just want to get in the playoffs. Once they get in, they’re very dangerous. And they will get in.”
That does it for tonight.
Dec
16
NBC Previews Sunday Night Football For Week 15 of the 2012 NFL Season
This week, Sunday Night Football has a matchup befitting its package. Instead of deferring to Monday Night Football last week or CBS and Fox the previous weeks this season, NBC has the Game of the Week with the San Francisco 49ers and the New England Patriots live from Foxboro, MA.
As usual, Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth and Michele Tafoya will be the game crew on-scene at Gillette Stadium.
Football Night in America with Bob Costas and Hines Ward at Gillette and Dan Patrick, Tony Dungy and Rodney Harrison in New York will preview the game and also review the day’s action in the National Football League.
Here’s NBC’s press release on the game.
Coverage Begins with Football Night in America at 7 p.m. ET
Sunday Night Football Extra to Live Stream 49ers-Patriots on NBCSports.com
“About as good a matchup as you can hope for in the National Football League.” – Cris Collinsworth on 49ers-Patriots
“How will Colin Kaepernick respond in a game where he may have to put up 24-28 points?” – Tony Dungy on 49ers-PatriotsNEW YORK – December 12, 2012 – Tom Brady and the New England Patriots (10-3), who have locked up the AFC East for the 10th time in 12 years, host Colin Kaepernick and the San Francisco 49ers (9-3-1), who are currently leading the NFC West, on Sunday Night Football. Coverage begins with Football Night in America at 7 p.m. ET on NBC.
Calling 49ers-Patriots is six-time Emmy Award-winner Al Michaels (play-by-play), in his 27th season as the voice of the NFL’s premier primetime package; 13-time Emmy Award-winner Cris Collinsworth, who has won the Emmy for Outstanding Event Analyst in each of his three seasons in the Sunday Night Football booth; and sideline reporter Michele Tafoya, who, last year in her first season with SNF, won the inaugural Emmy Award for Outstanding Sports Reporter.
Football Night in America is hosted by 24-time Emmy Award-winner Bob Costas, who will report from Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. Costas will be joined on site by Michaels, Collinsworth and Hines Ward, the former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver and Super Bowl MVP.
Dan Patrick co-hosts Football Night from NBC’s Studio 8G at 30 Rockefeller Plaza. Patrick 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 Pro Football Talk on NBC Sports Network and NBCSports.com. Alex Flanagan will report on Steelers-Cowboys, from Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
“49ers-Patriots, this was almost the Super Bowl last year. Patriots quarterback Tom Brady going up against the 49ers defense is about as good a matchup as you can hope for in the National Football League, and 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick now is going to be in ‘one of those kind of games.’ And is he ready? This is a big moment for him.” – Cris Collinsworth on 49ers-Patriots
PREVIEW VIDEO:
Michaels and Collinsworth on 49ers vs. Patriots:
http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/22825103/vp/50141362#50141362“The 49ers are a very good football team when the game is played how they want to play it – low scoring, tight, physical. But they are going to have some problems this week because they are going to a place (New England) where the Patriots are going to try to outscore them. How will Colin Kaepernick respond in a game where he may have to put up 24-28 points?” – Tony Dungy on 49ers-Patriots
PREVIEW VIDEO:
Patrick, Dungy and Harrison on 49ers vs. Patriots:
http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/22825103/vp/50140781#50140781In addition to the weekly Sunday Night Football and Football Night in America broadcasts, NBC Sports Group’s NFL coverage also includes digital content and social media extensions that are available online, as well as NFL-related shoulder programming available on NBC Sports Network.
There you go.
Dec
14
NFL Viewing Picks For Week 15, 12/16/2012
All Times Eastern
NFL Viewing Maps (the 506.com)
Pregame & Studio Shows
First on the Field — NFL Network, 7 a.m.
NFL Matchup — ESPN2, 8:30 a.m.
NFL GameDay Morning — NFL Network, 9 a.m.
Sunday NFL Countdown — ESPN, 10 a.m.
Fantasy Football Today — CBS Sports Network, 11 a.m.
Fantasy Football Now — ESPN2, 11 a.m.
The NFL Today — CBS, noon
Fox NFL Sunday — Fox, noon
NFL Red Zone Channel — DirecTV Channel 703, 12:55 p.m.
NFL RedZone — Check your local listings, 1 p.m.
Fox NFL Sunday Postgame — Fox, 4 p.m.
NFL GameDay Scoreboard — NFL Network, 4 p.m.
Football Night in America — NBC, 7 p.m.
NFL GameDay Highlights — NFL Network, 7:30 p.m.
NFL GameDay Overtime — NFL Network, 11:30 p.m.
NFL GameDay Final — NFL Network, midnight
1 p.m.
CBS
Denver at Baltimore — Greg Gumbel/Dan Dierdorf
Indianapolis at Houston — Ian Eagle/Dan Fouts
Jacksonville at Miami — Marv Albert/Rich Gannon
FOX
Green Bay at Chicago — Joe Buck/Troy Aikman/Pam Oliver
Minnesota at St. Louis — Gus Johnston/Charles Davis/Kristina Pink
New York Giants at Atlanta — Kenny Albert/Daryl Johnston/Tony Siragusa
Tampa Bay at New Orleans — Thom Brennaman/Brian Billick/Laura Okmin
Washington at Cleveland — Ron Pitts/Mike Martz/Krista Voda
4:05 p.m.
FOX
Carolina at San Diego — Sam Rosen/Heath Evans/Jill Savage
Detroit at Arizona — Chris Myers/Tim Ryan/Jamie Maggio!!!
Seattle vs. Buffalo at Toronto, Ontario, Canada — Dick Stockton/John Lynch/Jennifer Hale
4:25 p.m.
CBS
Kansas City at Oakland — Kevin Harlan/Solomon Wilcots
Pittsburgh at Dallas — Jim Nantz/Phil Simms
8:30 p.m.
NBC
San Francisco at New England — Al Michaels/Cris Collinsworth/Michele Tafoya
DirecTV NFL Sunday Ticket Channel Assignments
Sirius XM Satellite Radio Channel Assignments
Dec
09
NBC’s Football Night in America Quotage For Week 14 of the 2012 NFL Season Plus SNF Halftime Comments
Let us conclude our Sunday NFL pregame quotage posts with Football Night in America from the National Broadcasting Company.
Lots of info and plenty of notes and quotes. Check it out below.
“You just constantly preach to them all year: make good decisions.” – Tony Dungy in wake of Cowboys tragedy on what he would tell his teams as a head coach
“I had three or four drinks, and I got behind the wheel and drove home.” – Rodney Harrison on being irresponsible at age 25 before gaining perspective when he got older
“Big, big problems in Chicago.” –Dungy on Bears, who have lost four of their last five gamesNEW YORK – December 9, 2012 – Following are highlights for Football Night in America. Bob Costas opened the show live from inside a snowy Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis., where the Green Bay Packers are hosting the Detroit Lions. Costas was joined on-site by Sunday Night Football commentators Al Michaels (play-by-play) and Cris Collinsworth (analyst), and Hines Ward, the former Steelers wide receiver and Super Bowl MVP.
Dan Patrick co-hosted the program from Studio 8G at NBC’s 30 Rockefeller Plaza studios and was joined by Football Night in America analysts Tony Dungy and Rodney Harrison, and NFL insiders Peter King of Sports Illustrated and Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com. Carolyn Manno reported from MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., on the Saints-Giants game.
Following are highlights from Football Night in America:
ON COWBOYS TRAGEDY
Dungy: “As an NFL coach, you’re coaching very, very young men. So I would always talk at the first team meeting of the year. I would talk about decision making, about drugs and alcohol, and parties, and late hours. You just constantly preach to them all year: make good decisions. Every Friday, I used to tell our team after practice, be smart, get home early, don’t drink and drive. But you come in Saturday morning, and every coach says this, not just me, but you come in Saturday morning and you just hope everyone gets there.”
Harrison: “You coaches do a great job relaying that message each and every Friday. But at 25 years old, I’ll have to admit, I was a guy who went out, I partied on Friday. I had three or four drinks, and I got behind the wheel and drove home. Why? Because I thought I felt invincible. ‘Oh, nothing would happen to me.’ But the older I got, I started gaining perspective. I started realizing what was important. Suddenly, I became that guy who would preach to the younger players about family, about career, and about the dangers of DUI.”
Dungy: “I couldn’t tell them not to go out, because I knew they were going out. But be smart; come home at 12 o’clock. If you’re going to drink, use the vehicles, the car service, and be smart about it. But you just don’t know if they’re listening.”King: “Yesterday, Josh Brent told a friend, ‘I do not want to get out of jail.’ He was despondent. But, today, one hour after the Cowboys victory in Cincinnati, he did get out of jail. He was released on $500,000 bail. The Cowboys are very concerned about his mental state. And Jason Garrett, I talked to him after the game, and he said to his team today after the game in Cincinnati, ‘Every one of us in this room, regardless of how you feel about the situation, is going to have to take turns to put our arms around Josh Brent, because he’s going to need us.’”
Florio on DUI discipline: “I’m told the NFL has been pushing and will continue to push for a first offense resulting in a two-game suspension. The NFLPA has resisted. But now that a member of the NFLPA has died as a result of an alleged DUI committed by another member of the union, we’ll see if the NFLPA changes its position.”
ON CHIEFS TRAGEDY
King: “I’m told that in the last seven days, at least seven players around the league have gone to their team’s security officers to turn in the firearms that they possess from their homes. I’m also told that one of these players had multiple firearms — as Jevon Belcher did, he had eight – that one of these players who had multiple firearms told his security officer, ‘I don’t trust myself with these guns in the house. Please take them away.’”
Dungy: “That to me is very, very impactful because I can say that over my career in talking to players about not using guns, I never had a player turn one in. That means this incident has had a big, big impact on our players.”ON COWBOYS
Patrick: “You saw them do something we had not seen them do in a while: the two-minute drill.”
ON FALCONS
Harrison: “They’re a very aggressive defense, but they miss a lot of tackles in the open field…This defense, they create a lot of turnovers, but at the end of the day, if they want to go far in the playoffs, they’re going to have to stop the run.”
Dungy: “This is not a great formula for going into the playoffs: giving up hundred-yard days week in and week out, running the ball…they’re putting so much pressure on Matt Ryan, he’s got to be perfect every game. He was off today and they got behind, 23-0.”ON STEELERS
Dungy: “It doesn’t matter who plays quarterback, if you drop passes, if you let guys run through your secondary wide open, if you can’t pass protect…they have issues they’ve got to get solved in Pittsburgh.”
Harrison: “When you lose your best cornerback, Ike Taylor, teams are going to attack those young cornerbacks.”ON VIKINGS
Patrick: “Adrian Peterson told Peter King after the game that 2,000 yards will be easy. He’s going after Erick Dickerson’s single-season record of 2,105, and that’s coming off major knee surgery.”
Dungy: “Adrian Peterson, no question, was the most valuable performer today.”ON COLTS
Patrick on Andrew Luck’s post-game comments: “He does mention just about everybody on the roster. I think the water boy gets mentioned there with Andrew Luck.”
Harrison: “It’s not the best defense we’re going to see this year. However, they do a good job at playing fast, always having three or four guys around the line of scrimmage, and the cornerbacks have really improved. They’re very aggressive, they’re physical, they’re making plays, and they’re good tacklers in the open field.”
Dungy: “They get a lot of plays out of secondary. This might be my favorite guy, Robert Mathis. Dwight Freeney gets a lot of attention, but Robert Mathis is a great football player.”ON SEAHAWKS
Dungy: “Let’s not give this division title to San Francisco too fast. They still have to go to Seattle and play. Seattle is playing very, very well.”
ON THE BEARS
Dungy: You saw Brian Urlacher on the sidelines. That really hurts them. Their defense is not coming up with the turnovers they did earlier in the season and their offensive line is not protecting Jay Cutler. They have Green Bay next week. Big, big problems in Chicago.”
And we have the Sunday Night Football halftime comments with Bob Costas and Tony Dungy talking about the Jason Brent incident. If Bob had Tony Dungy with him every week, I would not be so harsh on the commentaries. Dungy omits class wherever he goes.
Bob Costas: “For the second consecutive week, the NFL faces tragedy. Last week, the murder-suicide committed by the Chiefs Javon Belcher. Then, early yesterday morning, 25-year-old Jerry Brown, a Cowboys practice squad linebacker, was killed in a single-car accident. Brown was the passenger in the car driven by his friend and teammate, defensive tackle Josh Brent, who has been charged with intoxication manslaughter.
“Drinking and driving is a societal problem to be sure, but it’s perhaps even more difficult to understand when it involves a football player. There are systems in place, including a “safe rides” program through the NFL Players Association, to help prevent situations like the one that ended Brown’s life. Any NFL player can just pick up a phone and arrange a ride, if he feels he’s impaired.
“Let’s bring in Tony Dungy now. Tony, what, if anything, can a coach do to influence the thinking and decision making of his players?”
Tony Dungy: “That’s something that you always wanted to do, whether it’s as a coach talking to your team, talking to youth groups, or me as a parent talking to my teenage boys. You always talk about decision making.
“I always highlighted three areas: No. 1, being in or out late after 1 a.m.; using drugs and alcohol; and then driving too fast. I would talk to the team about that over and over and over again.
“You try to think of different ways, as a coach, to get that message across. My last year in Indianapolis, I brought in a young man from the Indianapolis area who had had a vehicular homicide at 17 years old. He spent nine years in prison, and he told me that those nine years were nothing compared to the fact that he had to wake up every day realizing he killed three people. I said ‘you’ve got to tell this story to my team because I’m looking for different voices, different ways to get that across.’
“NFL coaches are trying to do everything they can to help young men make better decisions.”
ON THE BEST TEAM IN THE NFC
Dungy: “All along, we’ve said San Francisco and Atlanta because they’ve had the best records, but San Francisco has some chinks in the armor. They’ve got two tough road trips, to New England and to Seattle. They might not even be in first place in their own division in two weeks.”
Rodney Harrison: “Atlanta’s the No.1 seed, but no one’s afraid to play Atlanta. To me, the team to beat in the NFC is the New York Giants…I don’t even care about the record. When the Giants get into the playoffs, they have that experience, that pass rush, Eli in the 4th quarter. That’s the team to beat.”
And we’re done.
Dec
09
NBC Previews The Football Night in America Interviews for Week 14 of the 2012 NFL Season
Tonight on Football Night in America, NBC’s Bob Costas speaks with Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin “Megatron” Johnson and Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy.
In addition to these interviews, FNIA will review all of Week 14′s action on Sunday with Dan Patrick, Tony Dungy and Rodney Harrison in New York.
At a snowy Lambeau Field in Green Bay, WI, Bob will be joined by Hines Ward as well as the Sunday Night Football crew of Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth and Michele Tafoya.
Here are the preview and partial transcripts of the interviews for you posted below and you can read at your leisure.
BOB COSTAS INTERVIEWS LIONS WR CALVIN JOHNSON & PACKERS HEAD COACH MIKE MCCARTHY
“Never would have fathomed.” – Johnson on possibly breaking Jerry Rice’s record for receiving yardage this year
“To be the head coach of the Green Bay Packers is just such a special, special opportunity.” – McCarthyNEW YORK – December 9, 2012 – Bob Costas interviewed Detroit Lions WR Calvin Johnson and Packers head coach Mike McCarthy for tonight’s Week 14 edition of Football Night in America, which will preview Lions-Packers, and will also include highlights, analysis and reaction to earlier Week 14 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 and former Steelers WR 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. Carolyn Manno will report on Saints-Giants, from MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ.
INTERVIEWS: Below are excerpts from Costas’ interviews with Johnson and McCarthy.
CALVIN JOHNSON WITH BOB COSTAS
On possibly passing Jerry Rice’s single-season receiving yardage record: “It’s crazy to me. Never would have fathomed. Never knew exactly what the record was before this point. A couple of weeks ago, my trainer told me, ‘You have to average 150 yards a game throughout the rest of the season to reach 2,000.’ At that point, I still didn’t know that I was closing in on Jerry Rice’s record. I thought he just wanted me to get 2,000.”
On the impact on fantasy teams of being caught at the one-yard line five times: (laughs) “I definitely hear it through various media outlets about how fans feel about that.”
On playing in the snow: “I would much rather play in the snow than the rain.”
Costas: “And Lambeau in the snow kind of has that classic feel to it.’
Johnson: “It does…Lambeau is historic. To be able to play there, it’s a great feeling and then to play in the snow, not many people can say that.”On the Lions losing 21 straight road games to the Packers: “The only person that knows fully everything about that is Jason Hanson (who has played 21 years with the Lions)…I’m going to ask him, how does it feel to be in that situation? What does it really feel like to go up there every time? And gain a little perspective from his view.
Costas: “Here’s your rallying cry, win one for Jason.”
Johnson: “No doubt.”MIKE MCCARTHY WITH BOB COSTAS
On the difference between last year’s offense and this year’s: “Well, No. 1, we’re definitely a different team. Last year was a special year. We were almost a fast-break offense. It was wide open. I don’t know if it was always the best thing for the rest of our team, particularly our defense.”
Costas: “So some of it’s by design?”
McCarthy: “I hate to say that we’re designing to score less points, but I think we’re a little more conscientious of field position, time of possession, things that will make us a more well-rounded football team.”On the reaction from his hometown (Greenfield, Pa., a neighborhood in Pittsburgh) on the Packers beating the Steelers in the Super Bowl: “It was definitely positive, don’t get me wrong. But Greenfield is a proud neighborhood in the city of Pittsburgh. My parents still live there, so I would have preferred to have played someone else in the Super Bowl, frankly. That was a tough week…it really was more like, ‘Hey, obviously we would have wanted to win it, but if there was anyone else, we’d want it to be you.’”
On being a tollbooth taker on the Pennsylvania Turnpike after college: “I just graduated from college. My father was a Pittsburgh firefighter for over 30-plus years. He didn’t understand the concept of a college education, first job (as a coaching assistant), you don’t get paid. So, he had the opportunity to get me on the Pennsylvania Turnpike through some friends. It was my summer job before we went to training camp.”
On the monotony: “I worked the graveyard shift…I had the playbook. Paul Hacket was the offensive coordinator. He just came from the Dallas Cowboys. It was a pro system. I had never seen anything like it, so I definitely had a lot of studying to do.”
On being near iconic franchises (Steelers as a kid; Packers as a coach): “I feel very blessed. To be the head coach of the Green Bay Packers is just such a special, special opportunity. I just can’t say enough about this organization.”
That’s going to do it.
Dec
09
NBC Previews Sunday Night Football for Week 12 of the 2012 NFL Season
In primetime on Sunday, NBC airs the NFC North blood rivalry game between the Detroit Lions and the Green Bay Packers live from the venerable venue, Lambeau Field in Wisconsin.
Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth will have the call live from high above the field. Michele Tafoya will roam the sidelines providing reports on the air and via Twitter.
Bob Costas will be there to host both Football Night in America as well as the halftime and postgame shows. He’ll be joined by analyst Hines Ward.
Dan Patrick will be in New York with analysts Tony Dungy and Rodney Harrison to provide highlights for FNIA.
Here’s the NBC press release.
GREEN BAY PACKERS HOST DETROIT LIONS IN AN NFC NORTH MATCHUP ON SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL
Coverage Begins with Football Night in America at 7 p.m. ET
Sunday Night Football Extra to Live Stream Lions-Packers on NBCSports.comNEW YORK – December 6, 2012 – NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers (8-4) host Matthew Stafford and the Detroit Lions (4-8) in an NFC North matchup on Sunday Night Football. Coverage begins with Football Night in America at 7 p.m. ET on NBC.
Calling Lions-Packers is six-time Emmy Award-winner Al Michaels (play-by-play), in his 27th season as the voice of the NFL’s premier primetime package; 13-time Emmy Award-winner Cris Collinsworth, who has won the Emmy for Outstanding Event Analyst in each of his three seasons in the Sunday Night Football booth; and sideline reporter Michele Tafoya, who, last year in her first season with SNF, won the inaugural Emmy Award for Outstanding Sports Reporter.
Football Night in America is hosted by 24-time Emmy Award-winner Bob Costas, who will report from Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis. Costas will be joined on site by Michaels, Collinsworth and Hines Ward, the former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver and Super Bowl MVP.
Dan Patrick co-hosts Football Night from NBC’s Studio 8G at 30 Rockefeller Plaza. Patrick 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 Pro Football Talk on NBC Sports Network and NBCSports.com. Carolyn Manno will report on Saints-Giants, from MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ.
PREVIEW VIDEO:
Michaels and Collinsworth on Lions vs. Packers:
http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/22825103/vp/50052372#50052372Patrick, Dungy and Harrison on Lions vs. Packers:
http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/22825103/vp/50051827#50051827In addition to the weekly Sunday Night Football and Football Night in America broadcasts, NBC Sports Group’s NFL coverage also includes digital content and social media extensions that are available online, as well as NFL-related shoulder programming available on NBC Sports Network.
That will do it. The Week 14 NFL Viewing Guide will come up later this morning.
Dec
07
NFL Viewing Picks For Week 14, 12/09/12
All Times Eastern
Pregame & Studio Shows
First on the Field — NFL Network, 7 a.m.
NFL Matchup — ESPN2, 8:30 a.m.
NFL GameDay Morning — NFL Network, 9 a.m.
Sunday NFL Countdown — ESPN, 10 a.m.
Fantasy Football Today — CBS Sports Network, 11 a.m.
Fantasy Football Now — ESPN2, 11 a.m.
The NFL Today — CBS, noon
Fox NFL Sunday — Fox, noon
NFL Red Zone Channel — DirecTV Channel 703, 12:55 p.m.
NFL RedZone — Check Your Local Listings, 1 p.m.
NFL Today Postgame Show — CBS, 4 p.m.
NFL GameDay Scoreboard — NFL Network, 4 p.m.
Football Night in America — NBC, 7 p.m.
The OT — Fox, 7:30 p.m.
NFL GameDay Highlights — NFL Network, 7:30 p.m.
NFL GameDay Overtime — NFL Network, 11:30 p.m.
NFL GameDay Final — NFL Network, midnight
1 p.m.
CBS
Baltimore at Washington — Marv Albert/Rich Gannon
Kansas City at Cleveland — Bill Macatee/Steve Tasker
New York Jets at Jacksonville — Kevin Harlan/Solomon Wilcots
San Diego at Pittsburgh — Jim Nantz/Phil Simms
Tennessee at Indianapolis — Ian Eagle/Dan Fouts
FOX
Atlanta at Carolina — Gus Johnson/Charles Davis/Kristina Pink
Chicago at Minnesota — Kenny Albert/Daryl Johnston/Tony Siragusa
Dallas at Cincinnati — Thom Brennaman/Brian Billick/Laura Okmin
Philadelphia at Tampa Bay — Dick Stockton/John Lynch/Jennifer Hale
St. Louis at Buffalo — Ron Pitts/Mike Martz/Krista Voda
4:05 p.m.
CBS
Miami at San Francisco — Greg Gumbel/Dan Dierdorf
4:25 p.m.
FOX
Arizona at Seattle — Chris Myers/Tim Ryan/Jaime Maggio!!!
New Orleans at New York Giants — Joe Buck/Troy Aikman/Pam Oliver
8:30 p.m.
NBC
Detroit at Green Bay — Al Michaels/Cris Collinsworth/Michele Tafoya
DirecTV NFL Sunday Ticket Channel Assignments
SiriusXM Satellite Radio Channel Assignments
Dec
02
NBC’s Football Night in America Quotage For Week 13 of the 2012 NFL Season
I was wondering when I was going to receive the quotage for NBC’s Football Night in America. Usually, it comes earlier, but for whatever reason, it came later than usual. That’s ok. As long as it comes into the Fang’s Bites inbox before I turn in, it’s all good.
A lot of content in Sunday’s show that was helmed by Bob Costas, Dan Patrick, Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth, Tony Dungy, Rodney Harrison and Hines Ward. It also includes the text of Bob Costas’ halftime commentary on guns in its entirety.
Check out all of the quotage below. There is a lot quotage for Sunday.
“He did a fantastic job through this. People can’t understand how tough that is.” – Tony Dungy on Romeo Crennel
“They are going to be in the playoffs this year because of Andrew Luck. They believe in this guy.” – Tony Dungy on Andrew Luck
“Mark Sanchez had 12 weeks to prove himself, and now it is time for him to go sit on the sideline and mentally heal.” – Rodney Harrison on the JetsNEW YORK – December 2, 2012 – Following are highlights for Football Night in America. Bob Costas opened the show live from inside Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, where the Dallas Cowboys are hosting the Philadelphia Eagles. Costas was joined on-site by Sunday Night Football commentators Al Michaels (play-by-play) and Cris Collinsworth (analyst), and Hines Ward, the former Steelers wide receiver and Super Bowl MVP.
Dan Patrick co-hosted the program from Studio 8G at NBC’s 30 Rockefeller Plaza studios and was joined by Football Night in America analysts Tony Dungy and Rodney Harrison, and NFL insiders Peter King of Sports Illustrated and Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com. Carolyn Manno reported from M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Md., on the Steelers-Ravens game and Randy Moss of NBC Sports and NFL Network reported from Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo., on yesterday’s tragedy.
Following are highlights from Football Night in America:
Costas, Michaels and Collinsworth gave their brief thoughts on the Eagles-Cowboys before turning it over to Patrick in New York.
ON CHIEFS TRAGEDY:
Moss reporting from Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City: “I spent some time in the Chiefs locker room after the game and the Chiefs players downplayed the victory as a very small piece of a suddenly very large puzzle. They were effusive in their praise for Romeo Crennel, whose talk to the team last night was inspirational in this sense. Defensive lineman Shaun Smith told me, ‘As Crennel was trying to help the team and was rock solid, players were looking at him and thinking wait a second. With what he personally saw with his own eyes, we are the ones who should be trying to help him.’ The players were also very much in agreement with the decision to play the game. Dexter McCluster said, ‘This is a game we love, the fans love and Jovan loved.’ But reality really hit defensive lineman Eric Winston hard. Winston said that he and his teammates were still struggling to reconcile the Belcher they thought they knew, with the man who committed those horrible acts yesterday that left the three month old girl orphaned. As the game clock today was winding down, Winston said, ‘It was confusing, tough and at the end of the day, I still could not stop thinking about that little girl.’ Dan it was a very emotional day here.”
Patrick: “There is nothing in the coaching handbook here guys. Tony, as a former head coach, how do you deal with this?”
Dungy: “Romeo Crennel, you heard it in his voice and you heard what Randy Moss said about those players talking about Romeo. That’s one thing the fans don’t realize. They look at you as a coach. They see wins and losses and what happens in that 60-minutes, but they don’t realize that you’re coaching 53 men. You’re coaching 53 families. That is a lot of people you’re involved with and Romeo Crennel was very emotional, but those are his guys. Those are his girls, his people and he did a fantastic job through this. People can’t understand how tough that is.”
Harrison: “Dan, obviously you have conflicting emotions because you are angry. The reality is a young man took two lives and he deeply affected so many other lives. As a teammate it saddens you. You went to war with this guy and you loved him and you cared for him. As a player, even walking over here to the studio people were asking me, ‘How could you play this game today?’ I said, ‘We play because this is what we have been programmed to do. To play football and overcome adversity. And we also play it because we love and respect the fans. We want to provide enjoyment and pleasure to the fans.’”King: “I talked to Romeo Crennel after the game today and I asked him what he said to his team after the game, after such an emotional weekend. He said that he told them at the end of his conversation with them, ‘Look, this is not over yet. In fact, for some of us, it’s not going to be over for the rest of our lives.’”
Florio: “I talked to Carolina coach Ron Rivera after the game. He said the team left Charlotte on Saturday, not knowing whether or not there would be a game. They were prepared to defer to whatever the Chiefs and the league decided to do. Coach Rivera also told me that before the game he talked to Romeo Crennel and he saw just how emotional Romeo Crennel was. At that point coach Rivera called his team together and said, ‘Guys, the Chiefs are going to be playing with a lot of emotional energy today. If we can’t match that, we have no chance.’”
King: “We need to clarify exactly what happened at Arrowhead Stadium on Saturday morning with this tragedy. Now, according to a source close to law enforcement officers on the scene, Jovan Belcher, and General Manager Scott Pioli, arrived in the parking lot outside the team’s Arrowhead training facility at about the same time, right around 8 a.m. on Saturday. Belcher seemed very upset. Pioli tried to calm him down, according to police. He (Pioli) couldn’t calm him (Belcher) down, but Belcher did say to Pioli, ‘I want to thank you very much.’ Pioli is the General Manager who took a chance on Belcher as a free agent out of the University of Maine in 2009, an undrafted free agent. Then he said, ‘Can you please call down, can you please ask Romeo Crennel and Gary Gibbs, the defensive coordinator, to come down?’ They both came out. He thanked them profusely for the chance that they gave him. Romeo Crennel told me after the game today, ‘I wasn’t able to reach the young man out there.’ Then, Jovan Belcher turned around, turned his back to them, and shot himself in the head.”
BOB COSTAS HALFTIME ESSAY
(Essay aired during halftime of tonight’s Eagles-Cowboys game)
You knew it was coming. In the aftermath of the nearly unfathomable events in Kansas City, that most mindless of sports clichés was heard yet again, ‘Something like this really puts it all in perspective.’Well if so, that sort of perspective has a very short shelf life since we will inevitably hear about the perspective we have supposedly again regained the next time ugly reality intrudes upon our games.
Please. Those who need tragedies to continually recalibrate their sense of proportion about sports, would seem to have little hope of ever truly achieving perspective. You want some actual perspective on this? Well a bit of it comes from the Kansas City-based writer Jason Whitlock, with whom I do not always agree, but, who today, said it so well that we may as well just quote or paraphrase from the end of his article.
“Our current gun culture,” Whitlock wrote, “ensures that more and more domestic disputes will end in the ultimate tragedy, and that more convenience store confrontations over loud music coming from a car will leave more teenage boys bloodied and dead. Handguns do not enhance our safety. They exacerbate our flaws, tempt us to escalate arguments, and bait us into embracing confrontation rather than avoiding it. In the coming days, Jovan Belcher’s actions, (and its possible connection to football), will be analyzed. Who knows? But here, (wrote Jason Whitlock) is what I believe, If Jovan Belcher didn’t possess a gun, he and Kasandra Perkins would both be alive today.”
http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/22825103/vp/50051894#50051894
ON 49ERS
Dungy on Colin Kaepernick: “It has to be Kaepernick. If you are Jim Harbaugh and you have a team that is in first place, the worst thing you can do is flip flop on who your leader is. Play Colin Kaepernick. You are going to have some ups and downs, but overall he is going to be fine.”
ON JETS
Harrison on the Jets starting QB position: “Not Mark Sanchez. McElroy came in and he gave them a spark. Mark Sanchez had twelve weeks to prove himself, and now it is time for him to go sit on the sideline and mentally heal.”
Dungy on the playoffs: “If McElroy gives them a spark, they can make the playoffs.”ON PATRIOTS
Dungy: “They are playing better on defense, but I’m still not sold on them. But that offense is playing at a high, high level.”
ON COLTS
Dungy on Andrew Luck: “This is a team that won two games last season. They are going to be in the playoffs this year because of Andrew Luck. They believe in this guy. This is what they did not have last year, faith that they could win these games.”
ON SEAHAWKS
Dungy on Russell Wilson: “I saw Russell Wilson play against Oregon in college. He’s a winner. He’s a leader. He’s mobile. He can do all the things that you need from a quarterback.”
Harrison on Wilson: “What I love about him is the maturity. The fact that he went into that huddle and he said, ‘Hey guys, we’re going to go down and we’re going to score a touchdown,’ the poise in which he showed.”
Dungy on Wilson: “Those players love him and Pete Carroll loves him. Remember now, he benched a guy that they paid a lot of money to get, in Flynn, and went with Russell Wilson as a rookie.”ON STEELERS
Dungy: “Pittsburgh was sinking and Cincinnati was coming on. Cincinnati won today and this is really going to set up that Week 16 battle between Cincinnati and Pittsburgh. I think that is who is going to get that second wild card spot.”
Harrison on Charlie Batch: “Sorry Charlie. You finally stepped up and made the plays. I like Charlie Batch. He made some key plays in the fourth quarter and showed poise and confidence.”ON RAVENS
Harrison: “This was a huge loss for Baltimore because I think they’re going to probably still win the division, but now that number two seed is in jeopardy.”
ON BENGALS
Dungy: “This was a huge game. With Indianapolis winning, and Pittsburgh winning, they had to win today and they did it on the west coast.”
Dungy on making the playoffs: “It’s going to come down to Week 16, playing against Pittsburgh. They are going to have to win that game to get in.”ON COWBOYS
Collinsworth on Dez Bryant: “At some point, he has to take over and say, ‘This is who I’m going to be.’ I think he’s moving in that direction, I honestly do. I hope he is another one of those success stories.”
ON EAGLES
Ward: “All these guys are interviewing for jobs next season, not only for the Eagles, but for other general managers and other teams. Tonight is a part of the evaluation process for the Eagles organization, to find out which players are going to go out there and continue to fight, and which players are going to go out there and quit.”
BOB COSTAS ON THE PHILADELPHIA EAGLES
(Essay aired during Football Night In America, prior to Eagles-Cowboys game)
Andy Reid is the longest-tenured coach in the NFL, but his 14th season with the Eagles has come undone. The team is 3-8, and has lost its last seven games.Reid has taken the Eagles to the playoffs nine times, the conference title game five times, and the Super Bowl once, but high hopes for the franchise’s first ever Super Bowl title last season evaporated with a poor start, and an ultimate 8-8 finish. And this year has been worse.
Things actually began well for the Eagles in September, with a one-point win over the Ravens in Week 2, and then another close victory in Week 4 over the Giants on Sunday Night Football. The team was 3-1, and atop the NFC East, but they haven’t won since.
Michael Vick, whose dramatic return to prominence in 2010 appeared to create a new franchise cornerstone, has instead transformed into an ongoing question mark. The QB’s turnover-prone and inconsistent play had many calling for a change when the team began to sputter. But Reid, under the microscope of the ever-unforgiving Philadelphia sports scene, ultimately chose to stick with him, at least until Vick was knocked out of action with a concussion three weeks ago.
Reid did decide to make a big change on the “defensive” side of the ball in mid-October, firing coordinator Juan Castillo, who’d been a controversial hiring two seasons ago when he was moved over from offensive line coach. Still, the results since have been awful. The Eagles have given up at least 28 points in each of its last five losses, the worst defensive streak in franchise history.
And it’s been the way they’ve lost, as much as anything. After last week’s loss to Carolina, tight end Brent Celak didn’t disagree when a reporter suggested other teams were “laughing” at the Eagles.
And remember, just a year ago, Celak was one of the big-name playmakers on the NFL’s so-called “dream team” – along with Vick, LeSean McCoy, DeSean Jackson, and on defense, Nnamdi Asamougha and Jason Babin. They were expected to lift the Eagles to their first-ever Super Bowl title.
Instead, it’s all fallen apart with this week, Jackson placed on injured reserve and Babin released.
There you have it.
Dec
02
NBC’s Football Night in America Previews Its Week 13 Interview For 2012 Season
Tonight in advance of the Philadelphia Eagles-Dallas Cowboys game on Sunday Night Football, NBC’s Football Night in America will air a Bob Costas interview of linebacker DeMarcus Ware from the Cowboys.
We have a partial transcript and it’s all below for you.
“We have not been the team that we want to be, but we are on the road to where we need to be.” – DeMarcus Ware on the Cowboys
“You say four of the five, but you need to look a little bit more than that. We need to try and win all five.” – Ware on the Cowboys and the playoffsNEW YORK – December 2, 2012 – Bob Costas interviewed Dallas Cowboys LB DeMarcus Ware for tonight’s Week 13 edition of Football Night in America, which will preview Eagles-Cowboys, and will also include highlights, analysis and reaction to earlier Week 13 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 and former Steelers WR 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.
INTERVIEWS: Below are excerpts from Costas’ interviews with Coughlin and Cobb.
DEMARCUS WARE WITH BOB COSTAS
On the Cowboys record this season: “We have not been the team that we want to be, but we are on the road to where we need to be.”
On the Cowboys and the playoffs: “You say four of the five, but you need to look a little bit more than that. We need to try and win all five.”
On being held in the same regard as Lawrence Taylor and Reggie White: “Coming in and being a pass rusher, those are the guys that you look up to. Reggie White, Bruce Smith and Lawrence Taylor, those are the guys you try to idolize your pass rush skills after. To be named with those guys is a great honor.”
On playing for former Cowboys head coach Bill Parcells, and how often Parcells spoke about Lawrence Taylor: “When I first came to Dallas, he (Parcells) said this is who you need to play like. This is who you need to pass rush like. You need to have the same relentless demeanor. He stuck that in my head. Off the field, you are two different guys. On the field, this is how I want you to play.”
On being featured in a new cartoon on Nickelodeon: “The NFL and Nickelodeon teamed up, and I’m one of the characters in an episode that comes out soon. My character was all about being a leader and adapting to your environment. It’s weird to have my kids watching their daddy on television.”
I’m expecting ESPN’s quotage from Sunday NFL Countdown. Once it arrives in the Fang’s Bites inbox, I’ll post it here.
Dec
02
NBC Previews Sunday Night Football For Week 13 of the 2012 NFL Season
In primetime, NBC airs the Philadelphia Eagles-Dallas Cowboys game live from the Jerry Jones World of Extravagance in Arlington, TX. NBC and the NFL chose to keep the game in the primetime slot despite Philadelphia’s pitiful record and Dallas’ shaky appearances on Sunday Night Football.
The ratings for Cowboys games are usually through the roof and most likely, this game will be no exception.
Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth will have the call high above the field. Michele Tafoya will roam the sidelines during the game.
Football Night in America precedes the game at 7 p.m. on NBC with Bob Costas and Hines Ward from Arlington, Dan Patrick, Tony Dungy and Rodney Harrison will be in New York.
Here’s NBC’s preview.
THE DALLAS COWBOYS HOST THE PHILADELPHIA EAGLES IN AN NFC EAST MATCHUP ON “SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL”
Coverage Begins with Football Night in America at 7 p.m. ET
Sunday Night Football Extra to Live Stream Eagles-Cowboys on NBCSports.comNEW YORK – November 29, 2012 – Tony Romo and the Dallas Cowboys (5-6) look to climb back in to the playoff picture in the NFC as they host the Philadelphia Eagles (3-8) on Sunday Night Football. Coverage begins with Football Night in America at 7 p.m. ET on NBC.
Calling Eagles-Cowboys is six-time Emmy Award-winner Al Michaels (play-by-play), in his 27th season as the voice of the NFL’s premier primetime package; 13-time Emmy Award-winner Cris Collinsworth, who has won the Emmy for Outstanding Event Analyst in each of his three seasons in the Sunday Night Football booth; and sideline reporter Michele Tafoya, who, last year in her first season with SNF, won the inaugural Emmy Award for Outstanding Sports Reporter.
Football Night in America is hosted by 24-time Emmy Award-winner Bob Costas, who will report from Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Costas will be joined on site by Michaels, Collinsworth and Hines Ward, the former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver and Super Bowl MVP.
Dan Patrick co-hosts Football Night from NBC’s Studio 8G at 30 Rockefeller Plaza. Patrick 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 Pro Football Talk on NBC Sports Network and NBCSports.com. Carolyn Manno will report on Steelers-Ravens, from M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Md.
PREVIEW VIDEO:
Michaels and Collinsworth on Eagles vs. Cowboys:
http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/22825103/vp/49961119#49961119Patrick, Dungy and Harrison on Eagles vs. Cowboys:
http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/22825103/vp/49960591#49960591In addition to the weekly Sunday Night Football and Football Night in America broadcasts, NBC Sports Group’s NFL coverage also includes digital content and social media extensions that are available online, as well as NFL-related shoulder programming available on NBC Sports Network.
And we’re done with the previews. I need to sleep.
Nov
30
NFL Viewing Picks For Week 13, 12/02/2012
All Times Eastern
Pregame & Studio Shows
First on the Field — NFL Network, 7 a.m.
NFL Matchup — ESPN2, 8:30 a.m.
NFL GameDay Morning — NFL Network, 9 a.m.
Fantasy Football Today — CBS Sports Network, 11 a.m.
Fantasy Football Now — ESPN2, 11 a.m.
The NFL Today — CBS, noon
Fox NFL Sunday — Fox, noon
NFL Red Zone Channel — DirecTV Channel 703, 12:55 p.m.
NFL RedZone — Check your local listings, 1 p.m.
Fox NFL Sunday Postgame — Fox, 4 p.m.
NFL GameDay Scoreboard — NFL Network, 4 p.m.
Football Night in America — NBC, 7 p.m.
NFL GameDay Highlights — NFL Network, 7:30 p.m.
NFL GameDay Overtime — NFL Network, 11:30 p.m.
NFL GameDay Final — NFL Network, noon
1 p.m.
CBS
Houston at Tennessee — Kevin Harlan/Solomon Wilcots
Indianapolis at Detroit — Ian Eagle/Dan Fouts
Jacksonville at Buffalo — Spero Dedes/Steve Beuerlein
New England at Miami — Greg Gumbel/Dan Dierdorf
FOX
Arizona at New York Jets — Thom Brennaman/Brian Billick/Laura Okmin
Carolina at Kansas City — Ron Pitts/Mike Martz/Kristina Pink
Minnesota at Green Bay — Joe Buck/Troy Aikman/Pam Oliver
San Francisco at St. Louis — Kenny Albert/Daryl Johnston/Tony Siragusa
Seattle at Chicago — Chris Myers/Tim Ryan/Jaime Maggio!!!
4:05 p.m.
FOX
Tampa Bay at Denver — Dick Stockton/John Lynch/Jennifer Hale
4:25 p.m.
CBS
Cincinnati at San Diego — Marv Albert/Rich Gannon
Cleveland at Oakland — Bill Macatee/Steve Tasker
Pittsburgh at Baltimore — Jim Nantz/Phil Simms
8:30 p.m.
NBC
Philadelphia at Dallas — Al Michaels/Cris Collinsworth/Michele Tafoya
DirecTV NFL Sunday Ticket Channel Assignments
SiriusXM Satellite Radio Channel Assignments
Nov
25
NBC’s Football Night in America Quotage For Week 12 of the 2012 NFL Season
Let’s finish our Sunday NFL pregame show quotage with NBC’s Football Night in America. Lots of things said on this show as you can plainly see below.
“If they play like this, they won’t win another game.” – Tony Dungy on the Steelers
“This team should be taken seriously.” – Rodney Harrison on the Bengals
“The Colts are going to the playoffs.” – Dungy
“Your season is on the line. Somebody needs to make a tackle.” – Harrison on fourth-and-29 play at the end of Ravens-ChargersNEW YORK – November 25, 2012 – Following are highlights for Football Night in America. Bob Costas opened the show live from inside MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., where the Giants are hosting the Green Bay Packers. Costas was joined on-site by Sunday Night Football commentators Al Michaels (play-by-play) and Cris Collinsworth (analyst), and Hines Ward, the former Steelers wide receiver and Super Bowl MVP.
Dan Patrick co-hosted the program from Studio 8G at NBC’s 30 Rockefeller Plaza studios and was joined by Football Night in America analysts Tony Dungy and Rodney Harrison, and NFL insiders Peter King of Sports Illustrated and Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com. Alex Flanagan reported from the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, La., on the 49ers-Saints game.
Following are highlights from Football Night in America:
ON STEELERS
Michaels on Ben Roethlisberger: “I don’t think there’s anybody as important to his team as Ben is to his right now in the National Football League.”
Collinsworth on Steelers-Browns: “It was bizarre watching that game. I think every running back on the roster had a fumble in the game. Just very un-Steelers-like football right now. A little bit of panic, who knows? It just doesn’t look good.”Harrison: “I’m not saying it’s all on Charlie Batch, but he has to take the majority of the blame. I know he’s the third-string quarterback, but he’s a 15-year veteran. When he comes in and gets that opportunity, he has to come in and perform.”
Dungy: “I kind of disagree with that, because, to me, the Steelers formula is: run the ball, play defense. You know your backup quarterback is not going to be as good as Roethlisberger, but if every back you have fumbles the ball, every lineman you have holds, and your receivers drop every pass…”
Harrison: “They were packing the pocket with eight or nine guys because they have no threat or no fear that he’s going to make them pay.”
Dungy: “They have to run the ball and play defense even when Ben Roethlisberger gets back. If they play like this, they won’t win another game.”
Dungy: “The Pittsburgh Steelers are in trouble. Not only are they down to their third quarterback, they’re playing bad football—interceptions, fumbles, and penalties in bunches.”ON 49ERS
Patrick on Colin Kaepernick’s performance: “Let the controversy begin.”
Harrison: “It’s over.”Kaepernick to Alex Flanagan on if he expects to be the team’s starter: “That will be coach’s decision. We’ll see what happens.”
Dungy on Kaepernick’s ability to run: “This is what he brings that Alex Smith doesn’t. He throws the ball well from the pocket, but this dimension of the quarterback running is really going to make San Francisco tough.”
Patrick to Dungy: “I’m going to make you Jim Harbaugh. You have a quarterback controversy?”
Dungy: “I don’t. I’m playing Colin Kaepernick.”
Harrison: “San Francisco has found their starting quarterback, and they’re the most physical team in the league.”ON saints
Dungy: “They blew a big opportunity today.”
ON BRONCOS
Dungy on Peyton Manning: “For some reason, he doesn’t have his ‘A’ game against (Chiefs head coach) Romeo Crennel…One thing the Broncos are learning, even when he’s off, even when he’s confused a little bit early, you don’t give up on Peyton. You don’t take the ball out of his hands. He’s going to make the plays you need to win it. When they needed the big throws, he made them.”
ON COLTS
Dungy on Andrew Luck: “Just like Peyton (Manning), when he’s a little bit off, and a little bit confused early, it doesn’t bother him. That’s what I love about this young man. When they need the big throws, he still wants the ball in his hands; he wants to make the play… He is the reason they are in playoff contention.”
Dungy: “The Colts are going to the playoffs. I said it last week. They’re definitely going. Andrew Luck is going to be the Rookie of the Year.”
ON FALCONS
Collinsworth: “When Julio Jones plays, that’s a different football team. He’s the closest thing to Calvin Johnson right now in the league — big, strong, fast, physical. Even on a bad ankle he was too much for them today.”
ON BENGALS
Harrison: “The Bengals are really good. Now they’re playing like a complete team because they’re running the football…This team should be taken seriously.”
ON BEARS
Patrick: “Cutler coming back, a whole different aura about that offense.”
Harrison: “Cutler gives this offense a different dimension because he can do so many different things.”ON SEAHAWKS
Patrick: “They’re very good at home, very bad on the road.”
Dungy on controversial roughing-the-passer call: “This is running into the quarterback, not roughing the quarterback…He (Seahawks S Earl Thomas) was trying to avoid it. He didn’t even hit him (Dolphins QB Ryan Tannehill) hard, barely touched him.”NOTE: An interception thrown by Dolphins QB Ryan Tannehill was negated by a roughing the passer call against Seahawks S Earl Thomas. The Dolphins scored a touchdown on the next play.
ON CHARGERS
Patrick on today’s loss: “For San Diego, at 4-7, we say goodbye.”
Dungy: “And maybe thankfully goodbye. That was awful.”Harrison on Ravens RB Ray Rice converting on fourth-and-29 play: “Your season is on the line. Somebody needs to make a tackle.”
ON COACHING CHANGES
Florio: “As we get closer to the end of the regular season, I spoke to a general manager this week who said, look for unprecedented amount of change with coaches, and also general managers and starting quarterbacks, once the 2012 season ends.”
King: “Add these three to your list in the coming months: look for very impatient ownership both in Buffalo and Carolina to have short leashes on Chan Gailey with the Bills, Ron Rivera with the Carolina Panthers; and Ken Whisenhunt in Arizona may not be safe. He has not gotten that quarterback position straightened out.”Click here for a video: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/22825103/vp/49959478#49959478
There you have it.
Nov
25
NBC Previews Football Night in America’s Interviews For Week 12 of the 2012 NFL Season
Tonight on Football Night in America, Bob Costas will talk with Green Bay Packers wide receiver Randall Cobb and New York Football Giants coach Tom Coughlin in advance of tonight’s Sunday Night Football game on NBC.
Football Night in America airs at 7 p.m. ET on NBC. Take a look at the partial transcripts of the interviews that will air tonight.
BOB COSTAS INTERVIEWS GIANTS HEAD COACH TOM COUGHLIN & PACKERS WR RANDALL COBB
“When people ask me the question about last year, I simply say, ‘It didn’t finish too badly.’” – Tom Coughlin on his team’s rollercoaster seasons
“We’ll take out that vengeance on the field.” –Randall Cobb on last year’s playoff loss to the GiantsNEW YORK – November 25, 2012 – Bob Costas interviewed New York Giants Head Coach Tom Coughlin and Packers WR Randall Cobb for tonight’s Week 12 edition of Football Night in America, which will preview Packers-Giants, and will also include highlights, analysis and reaction to earlier Week 12 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 and former Steelers WR 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.
INTERVIEWS: Below are excerpts from Costas’ interviews with Coughlin and Cobb.
TOM COUGHLIN WITH BOB COSTAS
On if he has a theory about his teams start well and then slump and then experience a late surge: “I really never have sat down and said, ‘Look, this is a major major issue for us.’ Because when people ask me the question about last year, I simply say, ‘It didn’t finish too badly.’ But, that doesn’t disregard the fact that this does take place. Why does it take place? That is a very good question. I can throw some things at you after 10 games. Were we a little bit stale? Where we injured? Were we fatigued? No, I think they are all excuses and we don’t make excuses around here. So, we just didn’t play as well as we are capable of playing.”
On still having confidence this season despite recent losses, and whether they will come out on top: “We will. There is not any question about that Bob. We’ve been through this before. It’s unfortunate, but it does go a bit like that on occasion, so we have a lot of things that, we are trying to work and improve upon. But we know we’ve been here and we know we have been able to pull ourselves out of these kind of things before.”
On what was going through his mind during David Tyree’s famous ‘Helmet Catch’ during Super Bowl XLII: “The Tyree thing, first I’m looking out there and Eli is trapped, I mean, they’ve got him. Then he throws it down the middle of the field, and I’m like ‘Oh my God it’s down the middle of the field.’ Because a lot of times you overthrow the ball in the middle of the field and good things don’t happen. He’s got the ball pinned to his helmet, and he can’t hang, there’s no way he can hang on to the ball falling on the ground like that, especially with a guy that was hanging over him (Rodney Harrison). He did.”
On Tom Brady’s Hail Mary during Super Bowl XLVI, putting the ball right in the end zone: “The last play of the game. You know we left a little bit of time on for this guy and we know, we didn’t want Tom Brady to have any time. He hits a fourth-and- seventeen for crying out loud, are you serious? He doesn’t loft the ball, he throws a rocket, and its coming right at its coming down like this and you teach your guys to knock the ball down, and they can’t knock it down because he’s throwing where those 6’ 7” guys are. I can still see Kenny Phillips up as high as he could go and there’s a bunch of hands up there, and I’m worried if the ball is going to tip off their hands to the back line, because they’re are starting to be in position there. In reality, Antrel Rolle and (Rob) Gronkowski are going for the ball low like its right here. All the sudden it’s on the ground and I’m thinking ‘Wow we’re World Champions.’”
RANDALL COBB WITH BOB COSTAS
On his first game in the NFL in 2011 against the New Orleans Saints where he ran an amazing 108 yards for a touchdown: “I felt something inside of me, telling me it was time to bring it out. I trusted my instincts and I made that move and the rest is history.”
Costas: ‘It’s like a version of the basketball thing where the coach thinks the guys is taking a bad shot, ‘No, no, no, yes!’: “Yes, Yes!”
On earning the trust of QB Aaron Rodgers, who recently commented on Cobb saying, ‘He does so many things on the field. ‘He’s so smart. He knows progressions and timing and when he has to get open’: “It does and that is something that I really wanted to work on this off-season. Understanding when I’m the No. 1 read and when I’m the No. 3 read and understanding how to use my leverage as a receiver. It was a good off-season for me being able to build that chemistry with him.”
On being a tough receiver despite his height: “You have to as a receiver. They’ve made the game a lot safer for the receivers. I really don’t agree with some of this stuff, because I like the physicality, I like the toughness in football. That’s one of the reasons that I like the game. I always was a fearless kid. I wanted to play with my older brother so much. My older brother was seven years older than me, my cousins, they all played football out in the street. Tackle football out in the street. On the concrete and they wouldn’t let me play. The older I got, the more I wanted to play. I think that drove me, that passion of just being tough and physical.”
Costas: ‘They played tackle football on concrete? Without helmets I’m guessing? No pads, street clothes I’m guessing? This is insane, you know that?’: “No helmets. No pads. Just street clothes. Yes it is (insane).”
On whether the Packers loss to the Giants during the playoffs last year at Lambeau Field still stings: “Oh yeah, it definitely does. When you go 15-1 and are projected to win the Super Bowl. When you let a team come into your house, and knock you off the throne, that’s something that’s going to stay with you. I think that’s something I use as motivation. When you think about that, it’s in the back of your mind. You don’t forget those kinds of games and I think that’s something that all of us have been thinking this week in practice. I think that we’ll take out that vengeance on the field.”
That’s going to do it. The next post should be the FNIA quotage from tonight.
Nov
23
NFL Viewing Picks For Week 12, 11/25/2012
All Times Eastern
Pregame & Studio Shows
First on the Field — NFL Network, 7 a.m.
NFL Matchup — ESPN2, 7:30 a.m.
NFL GameDay Morning — NFL Network, 9 a.m.
Fantasy Football Today — CBS Sports Network, 11 a.m.
Fantasy Football Now — ESPN2, 11 a.m.
The NFL Today — CBS, noon
Fox NFL Sunday — Fox, noon
NFL Red Zone Channel — DirecTV Channel, 703, 12:55 p.m.
NFL RedZone — Check your local listings, 1 p.m.
NFL Today Postgame — CBS, 4 p.m.
NFL GameDay Scoreboard — NFL Network, 4 p.m.
Football Night in America — NBC, 7 p.m.
The OT — Fox, 7:30 p.m.
NFL GameDay Highlights — NFL Network, 7:30 p.m.
NFL GameDay Overtime — NFL Network, 11:30 p.m.
NFL GameDay Final — NFL Network, midnight
1 p.m.
CBS
Buffalo at Indianapolis — Marv Albert/Rich Gannon
Denver at Kansas City — Greg Gumbel/Dan Dierdorf
Oakland at Cincinnati — Bill Macatee/Steve Tasker
Pittsburgh at Cleveland — Kevin Harlan/Solomon Wilcots
Tennessee at Jacksonville — Spero Dedes/Steve Beuerlein
FOX
Atlanta at Tampa Bay — Thom Brennaman/Brian Billick Charles Davis/Laura Okmin
Minnesota at Chicago — Kenny Albert/Daryl Johnston/Tony Siragusa
Seattle at Miami — Chris Myers/Tim Ryan/Jaime Maggio!!!
4:05 p.m.
CBS
Baltimore at San Diego — Ian Eagle/Dan Fouts
4:25 p.m.
FOX
San Francisco at New Orleans — Joe Buck/Troy Aikman/Pam Oliver
St. Louis at Arizona — Dick Stockton/John Lynch/Jennifer Hale
8:30 p.m.
NBC
Green Bay at New York Giants — Al Michaels/Cris Collinsworth/Michele Tafoya
DirecTV Sunday NFL Ticket Channel Assignments
SiriusXM Satellite Radio Channel Assignments
Nov
22
NBC’s Football Night in America Quotage For Thanksgiving 2012
Kudos to NBC for being the only network to provide full quotage from today’s games. CBS did provide a couple of quotes, but overall, NBC came through with a full set of quotes for its Thanksgiving pregame show.
Here are the quotes from Thursday night’s show.
“It’s a bad rule.” – Tony Dungy on controversial play in Texans-Lions game
“This is just not a very good team.” – Rodney Harrison on the Dallas Cowboys
“This is a great addition to the tradition.” – John Madden on NBC’s first Thanksgiving night gameNEW YORK – November 22, 2012 – Following are highlights for Football Night in America. Bob Costas opened the special Thanksgiving night show live from inside MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., where the Jets are hosting the New England Patriots.
Dan Patrick co-hosted the program from the field at MetLife Stadium and was joined by Football Night in America analysts Tony Dungy and Rodney Harrison.
John Madden narrated a special taped open just prior to kickoff.
Following are highlights from Football Night in America:
JOHN MADDEN OPEN
Tradition has never struck me as only being about the past. It’s always taking on new pieces from here, new pieces from there. Tradition is always evolving.
I think Thanksgiving is a great example of that.
A game like football comes along, years and years ago, and it seems like a great fit for the holiday.
So boom – they start playing football on Thanksgiving.
And the years go by, television comes along, and that becomes a big part of the whole deal.
So people watch the games while they eat and eat and eat all day …
They roast the turkey. Fry the turkey. Stuff it. Hey, we used to stuff it with a chicken stuffed in a duck, if you can believe it.
Some things are new, some things are familiar.
Football’s the same way.
There’s a lot of tradition, but it’s always evolving. It’s always growing. And that’s a big part of why people love it so much.
And it’s like we say at the table in my house. If you want more of something, hey, go have some more.
So a game tonight, in primetime, on NBC, two big rivals. To me – it’s a perfect new addition to the tradition.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE. ENJOY THE GAME.
ON REDSKINS-COWBOYS
Patrick on Robert Griffin III’s statistics: “Those are video game numbers.”
Harrison on the Cowboys: “We fall in love with this team because they’re physically talented, but we see time and time again the mental mistakes and it’s the mistakes by the best players. Part of leadership is showing poise and taking care of the ball. We’ve seen the fourth-quarter mistakes. I just believe this is just not a very good team.”ON LIONS-TEXANS
Dungy: “It’s a bad rule. It should be a penalty if you do that, but you should still get to review the play. Jim Schwartz knows the rule, but you have to keep your composure as a coach. You preach that to your players. You cannot throw the flag and cost your team seven points.”
Patrick: “It’s such a monumental play here and a big turnaround here, and it cost the Lions the game.”
Harrison: “As a player, you have to finish the play. The Detroit Lions, they play hard. They take on the personality of their coach. At times, they’re tough, they’re emotional. But they lack discipline, and once they get to the point that they can instill more discipline into this team, they’ll start winning these football games.”
Dungy: “…emotional coach cost them seven points.”
That does it.
Nov
18
NBC’s Football Night in America Quotage For Week 11 of 2012 Season
Let’s complete our Sunday NFL pregame quotage with NBC’s Football Night in America. Lots of stuff said on the hour plus program.
“The owner said Andy Reid had to make the playoffs. They are not making the playoffs.” – Tony Dungy
“Sounds like the definition of a bad team.” – Rodney Harrison on the Eagles’ struggles
“Chip Kelly is going to be the most desirable candidate in the off-season for NFL openings.” – Peter King
“If the Jets run the ball and don’t get into a throwing match, I think they can win the ballgame.” –Dungy on Thanksgiving night’s Jets-Patriots gameNEW YORK – November 18, 2012 – Following are highlights for Football Night in America. Bob Costas opened the show live from inside Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pa., where the Steelers are hosting the Baltimore Ravens. Costas was joined on-site by Sunday Night Football commentators Al Michaels (play-by-play) and Cris Collinsworth (analyst), and Hines Ward, the former Steelers wide receiver and Super Bowl MVP.
Dan Patrick co-hosted the program from Studio 8G at NBC’s 30 Rockefeller Plaza studios and was joined by Football Night in America analysts Tony Dungy and Rodney Harrison, and NFL insiders Peter King of Sports Illustrated and Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com. Carolyn Manno reported on Colts-Patriots, from Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass.
Following are highlights from Football Night in America:
ON COWBOYS
Michaels: “I saw that whole game. It took them four hours to beat the Cleveland Browns. They lost that game like 15 different times…Overtime was crazy. It’s a gigantic win.”
Dungy: “Again, not being able to do the ordinary things…They’re going to try and protect a four-point lead, 1:10 to go and they can’t count to 11 (nine men on the field that led to Browns TD). They created this problem themselves just not being able to line up.”
Dungy: “The Dallas Cowboys are alive. With all the trauma and drama in Dallas, I’m just saying they’re alive.”
ON EAGLES
Florio: “Michael Vick most likely won’t be back in Philly next year as the quarterback, but we could see him back as soon as next week given the fact that Nick Foles didn’t play that well. I am told that the team has overstated Mike Vick’s concussion symptoms. He is not hurt as badly as believed. We could see him next week.”
Dungy: “What we saw is Michael Vick wasn’t the only problem. Bad coverage, bad tackling, dropped balls, a lot of problems in Philadelphia.”
Harrison: “Sounds like the definition of a bad team.”
Dungy: “I’m sure they’re going to have a new coach and a lot of new players next year. The owner said Andy Reid had to make the playoffs. They are not making the playoffs.”ON JETS
Dungy: “This was the right formula for them. Twenty passes for Mark Sanchez, not 40 or 45, and getting things done…This is what they need to do, run, play defense, and a little bit of Mark Sanchez.”
Dungy on Thanksgiving night game vs. Patriots: “If the Jets run the ball and don’t get into a throwing match, I think they can win the ballgame…I think the Jets have a shot to win.”
ON PATRIOTS
Harrison: “The one thing we know about the Patriots, they can score offensively. But I think you look at this game (vs. Colts) and see that they’re a much improved defensive team. They are scoring touchdowns on defense, they’re creating turnovers.”
ON COLTS
Harrison on Andrew Luck: “It was just bad decision making. It wasn’t anything fancy, any fancy scheme or anything that confused him. He just made bad throws.”
ON TEXANS
Collinsworth: “The question was could Matt Schaub carry that team with the passing game if he had to? 527 yards later today, the answer is yes.”
Harrison on if today’s performance was a letdown or showed some flaws: “I think it was more of an emotional and mental letdown.”
Dungy: “I really do think that that win against Chicago took something out of them.”ON SAINTS
Dungy on playoff chances: “They have a chance. This offense can allow them to string together four or five wins in a row, but we’ll find out next week (when they play the 49ers).
ON BUCCANEERS
Harrison: “They showed a lot of mental toughness today, overcoming some early mistakes.”
ON PACKERS
Patrick on Aaron Rodgers’ performance despite team’s rash of injuries: “Pretty amazing if you consider what he’s done.”
Dungy: “A lot of noise, great pass rush, but when they needed it, Aaron Rodgers made the big drive.”ON FALCONS
Harrison: “The winning formula to me is they have to get back to running the ball with Michael Turner…throwing the ball 40 or 50 times a game, they can’t win like this…You can beat the Arizonas of the world but when you start playing against good quality teams, like Green Bay, you are not going to be able to win those games.”
ON COACHING
Florio: “Six weeks until the end of the regular season and coaches will be fired. Let’s start in Cleveland where (head) coach Pat Shurmur and general manager Tom Heckert are virtually certain to be gone as soon as Cleveland’s season ends. In San Diego, Norv Turner could be gone as soon as this week unless the Chargers find a way to avoid going three games behind the Broncos. They are playing Denver today. Finally, in Philadelphia, it is no longer ‘if,’ it is definitely ‘when’ owner Jeffrey Lorie will pull the plug on Andy Reid.”
King: “(Oregon head coach) Chip Kelly is going to be the most desirable candidate in the off-season for NFL openings.”
ON CONCUSSIONS
Florio: “In that huge concussion lawsuit brought by nearly 4,000 former players against the NFL, there was news this week of a supposed ‘smoking gun’ given that the NFL’s Disability Board had paid payments of benefits to former players who had brain damage due to concussions. But, if this means the NFL knew about the connection between concussions and brain damage, it also means the players knew because NFLPA representatives are on that Disability Board.”
Click here to watch a video: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/22825103/vp/49879019#49879019
ON STEELERS
Ward: “All the guys love Byron’s attitude. He always brings that positive attitude. He’s got to be one of the most confident guys on the team, and that’s a great trait to have as a backup quarterback.”
ON RAVENS
Ward on Terrell Suggs, who surprisingly told Bob Costas he was going to miss Ward, who retired, in tonight’s game: “I miss the guy too. I love everything about him. I think he epitomizes what this rivalry is all about.”
Ward on the rivalry: “For me, when I was playing, I was the ‘tempo setter.’ I always wanted to set the tempo for the game and try to play into the Ravens players’ minds to get inside their heads. On the first play in the AFC Championship game in 2008, I went after Ed Reed. Next thing I know, I have three Ravens players beating me up. Unfortunately, I come out with the penalty, but throughout the whole game those guys were trying to retaliate and get me back.”
And we’re done.
Nov
18
NBC’s Football Night in America Previews the Interviews for Week 11 of the 2012 NFL Season
Tonight, NBC will air the AFC North Division blood rivalry game between the Baltimore Ravens and the Pittsburgh Steelers. In advance of the game, Bob Costas will conduct three interviews on Football Night in America, aired from 7 p.m. until 8:15 p.m. ET.
Bob will talk with Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs, Steelers quarterback Byron Leftwich and former Steelers running back Franco Harris. Not sure what relevance Franco has for tonight’s game, but NBC will find a way to make him so.
Here’s a partial transcript of tonight’s three interviews on NBC’s Football Night in America. Everything is included in black and white below for you.
BOB COSTAS INTERVIEWS RAVENS LB TERRELL SUGGS & STEELERS HALL OF FAME RB FRANCO HARRIS
“I’m starting to get a little itch.” – Terrell Suggs to Bob Costas on wanting to win a Super Bowl
“I ran to the ball every time in practice not knowing that something like this was going to happen.” – Franco Harris to Bob Costas on the Immaculate Reception
“Why on Earth would I try and go do something I know I can’t do?” – Byron Leftwich on trying to duplicate Ben RoethlisbergerNEW YORK – November 18, 2012 – Bob Costas interviewed Baltimore Ravens LB Terrell Suggs and Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Fame RB Franco Harris for tonight’s Week 11 edition of Football Night in America, which will preview Ravens-Steelers, and will also include highlights, analysis and reaction to earlier Week 11 games. Football Night also interviewed Steelers QB Byron Leftwich.
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 and former Steelers WR 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. Carolyn Manno will report on Colts-Patriots, from Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass.
INTERVIEWS: Below are excerpts from Costas’ interviews with Suggs and Harris, as well as Football Night’s interview with Leftwich.
TERRELL SUGGS WITH BOB COSTAS
On his disappointment that Hines Ward (retired) and Ben Roethlisberger (injured) won’t be playing: “I’m a little bummed. If you’re going to throw on a performance, you need the players. I’m going to be a little bummed not to see 86 (Ward) and, to be totally honest with you, 7 (Roethlisberger). But once the whistle blows, it’ll be business as usual.”
On what he said to the doctor when he was told he wouldn’t play in 2012 after an Achilles tear last year: “I’m not going to accept that. He could be wrong, and then I got a second opinion and they told me nine-12 months. I said, “You’re wrong. You don’t know me.” I said I was going to do something and I did it. My whole life I lived by the motto, if I can’t do it, it can’t be done. So I went out there and did it.”
On if he feels like the window to win a championship is narrowing now that he’s 30: “Not really, because I don’t feel like I’m 30. I don’t feel like I’m 30, I feel like a young kid feels just playing football. For my first two years in the league, I was the youngest guy in the NFL. But I don’t feel that way, my body feels great. Do I feel the window closing? No, but I’m starting to get a little itch. I’m starting to get a little draft…We better get this done and soon, if we’re not only going to win multiples, but we’ve got to get the first one very soon.”
FRANCO HARRIS WITH BOB COSTAS
Costas on the Immaculate Reception and reports that Harris would regularly “go to the ball” in practice: “Even though there’s a huge element of chance in this play, part of it is not chance, because you went to the ball.”
On why he practiced ‘going to the ball’: “That part I credit Joe Paterno with because at practice he’d be hollering, ‘Harris, go to the ball.’ From that first pass in practice where the ball was caught, I ran to the ball, and I ran to the ball every time in practice not knowing that something like this was going to happen.”
BYRON LEFTWICH
On the impact of losing Ben Roethlisberger: “I understand that when you lose Ben, a guy who’s been to three Super Bowls in nine years, that that’s a special football player.”
On trying to duplicate Roethlisberger: “Why on Earth would I try and go do something I know I can’t do? At that the same time, I feel as though I can play a little bit. I feel as though I can go out here and execute this offense well.”
We’re now on evening break until Football Night in America quotage.
Nov
18
NBC Previews Sunday Night Football Matchup Between Baltimore & Pittsburgh
This week, NBC’s Sunday Night Football will be in the Steel City for the AFC North blood rivalry game between the Baltimore Ravens and the Pittsburgh Steelers. NBC loves showing this game every year and 2012 is no exception. In the first opportunity to flex, NBC and the NFL chose to keep Ravens-Steelers in place and not opt for another game in primetime.
We have NBC’s preview for you below.
Coverage Begins with Football Night in America at 7 p.m. ET
Sunday Night Football Extra to Live Stream Ravens-Steelers on NBCSports.comNEW YORK – November 15, 2012 – The AFC North leading Baltimore Ravens (7-2) travel to Pittsburgh to take on the Steelers (6-3) on Sunday Night Football. Coverage begins with Football Night in America at 7 p.m. ET on NBC.
Calling Ravens-Steelers is six-time Emmy Award-winner Al Michaels (play-by-play), in his 27th season as the voice of the NFL’s premier primetime package; 13-time Emmy Award-winner Cris Collinsworth, who has won the Emmy for Outstanding Event Analyst in each of his three seasons in the Sunday Night Football booth; and sideline reporter Michele Tafoya, who, last year in her first season with SNF, won the inaugural Emmy Award for Outstanding Sports Reporter.
Football Night in America is hosted by 23-time Emmy Award-winner Bob Costas, who will report from Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, PA. Costas will be joined on site by Michaels, Collinsworth and Hines Ward, the former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver and Super Bowl MVP.
Dan Patrick co-hosts Football Night from NBC’s Studio 8G at 30 Rockefeller Plaza. Patrick 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 Pro Football Talk on NBC Sports Network and NBCSports.com. Carolyn Manno will report on Colts-Patriots, from Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass.
In addition to the weekly Sunday Night Football and Football Night in America broadcasts, NBC Sports Group’s NFL coverage also includes digital content and social media extensions that are available online, as well as NFL-related shoulder programming available on NBC Sports Network.
And next, it’ll be the Week 11 Viewing Guide.
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