Let’s move to the NFL previews for this week. We’ll get into what’s on the Sunday NFL pregame shows and what the network analysts are saying about the upcoming Sunday of games.
In CBS’ preview, we have NFL on CBS analyst Dan Dierdorf and NFL Today panelist Bill Cowher discussing the issues that they’ll be focusing on this Sunday.
Check it out below.
THE NFL ON CBS: WEEK 2 (SUNDAY, SEPT. 16)
AUDIBLES WITH “NFL ON CBS’s” DAN DIERDORF AND “THE NFL TODAY’s” BILL COWHER
The CBS Television Network, home of Super Bowl XLVII, continues its 53rd year broadcasting the NFL with coverage of THE NFL ON CBS on Sunday, Sept. 16 (1:00-7:00 PM, ET) beginning with THE NFL TODAY, the Network’s one-hour studio show (12:00 NOON-1:00 PM, ET), live from THE NFL TODAY studio in New York City.
THE NFL ON CBS lead announce team of Jim Nantz and Phil Simms call the action from the New York Jets-Pittsburgh Steelers game live from Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pa. Lance Barrow is the coordinating producer and lead game producer and Mike Arnold is the lead game director.
Sean McManus is Chairman, CBS Sports, and serves as Executive Producer of CBS Sports’ coverage of THE NFL ON CBS. Harold Bryant is Executive Producer and Vice President, Production, CBS Sports.
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DAN DIERDORF
(On Philadelphia QB Michael Vick): Last week Cleveland had a very good game-plan of blitzing him. It was a very natural thing to do to somebody that had very few snaps in the preseason, nursing the ribs. He’s going to be rusty. I don’t care that he is an 11-year veteran. I know there was an emphasis on getting off to a fast start, and what a disappointment for him to throw four interceptions in the opener. But if there was any good news, somehow the Eagles won the game. From a confidence-standpoint, Michael Vick is probably not in a great place. When you start a season like that, I don’t care how grizzled a veteran you are, how mentally tough, that kind of game leaves a mark. Michael Vick is going to have to play some good football for a while before that game is completely out of his mind.
And Baltimore has never been known as a “rebound defense.” This is not the team you are looking for coming off a bad game to “right the ship.” If Jeremy Maclin and DeSean Jackson, Vick’s two most explosive outside threats, can’t play or are less than full speed on Sunday, Michael Vick will be going into a gun fight with only a knife.
(On Baltimore): Baltimore looked so good on Monday night. Cincinnati is not a bottom-tier team in the NFL that gets pushed around every week. And they were just destroyed by Baltimore. Joe Flacco looked fantastic. He’s running the no-huddle offense. He’s in his fifth year so he’s seen everything to make the right decisions at the line of scrimmage. He’s in a perfect place and looks so comfortable running that offense. And it’s still just fun to cover a football game where Ray Lewis and Ed Reed are still playing. They are a good solid, defensive football team.
BILL COWHER
(On Pittsburgh): Without a question, Pittsburgh coming off a loss and being at home, they have something to prove. Nobody wants to go down 0-2. But, this is going to be another tough defense that Pittsburgh is going to face. That will be a big challenge for the offense. And the defense, Peyton Manning pretty much went through them at will the other night. So it’s a chance for Pittsburgh to re-establish itself as one of the top defenses and rebound from last week.
(On N.Y. Jets): The big challenge for the N.Y. Jets will be to see if their offense was an aberration last week, or will they be able to continue to be productive week-in and week-out. This is a big challenge on the road. For the N.Y. Jets defense, the challenge comes with the speed at receiver, and will they be able to put pressure on Ben Roethlisberger. Those are the big factors for the Jets.
(On N.Y. Jets quarterback situation): The thing we all have to look for, are the Jets going to elaborate on their package with Tebow? Last week we didn’t see any passes. This week the defense may have to anticipate a little bit more elaboration with that package.
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Following are THE NFL ON CBS assignments for Week 2, Week 3 Week 4 (subject to change).
WEEK 2 – Sept. 16 – CBS DOUBLEHEADER
1:00 PM, ET starts:
- Baltimore @ Philadelphia — Greg Gumbel/Dan Dierdorf
- Kansas City @ Buffalo — Spero Dedes/Steve Beuerlein
- Cleveland @ Cincinnati — Bill Macatee/Steve Tasker
- Houston @ Jacksonville — Marv Albert/Rich Gannon
- Oakland @ Miami — Kevin Harlan/Solomon Wilcots
4:25 PM, ET starts:
- N.Y. Jets @ Pittsburgh — Jim Nantz/Phil Simms
- Tennessee @ San Diego — Ian Eagle/Dan Fouts
And we’ll move to what the NFL Today will air on Sunday as host James Brown will sit down with Philadelphia quarterback Michael Vick.
“THE NFL TODAY’s” JAMES BROWN VISITS WITH PHILADELPHIA EAGLES QUARTERBACK MICHAEL VICK FOR WEEK 2 OF “THE NFL TODAY” ON SUNDAY, SEPT. 16
THE NFL ON CBS, broadcasting its 53rd year of the NFL, kicks off its 2012 NFL season on Sunday, Sept. 16 (1:00-7:00 PM, ET) beginning with THE NFL TODAY (12:00 Noon-1:00 PM, ET).
THE NFL TODAY’s host James Brown previews Week 2’s Baltimore Ravens-Philadelphia Eagles game when he sits down with Eagles quarterback Michael Vick.
Last season, Philadelphia finished a disappointing 8-8. This year, Vick suffered an injury-filled preseason and made headlines saying his team was good enough to become an NFL “dynasty.” That “dynasty” almost became a Week 1 disaster as Vick threw four interceptions against the Cleveland Browns before leading his team on a 91-yard scoring drive to win the game with just over a minute to play.
JB sits down with the former first overall draft pick as Philadelphia prepares for a tough Week 2 match-up to discuss how far Vick thinks his Eagles can soar; his special relationship with Head Coach Andy Reid, whom he considers a “father figure;” and if the injuries he has suffered are finally taking their toll. Deb Gelman is the producer.
Brown hosts THE NFL TODAY along with analysts Dan Marino, Boomer Esiason, Shannon Sharpe and Bill Cowher, NFL TODAY Insider Jason La Canfora, as well as Lesley Visser reporting.
Eric Mann is senior producer and Bob Matina is director of THE NFL TODAY.
And that does it for the NFL on CBS preview.