NFL Previews for Championship Sunday

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We have the previews from the NFL TV partners for Conference Championship Sunday. I think the league should maximize the audience by holding one conference championship game on Saturday night at 6:30 ET and the other on Sunday night at 6:30 ET. I feel this way, you get total hype for each game and you avoid the potential for a runover if the early game on Sunday afternoon goes into overtime. Both networks get evening games and a primetime audience in the Eastern half of the country. I think it works out. But enough of my pontificating, you want to see what features the networks will air on Championship Sunday.

First, here’s what NFL Network will have in store during a whopping six hour edition of NFL Gameday Morning.

SPECIAL SIX-HOUR CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP NFL GAMEDAY MORNING

SUNDAY FROM 9:00 AM-3:00 PM ET – Marshall Faulk, Steve Mariucci, Warren Sapp, Michael Irvin, Stacey Dales and Rich Eisen

• Interviews and wired sound from two people who know Colts QB Peyton Manning best: offensive line coach Howard Mudd and C Jeff Saturday.
• On Super Bowl Journey, Jets S Kerry Rhodes and Chargers LB Shaun Phillips give all-access looks into last Sunday’s Jets-Chargers Divisional Playoff game.
• On Vikings WR Sidney Rice’s Super Bowl Journey, he talks about his record-setting three-touchdown game against the Cowboys.
• NFL Films president Steve Sabol reveals a few things not everyone knows about Brett Favre’s trip to the Louisiana Superdome in Super Bowl XXXI.
• Sabol compares and contrasts the coaching styles of Jets head coach Rex Ryan and Colts head coach Jim Caldwell.
• New Orleans music legend and Saints fan Harry Connick Jr. meets Saints QB Drew Brees. The two talk about life after Hurricane Katrina and what the Saints mean to the city.
• Excerpts from America’s Game: Super Bowl XLI when the Peyton Manning and the Colts beat the Chicago Bears 29-17.
• Scott Hanson and Michael Lombardi report from Jets-Colts matchup
• Kara Henderson and Steve Wyche report from Vikings-Saints matchup

Next, ESPN has its rundown of features you’ll see on Sunday NFL Countdown and NFL Matchup.

Sunday NFL Countdown featuring Chris Berman, Cris Carter, Mike Ditka, Tom Jackson, Keyshawn Johnson will preview the AFC and NFC Championship games Sunday at 11 a.m. ET. Chris Mortensen and Adam Schefter will provide headlines and league news.

Sunday’s pre-game show will offer team reports from Sal Paolantonio (Jets) and Suzy Kolber (Colts) at the AFC Championship in Indianapolis, as well as Ed Werder (Vikings) and Rachel Nichols (Saints) at the NFC Championship in New Orleans. Planned features:

Rex Ryan – The Press Conference:  In his first press conference as Jets head coach, Rex Ryan said his team would be meeting President Obama soon as a Super Bowl champion. Since then, Ryan has been a walking sound bite, a New York tabloid headline writer’s dream, and has filled reporters’ notebooks while raising the ire of some of his opponents.  Greg Garber reports on the experience of a Rex Ryan press conference.

Sidney Rice’s Ball Drills:  Countdown’s Cris Carter, a former Vikings receiver, joins Sidney Rice in a training session where the current Viking addresses how he improved his craft with unique ball drills, transforming his career from a virtual unknown to Pro Bowl player.

Saints – The Soul of New Orleans:  New Orleans is jazz music playing in the French Quarter, feasting on beignets at Café du Monde, and a rebuilding city post-Hurricane Katrina. But the soul of New Orleans rests in its football team. ESPN.com and ESPN The Magazine senior writer Wright Thompson, a Gulf Coast native, reports on how New Orleans and its residents are handling the excitement of hosting their first NFC Championship game – one game away from the team’s first Super Bowl.

Mayne Event: Ada, Oklahoma & J-E-T-S:  In the small Southern town of Ada, Okla., it has become an urban legend that one can get arrested and tossed into jail for wearing a New York Jets jersey.  In this week’s “Mayne Event,” Kenny Mayne tries to get Ada and its residents onto the Jets’ bandwagon.

Virtual Playbook: Brett Favre vs. Saints Safety Darren Sharper:  Favre and Sharper were teammates in Green Bay for eight seasons, facing each other in practices. In Virtual Playbook, Tom Jackson analyzes how the impending on-the-field chess match between the Vikings quarterback and Saints safety will be one of the key matchups in the NFC Championship.

Berman, Carter, Ditka, Jackson and Johnson will pick the conference championship games, preview the key players and matchups in their “Championship Game X Factors,” and offer tale-of-the-tape insight about the games.

NFL MATCHUP SUNDAY 3 A.M. AND 7:30 A.M.

NFL Matchup (Sunday at 3 a.m. and 7:30 a.m.) with host Sal Paolantonio and analysts Ron Jaworski and Merril Hoge will preview the NFL Conference Championship games. Sunday’s features:

Jets “D” vs. Colts “O” –

• Hoge reveals how the Colts offense can attack the Jets’ vulnerabilities on defense with the running game.

• Jaworski shows how late movement before the snap and quick inside pressure can break down the Indianapolis offensive line and disrupt their offense.

Jets “O” vs. Colts “D”

• Jaworski illustrates how New York must take some shots downfield in predominantly running situations for big plays. 

• Hoge highlights how the Colts defense can exploit Mark Sanchez’s inability to account for free rushers.

Vikings “O” vs. Saints “D”

• The Saints defense uses late movements and disguises.  Jaworski points out how the Vikings offense Sunday exploited the Cowboys defense that resembles the Saints. 

• At 40 years old, Brett Favre continues to make plays outside the pocket and as Hoge shows, the Saints must be wary of Favre’s ability to improvise.

Vikings “D” vs. Saints “O”

• Jaworski goes back to game film from Week 5 of the 2008 season to explain how New Orleans successfully attacked Minnesota’s linebackers in pass coverage, a key matchup Sunday.

• Hoge pulls out his ‘Coaches Clicker’ to show how Minnesota can get free rushers to the Saints quarterback without sacrificing players in coverage.

To CBS Sports which previews what you’ll see on the NFL Today this Sunday at 2 p.m. ET.

LEGENDARY NEW YORK JETS QUARTERBACK JOE NAMATH NARRATES OPENING FOR “THE NFL TODAY” IN PREVIEW OF AFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME ON SUNDAY, JAN. 24 LIVE ON CBS

BOOMER ESIASON GOES ONE-ON-ONE WITH NEW YORK JETS’ DARELLE REVIS; AND SHANNON SHARPE TALKS WITH MINNESOTA VIKINGS RECEIVING CORPS OF BERNARD BERRIAN, PERCY HARVIN, SIDNEY RICE AND VISANTHE SHIANCOE

Jim Nantz and Phil Simms Report Live From Indianapolis on AFC Championship Game; and Lesley Visser Reports Live From New Orleans on NFC Championship Game

THE NFL ON CBS, home of Super Bowl XLIV and celebrating its Golden 50^th year broadcasting the NFL, travels to Indianapolis for the 2010 American Football Conference Championship Game on Sunday, Jan. 24 (3:00 PM, ET) as the No. 5-seeded NEW YORK JETSINDIANAPOLIS COLTS (15-2) live on the CBS Television Network.  (11-7) take on the AFC South champions and No. 1-seeded

            CBS Sports’ coverage of the AFC Championship Game begins with THE NFL TODAY, the Network’s pre-game studio show, on Sunday (2:00-3:00 PM, ET) live from the CBS Broadcast Center in New York City.

Legendary New York Jets quarterback Joe Namath, who led the Jets to their only Super Bowl title in Super Bowl III with a stunning upset of the Baltimore Colts, narrates the opening of THE NFL TODAY in preview of the AFC Championship Game pitting the New York Jets against the Indianapolis Colts. Shawn Robbins is the producer.

THE NFL TODAY’s Boomer Esiason goes one-on-one with Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis talking about how he has shut down every receiver he has faced this season including Marques Colston, Andre Johnson, Randy Moss, Chad Ochocinco, Terrell Owens, Steve Smith, and Reggie Wayne.  Sunday, Revis, the runner up for Defensive Player of the Year, gets his second crack at Wayne and Colts quarterback Peyton Manning in the AFC Championship with a chance for the Jets’ first Super Bowl appearance in 41 years. Jeff St. Arromand is the producer.

Also, THE NFL TODAY’s Shannon Sharpe sits down with Brett Favre’s receiving corps of Bernard Berrian, Percy Harvin, Sidney Rice and Visanthe Shiancoe. When Brett Favre signed with Minnesota this season, he thought he would be mainly handing the ball off to Adrian Peterson but he ended up throwing the ball to this quartet a lot more than anticipated as he and the Vikings are now one win away from their first Super Bowl in 33 years. Deb Gelman will be the producer. It will be shot in Minneapolis on Wednesday.

In addition, THE NFL ON CBS’s lead announce team of Jim Nantz and Phil Simms report live from Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Ind. 

And Lesley Visser reports live from New Orleans with a preview of the NFC Championship Game between the Minnesota Vikings and the Saints. 

            James Brown hosts THE NFL TODAY along with analysts Dan Marino, Esiason, Sharpe and Bill Cowher, as well as NFL TODAY “General Manager” Charley Casserly, and Visser and Sam Ryan reporting.

            Eric Mann is senior producer and Bob Matina is director of THE NFL TODAY.

            Sean McManus is President, CBS News and Sports and serves as executive producer for the Network’s coverage of the NFL. Harold Bryant is Vice President, Production, CBS Sports.

And Fox Sports talks about what you’ll see this Sunday on Fox NFL Sunday and the NFC Championship Game.

FOX SPORTS NOTES, QUOTES & ANECDOTES

Saints/Vikings Clash in New Orleans for the NFC Title Sunday Night on FOX

FOX NFL SUNDAY Pregame Live from Louisiana Superdome: Coverage at 6:00 PM ET

Aikman: Vikings Will Have to Battle Superdome and the Saints on Sunday

Strahan: Jets Can Win If They Execute What They Do Best

THE NFL ON FOX PRESENTS FIRST-EVER NFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME FROM NEW ORLEANS: A trip to Super Bowl XLIV is on the line on Sunday, Jan. 24 (6:00 PM ET) as the Saints and the Louisiana Superdome host their first ever NFC Championship Game. Drew Brees & Co. face as tough a matchup as the NFC can offer when Brett Favre, Adrian Peterson and the Vikings come to town. Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Pam Oliver & Chris Myers call this high-octane battle for the NFC title in the Bayou.

Coverage begins at 6:00 PM ET with America’s most-watched pregame show, FOX NFL SUNDAY.  Terry Bradshaw and Curt Menefee co-host the Emmy Award-winning program and are joined by analysts Howie Long, Michael Strahan and Jimmy Johnson live at the Louisiana Superdome. The crew is joined by NFL Insider Jay Glazer who presents the latest league news and scoops and comedic prognosticator Frank Caliendo contributes his conference championship “Frank’s Picks” segment. In this week’s Championship edition, Oliver sits down with Brett Favre to reflect on his improbable season. Johnson chats with New Orleans offensive weapons Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and Marques Colston. Strahan dissects the Vikings defense and how they match up with the Saints while Long looks at the Saints defense and if they can stop the Vikings offense. NFL on FOX’s John Lynch reports from Indianapolis with interviews and reaction from the AFC Championship Game between the Colts and Jets.

Sunday, Jan. 24, 2010

Minnesota Vikings at New Orleans Saints, 6:30 PM ET, Joe Buck/Troy Aikman/Pam Oliver/Chris Myers

AIKMAN: VIKINGS GET A TASTE OF THEIR OWN MEDICINE AND WILL HAVE TO BATTLE THE SUPERDOME NOISE EARLY – NFL on FOX lead analyst Troy Aikman says the Superdome gives the Saints a certain edge this Sunday. “Part of playing on the road is mental,” said Aikman. “The Saints definitely have an advantage. Every single play becomes magnified and it can make you feel as though things are worse than they are. If you are playing at home and you don’t convert on a third down, you think ‘well, we’ll get the ball back.’ When you’re playing on the road in a big game and you get stopped on third down, the crowd goes bananas and it just feels like it’s worse than it really is. I think it’s a huge factor that the Vikings really have to block out, especially early in game. At some point, it doesn’t matter how loud it gets, if you can’t hear, you can’t hear. People assume the defense will have an advantage because Minnesota has to use a silent count but I think it is an equally big advantage for New Orleans offensively.”

STRAHAN ON JETS/COLTS: EVERYONE IS BEATABLE IF YOU EXECUTE WELL – FOX NFL SUNDAY analyst Michael Strahan knows a little something about beating the odds and defeating a heavily favored team. Strahan looks at what has to happen for the Jets’ journey to continue to Super Bowl XLIV: “There’s no trick to winning. Once they kick the ball off, it’s football. Everybody is beatable. They’ve played Indianapolis already and they’ve seen Peyton Manning. The Jets do a great job of disguising their defense and sending blitzes. In order to throw Peyton off you have to throw him off his rhythm. It won’t be easy, but it’s possible. You aren’t going to out-smart Peyton Manning, he’s a four-time MVP and he knows every situation out there. The Jets’ defense has to do what their players are comfortable with and execute well for the best chance of winning.”

AIKMAN ON CHAN GAILEY HIRING IN BUFFALO – “From a personnel standpoint, the Buffalo Bills are built for defense. If they can continue to dominate like they were able to do defensively then Chan Gailey will put together a good running game. If you believe that running the football and playing good defense, as we see now with the New York Jets, can win you a title, then I think it was a good hire.”

We’re done. More stuff coming up as time permits.

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