And we end the Sunday NFL pregame show quotage with NBC’s Football Night in America which had plenty to talk about including interviews with the coaches involved in the Sunday Night Football game.
NOTES & QUOTES FROM “FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA” — WEEK 11
“You saw a guy with a twinkle in his eye.” – Scott Pioli on interviewing Andy Reid for Chiefs head coach earlier this year
“Andre is one of the leaders of the team. He just cannot do that.” – Tony Dungy on Andre Johnson walking off the field before the game was over
“I’m a grown man. I don’t want to play video games. I want to get my mind ready for the football game.” – Hines Ward on Jets going to Dave & Buster’s Saturday nightNEW YORK – Nov. 17, 2013 – Following are the highlights for Football Night in America, the most-watched pre-game show in sports. Bob Costas opened the show live from inside Sports Authority Field at Mile High in Denver, Colo., where the 8-1 Broncos are hosting the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs (9-0). Costas was joined on site by Al Michaels (play-by-play), Cris Collinsworth (analyst), and Scott Pioli, the former NFL Executive of the Year and former Chiefs GM (2009-2012).
Dan Patrick co-hosts Football Night from famous Studio 8H at NBC’s 30 Rockefeller Plaza studios in New York City. He is joined by Super Bowl winning head coach Tony Dungy; two-time Super Bowl winner Rodney Harrison; two-time Super Bowl winner Hines Ward; and Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk on NBCSports.com and NBCSN. Carolyn Manno reported from the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, La., on the 49ers-Saints game.
Costas interviewed head coaches Andy Reid (Kansas City) and Jack Del Rio (interim, Denver). He also narrated a tribute to former NBC Sports analyst Todd Christensen, who died earlier this week.
Following are highlights from Football Night in America:
ON CHIEFS
Collinsworth: “It’s possible that Kansas City could end up losing this game and still winning, if they knock Peyton around enough in this ball game. If they were to sprain his ankle, get some hits on him, whatever the case; because then you send them to New England, obviously very tough place to try to get a win, and they have to come back to Kansas City. So, I would expect, I don’t know, but I would expect, Kansas City to be fairly aggressive out here tonight, to take their shot at Peyton Manning and that ankle.”
Pioli on the hiring of Andy Reid when Pioli was still in Kansas City: “Andy and I were friends before, and we are friends now. We went through this nine-hour process during the interview in an airport in Philadelphia. You could see a guy that was tired, just like every other head coach at the end of the season, but you saw a guy with a twinkle in his eye, and a guy who really wanted to do it, and a guy who was going to be doing it. During the course of that conversation, he talked about his time in Philadelphia, things that went right and things that went wrong. He really felt that things needed to change. He said that sometimes things need to change. And that really resonated with me.”
ON BRONCOS
Pioli on Broncos choosing Del Rio as interim coach: “When John Elway spoke, he said that their biggest concern was maintaining the energy level of the football team and John Fox knew that Jack Del Rio was that guy…John Elway knew … that no one knows John Fox better than Jack Del Rio does. And they knew they would be able to keep some degree of continuity with having similar type coaches.”
ON TEXANS
Dungy on Andre Johnson: “I’m really disappointed in that. When you are not winning, you make it a point to go to your leaders. They have got to stay together, and Andre is one of the leaders of the team. He just cannot do that.”
ON LIONS
Harrison on the Lions faking the field goal: “It was an aggressive play, but it wasn’t a smart play. In that situation — with rainy conditions, the wind blowing all over the place — you have to take those points.”
Patrick: “You don’t have to have a blog or a podcast to know that single coverage on Calvin Johnson is not going to work.”ON STEELERS
Florio on Steelers trading Ben Roethlisberger: “The issue is his contract. After this season, the Steelers will have to extend that deal for salary cap reasons. If Roethlisberger wants to be paid at the top of the market, we are talking about $20 million per year, and the Steelers are not likely to go that high. They will have to work that out, but I’m told the Steelers want to keep Roethlisberger, and Roethlisberger wants to stay in Pittsburgh.”
Ward on Steelers being a playoff team: “They are a playoff team. Why? Because Big Ben and his will to win; to keep the Steelers in the game. My only concern is the veterans guys on the defensive side have to help in their part, step up and make some big plays.”
ON DOLPHINS
Dungy: “The winning ingredient tonight for Miami was defense. They specifically did it in the red zone. They put pressure on Rivers and held the Chargers to field goals. The ingredient was red zone defense and it showed up well.”
ON SEAHAWKS
Harrison: “Marshawn Lynch is the identity of the team. He is physically wearing people down.”
ON RAVENS
Harrison on Joe Flacco: “Joe Flacco has to play better. Two interceptions, you can’t have that. The lack of the big plays down the field, that’s very disappointing to see when you are going against a backup QB in Chicago.”
ON GIANTS
Dungy: “During that six-game losing streak, the defense knew they weren’t playing well. They’ve stepped up in the last four weeks.”
ON REDSKINS
Florio on Redskins OT Trent Williams: “There was interesting sound out of the locker room in Philadelphia, after the Redskins’ loss to the Eagles. Redskins tackle Trent Williams accused one of the officials of verbal abuse…(Williams’ post-game comments were shown)…The NFL tells me that they will be investigating that situation.”
ON JETS
Dungy: “When you’ve got a rookie quarterback you’re going to have some ups and downs. But the Jets cannot have these other problems going on. They can’t have the pass protection problems; they can’t give up the big plays. Geno is going to be up and down. They’ve got to be better in other areas.”
Ward on Rex Ryan taking the team to Dave & Buster’s: “I’m a grown man. I don’t want to play video games. I want to get my mind ready for the football game.”
INTERVIEW: Below are excerpts from Costas’ interviews with Reid and Del Rio.
ANDY REID WITH BOB COSTAS
On when he first became head coach of the Chiefs: “With the players that were there you saw reason for hope. I didn’t take the job based on their record. I took the job based on [Chiefs owner] Clark Hunt. The players, when you looked at that roster, you go, ‘Listen, these are good football players.’”
On quarterback and game manager Alex Smith: “Every quarterback that’s a great quarterback in this league is a manager of the game. You have to be. On game day, you are the CEO out there. You’re large and in charge and so that’s what Alex does, and he does it very well, but he’s also a heck of an athlete.”
On the people who thought he would take time off after leaving the Philadelphia Eagles: “I understood where those people were coming from. That’s not how I felt, and that’s the only thing I could trust really. I love doing what I’m doing. I love coaching. I love the opportunity to teach, and there’s no place better to do that than in the National Football League, and I had the chance to do it in Kansas City, which was even another plus to that whole fortune.”
On facing Peyton Manning and the 8-1 Broncos: “This is why you do this whole thing. You get to play a team that almost has the same record that you have, in the same division that you’re in, and then its 37 degrees outside and it’s Sunday Night Football. It doesn’t get any better than that, and players and coaches, they get just as excited.”
Click here to watch the entire interview: http://www.nbcsports.com/football/nfl/andy-reid-saw-reason-hope-kansas-city
JACK DEL RIO WITH BOB COSTAS
On how frequently he is in contact with John Fox: “Daily, sometimes several times a day. He’s doing great, in great spirits. Obviously, he’s the guy who brought me here to Denver. It’s a great relationship. I’m happy to be able to step up for him while he heals.”
On if the defense has been neglected since he stepped in as interim head coach: “I’ve got a great staff that I work with and I lean on. The only thing I can’t do is turn my back to the field while the offense is out there and directly coach them on the sideline. Beyond that, it’s really pretty seamless.”
On working with Peyton Manning after competing against him while with the Jacksonville Jaguars: “He was a pain in my side to say the least. When you win 12 games and don’t win your division, 11 games and don’t win your division, that’s because Peyton Manning’s on the other side winning 13 or 14 games. It’s great to have him on my side.”
On the importance of playing the 9-0 Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday Night Football: “We understand it’s a big game. It’s the biggest game right now because it’s next. There are two teams that are on top of their division. If this doesn’t get your juices flowing, you’re in the wrong business. This is why we do it. All the work, all the off-season studies, all the acquiring players, developing players, all the different things that we do lead up to big moments like this.”
Click here to watch the entire interview: http://www.nbcsports.com/football/nfl/del-rio-manning-great-having-him-my-side
And that will do it. I’ll be back tomorrow.
