NBC Sports talks about the Sunday Night Football matchup between the New York Jets and the Baltimore Ravens. And we also get some discussion on the NFL’s initiative for breast cancer including some things you’ll see on the field on Sunday night.
RAVENS HOST REX RYAN AND THE NEW YORK JETS IN HEATED AFC SHOWDOWN ON SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL
COVERAGE BEGINS WITH FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA AT 7 PM ET
NFL Celebrates Breast Cancer Awareness MonthNEW YORK – Sept. 28, 2011 – Rex Ryan goes back to Baltimore for the first time as head coach of the New York Jets to face the Ravens, where he served as a defensive coach for 10 years, the last five as defensive coordinator. This Sunday Night Football matchup of the two AFC Wild Card teams from last season features two of the NFL’s top young quarterbacks in the Jets’ Mark Sanchez and the Ravens’ Joe Flacco.
Calling Jets-Ravens will be six-time Emmy Award-winner Al Michaels (play-by-play), in his 26th season as the voice of the NFL’s premier primetime package; 12-time Emmy Award-winner Cris Collinsworth, who won the Emmy for outstanding event analyst in both of his seasons in the Sunday Night Football booth; and sideline reporter Michele Tafoya, in her first season on SNF.
Coverage begins Sunday with Football Night in America at 7 p.m. ET with 22-time Emmy Award-winner Bob Costas hosting the program live from inside the stadium. Costas is joined on site by Michaels and Collinsworth for reaction to the afternoon games.
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. Alex Flanagan will report from O.co Coliseum in Oakland on the Patriots-Raiders game.
DUNGY ON EMOTION OF THIS GAME: “The Ravens had an emotional letdown going to Tennessee. That won’t be a problem this week. They are going to have plenty of emotion with Rex Ryan coming into town. Rex is going to have his guys pumped up, but John Harbaugh is also a very emotional guy. This is a big game for both teams because someone is going to come out of this game at 2-2.”
HARRISON ON JETS GAMEPLAN: “If I am the Jets, I’m attacking the Ravens secondary, in particular the cornerback position. They have some young corners; they take a lot of chances. They’re not very disciplined, a lot of pass interference calls. That would be a good opportunity for Mark Sanchez to attack these guys.”
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“A CRUCIAL CATCH”
For Jets-Ravens, Sunday Night Football will capture in-stadium efforts supporting “A Crucial Catch.” The National Football League and NFL Players Association will support October’s National Breast Cancer Awareness Month with their third-annual national breast cancer screening-reminder and fundraising campaign. In collaboration with the American Cancer Society, the initiative, called “A Crucial Catch: Annual Screening Saves Lives,” reminds women 40 and older about the importance of having an annual mammogram. Beginning on October 2 and continuing throughout the month, NFL breast cancer awareness games will feature:
- Game balls with pink ribbon decals used for every down
- Pink equipment for players including: cleats, wristbands, gloves, sideline caps, helmet decals, captains’ patches, chin straps, shoe laces, skull caps, sideline towels, eye shield decals and quarterback towels
- Pink coins used for the coin toss
- Pink sideline caps for coaches and sideline personnel and pink ribbon pins for coaches and team executives
- Pink caps, wristbands, whistles and pins for game officials
- On-field pink ribbon stencils and A Crucial Catch wall banners
- Pink goal post padding in end zones
- Breast cancer awareness track jackets for cheerleaders
Many of these items will be auctioned off at www.nfl.com/auction to raise money for American Cancer Society.
That’s it.
