So NBC Sports held its second media conference call in as many days, this one involving its studio crew from Football Night in America. Analysts Tony Dungy and Rodney Harrison held court along with NBC Sports and NBC Sports Network Executive Producer Sam Flood.
We have the partial transcript of the media conference call below.
SUPER BOWL XLVI PRE-GAME CONFERENCE CALL HIGHLIGHTS WITH NBC SPORTS’ TONY DUNGY, RODNEY HARRISON AND EXECUTIVE PRODUCER SAM FLOOD
“I think people are going to really, really enjoy their time at this Super Bowl. Then to work it out where NBC is covering it, it couldn’t be better for me.” – Tony Dungy
“The Giants have been terrific the last month-and-a-half of the season. The Patriots had somewhat of a turbulent year with the defense being called really bad and the offense being really good. But you have two tremendous coaches and really two tremendous franchises going head to head.” – Rodney Harrison
“This is not just a football game. It’s the biggest event in America. It’s a national holiday. We’re going to celebrate it.” – Sam FloodINDIANAPOLIS – February 1, 2012 – NBC Sports conducted a media conference call today with Tony Dungy (analyst), Rodney Harrison (analyst) along with Sam Flood (Executive Producer, NBC Sports and NBC Sports Network) to talk about the network’s coverage of Super Bowl XLVI. Highlights follow:
NBC Sports’ coverage of the Super Bowl begins at Noon ET, Sunday, Feb. 5.
HARRISON ON MATCHUP: “The Giants have been terrific the last month-and-a-half of the season. The Patriots had somewhat of a turbulent year with the defense being called really bad and the offense being really good. But you have two tremendous coaches and really two tremendous franchises going head to head. The Giants deserve to be here. They went on the road and won two tough games, and they played tremendous. So I’m excited, and the coverage will be fantastic, but the game will be unbelievable.”
FLOOD ON PRE-GAME PLANNING: “We’ve been working on formats for the Super Bowl for about four weeks now, with ideas and how we want to flow the audience and the content across the network. We’re on version 25 of our format, and in about an hour from now we’ll be on version 26. If you’re talking about the over-under (on formats), we’re thinking 34.”
DUNGY ON THE SUPER BOWL BEING IN INDIANAPOLIS: “For me this is really special. I remember sitting with Jim Irsay as he was there trying to get Lucas Oil Stadium here, and sitting with the state legislature telling them how important football was to central Indiana, and seeing the stadium come to fruition. When I flew in here Sunday night and saw downtown and all the things they had going on, it just made me really proud of Indianapolis and central Indiana and what they’ve done. I think people are going to really, really enjoy their time at this Super Bowl. Then to work it out where NBC is covering it, it couldn’t be better for me.”
HARRISON ON HIS PERSONAL FEELINGS FOR THE GAME: “Of course I can say that I want them to get revenge. Obviously, my heart is with the New England Patriots. But speaking objectively, I was the same guy that came out on our Pro Bowl coverage that said I would take Eli Manning in the fourth quarter instead of Tom Brady, a guy that I won back to back championships with. With a guy that I won 20 straight consecutive games with, and had a 16-0 season.”
HARRISON ON IF HE CAN BE OBJECTIVE AS AN ANALYST: “Yes, I can cover it objectively. I’ve been objective. I’ve criticized Belichick, and the defensive backs from the Patriots as well as I’ve been complimentary at times to that team. That’s my nature. If I feel something, I’ll let you know it. But I’m not going to shy away from what I feel. If it means criticizing my former team, I’ve never been shy about doing that.”
HARRISON ON THE NEW YORK-BOSTON RIVALRY: “From an historical standpoint, I don’t really know the history between New York and Boston. But I knew once I came to this team in New England, they basically told me the first week I was there, if you’re going to hate anybody, hate the New York Jets, hate any New York team. So that first week of being there, you kind of fell into that whole mindset of anything New York you hate.”
DUNGY ON PREPARING FOR THE BROADCAST: “The preparation to me is exactly the same (as preparing when I was a head coach). I was saying that yesterday as we were screening plays and looking for just the right play to show what makes Tom Brady great. Looking for exactly the right angle of a play to show the New York Giants defense and how they’re going to rush the passer. To me, that is the fun part of it. I feel like we are going to be prepared as we go out there, and we are going to have a great performance because we’re putting the time in.”
HARRISON ON RELIVING TYREE “HELMET CATCH”: “For a long time I carried a bitter taste in my mouth after having such a tough defeat. But after months and months of really carrying the burden of such a heck of a play by David Tyree, I’ve been able to recently release that. But it hurt me. I got a chance to watch it a couple times, and every time I see it, it still hurts.”
FLOOD ON HARRISON AND TYREE: “Just to make Rodney really comfortable during the show we’re doing a look back at what happened with that catch. Then live on the set, David Tyree and Rodney Harrison will be talking about that moment. I don’t think Rodney and David have been together for a while. We’re going to get them on that set, no rehearsal, just get them talking about that moment in the moment just having seen it retold again.”
FLOOD ON VINCE WILFORK FEATURE: “We went to Vince Wilfork’s house with Rodney and got a sense of Vince and his wife, and how special that relationship is, and how it drives him every day. It’s a unique insight on Vince as a man, and you understand why he’s such a force on the football field because the back story is so special.”
FLOOD ON DUNGY INTERVIEWING COUGHLIN: “Tony sat down with Coach Tom Coughlin. There is nothing quite like two coaches sitting down with Tony leading the way, getting the insights and understanding of a game plan. They’ve both gone against Bill Belichick, so both guys are talking about the curveballs, the unexpected twists and turns and game planning that these coaches will do against each other. It was a fun thing to look at and see happen.”
DUNGY ON COACH COUGHLIN: “I coached in the NFL 28 years, coached for some great guys – Chuck Noll, Marty Schottenheimer, Dennis Green, and 13 years myself as a head coach, I made it to one Super Bowl. Any time you go to multiple Super Bowls, you’re a great coach. Coach Coughlin started with an expansion team in Jacksonville. Took them to the AFC Championship game, and now he’s gone multiple times with the Giants. He is a tremendous coach, and he is underrated.”
FLOOD ON ADDING AARON RODGERS AND HINES WARD: “We’ll also have two special guest analysts with us, Aaron Rodgers and Hines Ward, who happened to be on the field a year ago in the Super Bowl. Kind of fresh in their minds so they can take the audience to where these players are as the day progresses. Hines and Aaron will be with Bob Costas, talking about what’s going on and last minute planning. Aaron has great insight to the quarterback play. Hines is uniquely qualified. In addition to be a Super Bowl MVP, he played in the Super Bowl with the Steelers and one we did in Tampa Bay (2009) with an injury.”
HARRISON ON THE PRO BOWL: “I watched the Pro Bowl, and I was very disappointed in the players. You understand from the players’ standpoint that I made it through the season and maybe they don’t want to get injured. I’ve played in a couple of Pro Bowls. If you don’t want to play and you don’t want to give a hundred percent, you should sit on the sidelines and allow someone else to get that opportunity. I was actually embarrassed by some of the players. When I played in the Pro Bowl, we played hard. We played for pride. It’s just ridiculous.”
DUNGY ON THE PRO BOWL: “I’ve coached in it several times as an assistant coach and head coach. I remember the first one I coached in 1984, and we had (Kenny) Easley and Howie Long, and there were no free passes in that game. The defense came to play, offensive guys knew it. It was like a regular game. I coached again in 1999, and Randy Moss, I think it was his second Pro Bowl, wanted to show the world that he was the best player in football. You just had that competitiveness. I didn’t see that the other night, and I do hope that changes, because it can be a great game.”
And we have a few more Super Bowl-centric press releases before the night is through.
