In advance of tonight’s New England at Atlanta game on NBC, Football Night in America will feature interviews with former San Diego and New England safety Rodney Harrison interviewing Falcons wide receivers Roddy White and Julio Jones.
Football Night in America will also feature an interview with Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.
As usual, Bob Costas will be live from the game site, tonight being at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. He’ll be joined by Hines Ward and the game crew of Al Michels and Cris Collinsworth.
Dan Patrick, Harrison and Tony Dungy along with insiders Mike Florio and Peter King will manning the NBC Studio 8H for highlights and analysis.
Here’s the NBC press release.
RODNEY HARRISON INTERVIEWS FALCONS WIDE RECEIVERS RODDY WHITE AND JULIO JONES
Football Night in America Preview – Week 4
“We never sit down and talk about it. We just go out there and compete against each other.” – Roddy White on playing with Julio Jones
Football Night in America Analyzes the Patriots Offense and Tom Brady’s Relationship With His ReceiversNEW YORK – Sept. 29, 2013 – Rodney Harrison interviewed Atlanta Falcons wide receivers Roddy White and Julio Jones for tonight’s Week 4 edition of Football Night in America, which will preview Patriots-Falcons — including a feature on QB Tom Brady the New England Patriots offense — as well as highlights, analysis and reaction to earlier Week 4 games.
Football Night, the most-watched pre-game show in sports, airs each Sunday at 7 p.m. ET on NBC with 25-time Emmy Award-winner Bob Costas hosting the program live from inside the stadium. He will be joined on site by Sunday Night Football commentators Al Michaels (play-by-play) and Cris Collinsworth (analyst), as well as NBC NFL analyst Hines Ward, for reaction to the afternoon games and to preview tonight’s match-up.
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; Peter King of Sports Illustrated; Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk on NBCSports.com and NBCSN; and Scott Pioli, the former NFL Executive of the Year who is new to the NBC NFL team this season. Alex Flanagan will report from Sports Authority Field at Mile High in Denver, Colo., on the Eagles-Broncos game.
Tonight’s program will also include a spotlight feature on the New England Patriots offense and QB Tom Brady’s cast of receivers. Brady, WR Julian Edelman and T Nate Solder discuss the developing chemistry of the Patriots offense.
INTERVIEW: Below are excerpts from Harrison’s interview with White and Jones.
RODDY WHITE AND JULIO JONES WITH RODNEY HARRISON
Jones on his relationship with White: “Roddy is like my big brother. He has shown me the ropes since I got to Atlanta. If I mess up on one play, he reminds me to not worry about it and get the next play. He’s been very supportive and has shown me the right way to improve.”
White on the Patriots’ defensive backs: “They have some good players. We just have to go out there and be us. Every time we go into any game, we don’t believe anyone can cover us.”
White on playing with Jones: “We go to practice every day and it’s a competition. We never sit down and talk about it. We just go out there and compete against each other. When we are in the game, I know he’s going to beat his man every time. He knows I’m going to beat my man every time.”
White on the biggest weakness of the Falcons: “We are a really good football team, but I don’t think we finish the way we should finish. There is not a big sense of urgency the way it should be. We don’t get urgent unless our back is against the wall.”
TOM BRADY, JULIAN EDELMAN AND NATE SOLDER ON THE PATRIOTS
Brady on the strengths and weaknesses of the Patriots this year: “I think there are different strengths and weaknesses to the team every year. Our defense is playing great, that’s a positive. Our special teams is doing well, we had some key kicks last week. Offensively we definitely need to make some improvements.”
Brady on the Patriots’ young receivers: “I have never been upset with the young receivers. I think that it’s just more of a frustration with the offense not producing more points. We are trying to score points, but we have not done that as well as we had hoped to.”
Julian Edelman on Brady: “You know Tom Brady is a fiery guy. He will be on you if things did not go right. That’s why he’s so good. He’s a big competitor and he wants to be perfect.”
Nate Solder on the Patriots’ offense: “For any team, it’s a building process throughout the season. We have adopted the philosophy that we need to keep getting better and better.”
Brady on his role as the leader of the team: “Developing relationships and being a leader for your team is a very important role for any veteran player and quarterback. I’m trying to do the best that I can do, but also have the guys understand the different things that I’ve experienced over the years.”
That’s all.
