And we complete our NFL portion of the day with NBC’s Football Night in America previewing its primeitme game, Minnesota at Green Bay. At the beginning of the season, it seemed that this was going be Must See TV, but with the Vikings disappointing and with a below .500 record, this is just a pedestrian matchup, but NBC continues to hype Brett Favre’s return to Green Bay.
BRETT FAVRE RETURNS TO LAMBEAU FIELD ON “SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL” – COVERAGE BEGINS WITH “FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA” AT 7 PM ET“Storylines around the clock for this one.” – “Sunday Night Football’s” Al Michaels“It’s always going to be emotional for him and the Packers fans.” – “Football Night’s” Tony Dungy on Brett Favre’s return to Lambeau FieldNEW YORK – October 20, 2010 – Brett Favre, who quarterbacked the Green Bay Packers for 16 seasons and led them to a victory in Super Bowl XXXI, returns to Lambeau Field to face his old team as quarterback of the Minnesota Vikings in a crucial NFC North matchup on this week’s “Sunday Night Football.”Calling Vikings-Packers will be six-time Emmy Award-winner Al Michaels (play-by-play), who is in his 25th season as the voice of the NFL’s premier primetime package; 11-time Emmy Award-winner Cris Collinsworth, who last year, his first in the SNF booth, won the Emmy for outstanding event analyst; and sideline reporter Andrea Kremer about whom TV Guide said is “one of TV’s best sports correspondents.”Coverage begins with “Football Night in America” at 7 p.m. ET Sunday with Bob Costas, who won the outstanding studio host Emmy last year, hosting live from inside the stadium. Dan Patrick will co-host “Football Night” from NBC’s 30 Rockefeller Plaza studios joined by Super Bowl-winning head coach and Emmy-nominated Tony Dungy, two-time Super Bowl winner Rodney Harrison, and Sports Illustrated’s Peter King. Alex Flanagan will report from Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego on the Patriots-Chargers game.“Football Night” (7:30-8:15 pm) is averaging 8.1 million viewers through its first six weeks, its most ever for that time frame and up four percent vs. 2009’s 7.8 million viewers.DUNGY ON FAVRE’S RETURN: “Even though Brett played at Lambeau last year, it’s always going to be emotional for him and the Packers fans.”MICHAELS: “There’s a rivalry for you. Favre goes back to Lambeau Field again. Storylines around the clock for this one…(It’s a) soap opera and a football game will break out.”COLLINSWORTH: “What is it about Brett Favre? No matter how big the mess, no matter how many distractions there may be, he steps up and plays some of his best football. We all know he’s going to be in the headlines this week. There is no way around that. And, of course, he’s going to have to go out there and take on the old faithful and Lambeau Field. It should be great to watch.”HARRISON ON THE MATCHUP: “Charles Woodson is an inside slot guy. He’s played very effective in that position. You have to put Charles Woodson, your best cover guy and playmaker, on Percy Harvin. You have to double team (Randy) Moss and you have to take your medicine with the other guys.”DUNGY ON THE MATCHUP: “With the injuries Green Bay has now, they can’t sit there in base defense and match up with these guys. They have to try and pressure Favre.”
HARRISON ON THE MATCHUP: “Aaron Rodgers definitely misses Jermichael Finley. He’s a guy that’s probably one of the top two or three tight ends in the league.”
DUNGY ON THE MATCHUP: “With their running backs being hurt and their defense being hurt, I think Green Bay feels like they have to outscore people so (Aaron) Rodgers is throwing the football. Minnesota’s strength is their front against the run, so it’s kind of a good matchup. (Green Bay will) abandon the run early and just try to throw and outscore them.”
Here’s a video preview of Sunday night’s game with Rodney Harrison and Tony Dungy
That will do it. College Football previews are coming up.
