Tonight, NBC’s Football Night in America will have interviews with Minnesota Vikings coach Brad Childress and Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Bob Costas conducted both interviews and we have previews of both inquisitions below.
“FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA” PREVIEW – WEEK 7BOB COSTAS INTERVIEWS AARON RODGERS & BRAD CHILDRESS“I applaud the NFL.” – Aaron Rodgers to Bob Costas regarding helmet-to-helmet hits“It was shocking and probably one of the highlights of my life.” – Brad Childress to Bob Costas on a surprise meeting this summer in Afghanistan with his son, who is serving in the MarinesDungy to examine big-play ability of Favre & MossNEW YORK – October 24, 2010 – Bob Costas interviewed Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and Minnesota Vikings head coach Brad Childress for tonight’s Week 7 edition of “Football Night in America,” which will also include highlights, analysis and reaction to Week 7’s afternoon games. Tony Dungy will examine the fourth-quarter big-play ability of both Brett Favre and Randy Moss so far this season.“Football Night” airs each Sunday at 7 p.m. ET with Costas, who won the outstanding studio host Emmy last year, hosting the program live from inside the stadium. In addition to his interviews, he is joined on site by SNF commentators Al Michaels (play-by-play) and Cris Collinsworth (analyst) for reaction to the afternoon games.Dan Patrick co-hosts “Football Night” from NBC’s 30 Rockefeller Plaza studios and is joined by Super Bowl-winning head coach and Emmy-nominated 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.VIEWERSHIP: “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.INTERVIEWS: Below are excerpts from Costas’ interviews with Rodgers and Childress.AARON RODGERS
Costas: Are you able to block out everything? Can you really say this is just another important division game?Rodgers: For me, I really can say that. It really is. Now this year definitely has a different feel than the previous year when he came back.Costas: When you hear guys like James Harrison and Ray Lewis say this week that the NFL’s new guidelines…are taking the game in the direction of flag football. Are they right or is the league right?Rodgers: It’s an interesting situation. You have to evaluate each play kind of separately. Some of the hits are unavoidable. It’s a collision sport. It’s a violent sport. I applaud the NFL in looking for ways to eliminate those unnecessary, malicious hits. I don’t really think they have a place in the game.Costas: There are times during games where you’re aware that it isn’t just a good hard hit. The intent is, if not to injure, then certainly to hurt, certainly to intimidate.Rodgers: Intimidate, yes. There’s definitely guys who are looking to get a real good shot on you and take you out but that’s part of the game. But I think that 99 percent of the guys in the league are not looking for that dirty, cheap shot to end a guy’s career.Costas on the Packers importance to Green Bay: When you lose, is it worse?Rodgers: It is worse. Just going down to the local store to get my groceries, people are a lot more eager to talk to me after a win the previous week than if you lose. You might not get any eye contact. The checkout might not be as kind to you. The pizza guy delivering the pizza might not be as friendly. It’s definitely a different feeling when you lose a game around here.BRAD CHILDRESSCostas: What is the primary reason for the difference, so far, between this year and last year?Childress: We’ve been kind of hit or miss. We have a different center in there. We obviously added Randy but there’s not a lot of continuity right now. I can’t tell you we’re doing anything tremendously well. It will come. We’re here in the second quarter and the passing game is typically the last thing to catch up.Costas on Brett Favre’s performance: Could it be just a case of age and battering takes its toll?Childress: He has those 40, 41-year-old aches and pains when his foot gets on the ground in the morning but I haven’t seen anything come off the ball that he throws. He’s still keen. He still understands the game and he’s still sharp with the game. He’s defying the odds right now.Costas: Vikings-Packers. Does it have some meaning regardless of the standings?Childress: It has huge meaning. There’s just a river that connects us. There’s a lot of people who are closet Green Bay fans. I coached eight years in Wisconsin so I understand the cheesehead mentality. They come by it honestly.Costas: I saw a guy today at Lambeau with a #4 jersey, half Vikings, half Packers. Still can’t make up his mind.Childress: No. They’re tormented, there’s no question. Part of them wants to scream and yell and part of them wants to celebrate.Costas: You have a son, Andrew. He enlisted in the Marines when he was 19. He’s in Afghanistan now. As you gameplan each week, that has to be a concern.Childress: It is a concern. But I think you can let that eat you up on a day-to-day basis. For me to be able to see him this summer and see where that war takes place with my eyes, has helped me. The pictures have helped. Just to know what that terrain looks like and where he’s at.Costas: It’s quite a story for those who don’t know it. You go on a USO tour with Marvin Lewis, John Fox and Andy Reid. You’re in Afghanistan but you have no idea that your son is so close to you.Childress: I had no idea. I knew that he was in the south of Afghanistan. I said to my wife, I called one night, I said we have no chance to see Andrew. He’s somewhere else down near Kandahar. Low and behold through the USO and the Marines making it happen, they sent him with a partner because they always go in twos. He was there on the tarmac. I didn’t recognize him. I started doing my, ‘Hey, how are you doing? I’m Brad Childress of the Minnesota Vikings.’ And at that point in time, he said, ‘No. How are you doing?’ I was looking right in his eyes. He had a cheesy little mustache. He was dry shaved and he smelt like a goat. It was shocking and probably one of the highlights of my life.Costas: Incredibly emotional. Had to be.Childress: It was incredibly emotional just to see him standing there in the flesh. Shocking. It’s like going somewhere and not expecting to see somebody there. Words can’t describe it.
That ends it. We’re still waiting on the Fox NFL Sunday quotage.
