NBC’s Football Night in America Quotage for Week 14

We complete the pregame quotage with the stuff that was said on Football Night in America. It also includes a video of Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio discussing the situation with the New York Giants-Minnesota game moving to Detroit.

Here it is.

“FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA” NOTES & QUOTES – WEEK 14

“Wasn’t he going to miss Randy Moss?” – “Football Night’s” Dan Patrick on Tom Brady

“I guess they need to be in desperation mode to play.” – “Football Night’s” Tony Dungy on the Chargers

“Offensively, they look like they’ve totally lost confidence.” “Football Night’s” Rodney Harrison on the Jets

NEW YORK – December 12, 2010 – Following are highlights from NBC Sports’ “Football Night in America.” Bob Costas hosted the show live from Cowboys Stadium and was joined on site for commentary by Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth. Co-host Dan Patrick, analysts Tony Dungy and Rodney Harrison, and reporters Peter King and Mike Florio covered the news of the NFL’s 14th week live from NBC’s 30 Rockefeller Plaza studios. WMAQ-Chicago sports reporter Peggy Kusinski reported from Soldier Field in Chicago on the Patriots-Bears game. Weather prevented Alex Flanagan from getting to Chicago.

ON NEW YORK GIANTS-MINNESOTA:

ON PATRIOTS:

Patrick on Brady: “Wasn’t he going to miss Randy Moss?”

Harrison: “I’m wondering if defensive coordinators are actually looking at the tape. You’ve got to play man-to-man. You can’t play zone. I don’t want to give away too many secrets but that’s the way you have to play Tom Brady and the Patriots…Tom Brady is the best player on the best team.”

Dungy: “The Patriots are playing just super football – they are the best team in the NFL right now. You talk about the elements and that the snow maybe would hurt the passing game, but it didn’t.”

ON BEARS:

Dungy: “I really think it’s going to come down to that last game against Green Bay where they may have to win that game to get into the playoffs.”

ON VIKINGS:

King on Favre: “I think the interesting thing is going to be, and everybody will be looking at, is Brett Favre going to play, is he not?  I talked to Leslie Frazier, the coach of the Vikings just before the Vikings left Minnesota, he said, ‘Yes, Favre is on the plane and not only is he on the plane but I’ve heard all these reports that he’s out of the game, that isn’t necessarily the case. In fact, I would list him as questionable.’…This is a 50-50 proposition. He will talk to Favre at breakfast tomorrow morning, and they will determine if he’s got a legitimate chance to play in this game.”

ON STEELERS:

Dungy: “They’ve got Ben Roethlisbeger back but make no mistake about it, the defense keys this team and Troy Polamalu keys the defense.”

Harrison on Polamalu: “This is the best safety in the game and yes, he is a future Hall-of Famer…He baits the quarterback and he reads the quarterback. Quarterbacks have to learn, you have to stay away from this guy. When he gets the ball in his hand, he becomes a running back.”

ON SAINTS:

Harrison: “I like the Saints right now. They’re playing good football. We know they can pass the ball, but right now, through all of the various injuries they’ve had, they’ve found a way to run the ball. And now you get Pierre Thomas back, you get Reggie Bush back – this team is dangerous.”

Dungy: “We’ll see, though, in the next two weeks. They’ve got two big road games – at Baltimore, at Atlanta – two good defenses. We’ll find out how good that offense really is.”

ON CHARGERS:

Dungy: “I guess they have to be in desperation mode to play. If they would have done this last week, they’d be in control of the division.”

Dungy: “The San Diego Chargers – they played like San Diego can play. They got the win and coupled with Oakland’s loss, now they’re going to keep the pressure on Kansas City to keep winning all the way through the regular season.”

Harrison on AFC playoff picture: “I like the San Diego Chargers. They are going to win out. That’s going to have to force the Chiefs to win out, possibly without Matt Cassell.”

ON REDSKINS:

Patrick: “Tampa gets the win (but) there’s an asterisk by this, a little assist by the Redskins. How does this happen?”

Dungy: “Everybody’s going to look at the fumbled snap on the last play but at the end of the first half the Redskins gave away four points – clock management, two-minute situation… after a timeout, trying to call another timeout – just shouldn’t happen with a veteran coach and a veteran quarterback.”

ON PACKERS:

Harrison: “Green Bay was off just a little bit today. Late in the season, this is when you start seeing teams lose focus. Offensively, Greg Jennings had an opportunity – easy touchdown – he drops it, he loses focus. Defensively, uncharacteristically, they gave up a bunch of yards on the ground. This is not what we’re used to seeing. If you’re Green Bay, you must win this division to get into the playoffs.”

ON JETS:

Harrison: “Offensively, they look like they’ve totally lost confidence. This is not the same Jets team that we saw a month ago.”

ON 49ERS:

Patrick: “Brian Westbrook, he’s still got a little giddyup.”

ON COWBOYS:

Collinsworth on Jason Garrett: “I will say one thing about Jason, in the first 10 seconds that I walked out to the practice field there was a noticeable, tangible difference in the way the Dallas Cowboys were practicing on the field. With Wade [Phillips] on Friday it was kind of a jog-through, get ready for the game kind of a thing; with Jason it was Jimmy Johnson revisited. It was physical, it was quick-paced, they were practicing hard, and I think that it actually has shown up on the field, especially in the running game with their physical play.”

Harrison: “This team is totally different under Jason Garrett. They’re playing physical, they’re playing smart football games and they’re winning the critical games in the critical minutes.”

Dungy on not supporting mid-season coaching changes because they don’t usually work: “No, they don’t. This one did because Dallas is a talented team…They are physical now. They’re running the ball much better than they did – Jason Garrett has energized this team.”

Collinsworth on playing Romo if he’s available: “Absolutely not. You’re talking about your franchise. If you get everything straight now, why in the world would you take a chance with him? It’d be crazy.”

On Kitna…

Michaels: “While nobody’s been looking, Jon Kitna has been doing a very good job for the Dallas Cowboys.”

ON EAGLES:

Michaels: “The one thing about Philadelphia, when at the beginning of the year, they had traded Donovan McNabb, let Brian Westbrook go, made a lot of changes; I thought they were the most mysterious team in the league. I didn’t know whether they’d win 11 or 12, or whether they would rebuild and win five or six. I think that’s been answered right now, 8-4 and along with Atlanta (and) I think one of the best teams in the conference.”

Collinsworth: “Every team has somebody that gives them trouble and for the Philadelphia Eagles, last year losing three times to the Dallas Cowboys, the formula was pretty obvious; they’ve got this pinball offense that’s scoring points and great speed and running around and blitzing on defense. The Cowboys turn around and go pow-pow – just hand it off and they’ve got this 330-pound lineman and they just take it right to the Philadelphia Eagles, which has sort of been their kryptonite.”

Collinsworth On Vick: “Usually when you talk about divisional opponents, you throw the records out the window and it doesn’t mean anything. But the Dallas Cowboys don’t really know what it’s like to play against Mike Vick. Sometimes it’s not only the coach and the quarterback and the defensive coordinator, and everybody wants to throw a theory out about how you stop Mike Vick.”

Following are highlights of Bob Costas’ interviews with Andy Reid, Jason Garrett, and Miles Austin & DeMarcus Ware:

ANDY REID

On his experience with his sons giving him insight into Michael Vick:

Costas: “I bring this up only because Michael Vick mentioned it to me a few weeks ago. He said that your own experience with your two boys, he feels, made you more empathetic and gave you more insight into him than the average coach would have and it helped to solidify your relationship. Do you see it the same way?”

Reid: “I think I do. I’ve been asked would you have done this had the situation not happened with the boys and I don’t know the answer to that. I know it helped me see Michael in a little different way. I had the opportunity to go visit the prison that the boys were staying in and so I got to see first hand that there are good people in prison. They goofed. They put themselves in a bad position or were forced by some way into a bad position and they’re paying for it and now they’re out and have this experience.

“Who is going to give them a helping hand? My kids needed a helping hand, besides from mom and dad, they needed a helping hand and people stepped up and helped them. With Michael, hey, he went out and had people who gave him a helping hand coming out and he took to it, he took to the charity work that he needed to do. He’s never going to right the wrong but he’s going to try and do his best.”

JASON GARRETT

Costas: “For the first eight games the offense is averaging 20 points. In the last four, you’re averaging 33. What was wrong with the offensive coordinator?”

Garrett: “(laughs) That’s a good question. We weren’t playing as well on offense and certainly throughout our football team we played better over the last month.”

On the difference in play since he has been head coach: “Ultimately, it’s about fighting and competing and battling play after play after play and not being so concerned with what the scoreboard says but just playing the right way throughout a ballgame.”

MILES AUSTIN & DEMARCUS WARE

On John Kitna:

Austin: “He’s just got that moxy, that spunk, that ‘Je ne sais quoi.’ He’s has something that you really can’t put your finger on but he’s a competitor and he’s what we need right now.”

Costas: “In addition to Je ne sais quoi, does he have Savoir-faire? Does he have Joie de vivre?”

Austin: “I’m not sure if he has all of those but… (laughs) I’m just going to go with the first one.”

On 4-8 Record:

Austin: “I feel like our team is feeling good but at the end of the day we are 4-8, we have to come to grips that this is our record. Either way you have to finish strong just for yourself, for your family and for the other guys out there fighting with you and for the organization.”

On Jason Garrett:

Austin: “As far as I’m concerned he is our head coach, I don’t even deal with the interim tags or anything like that. If we win a bunch of games, then eventually it’s out of my jobs hands and into Jerry Jones jobs hands to figure out what he is going to do.

Ware: “For me, it’s representing that star on the side of your helmet, representing that tradition, representing the wins and what that really means. And if us winning throughout the rest of the season and ending up 8-8 and getting him a job, we’re still playing for him but we’re still representing the Dallas Cowboys.”

That is it for the night unless the NFL adds more markets carrying the New York Giants-Minnesota Vikings game.