Let’s complete the Sunday NFL pregame quotage with the Football Night in America post from NBC.
NOTES & QUOTES FROM “FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA” — WEEK 4
“Seattle and Denver clearly are the best teams in the league.” – Rodney Harrison
“He is the best quarterback I have ever faced. He is the best quarterback period.” – Harrison on Peyton Manning
“You can’t let this keep going. If you are the head coach, you have to tell your owners, ‘we have to cut bait and be one team here.’” – Dungy on the Buccaneers and Josh FreemanNEW YORK, NY. – Sept. 29, 2013 – Following are highlights for Football Night in America, the most-watched pre-game show in sports. Bob Costas opened the show live from inside the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Ga., where the Falcons are hosting the New England Patriots. Costas was joined on-site by Sunday Night Football commentators Al Michaels (play-by-play) and Cris Collinsworth (analyst), as well as NBC NFL analyst and former Super Bowl MVP Hines Ward.
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 Pro Football Talk on NBCSports.com and NBCSN; and Scott Pioli, the former NFL Executive of the Year and newest addition to the NBC NFL team. Alex Flanagan reported from Sports Authority Field at Mile High in Denver, Colo., on the Eagles-Broncos game.
Harrison interviewed Falcons wide receivers Roddy White and Julio Jones. Tonight’s program also included a feature on QB Tom Brady and the Patriots offense.
Following are highlights from Football Night in America:
ON BRONCOS
Harrison on Peyton Manning: “He is the best quarterback I have ever faced. He is the best quarterback period.”
Dungy on Peyton Manning: “They are not nearly as good right now as they will be in November. These receivers are still learning him and are going to be even better in a month.”
ON SEAHAWKS
Harrison on the Seahawks and Broncos: “Seattle and Denver clearly are the best teams in the league.”
ON BUCCANEERS
Dungy on QB Josh Freeman: “I live in Tampa. All I have heard is Josh Freeman this, Josh Freeman that. You can’t let this keep going. If you are the head coach, you have to tell your owners, ‘we have to cut bait and be one team here.’”
King on Buccaneers S Dashon Goldson: “Mike and I believe that if Goldson is found to have hit the helmet of another defenseless receiver, he will be suspended and this time it will stick.”
ON CHIEFS
Harrison: “They are a legitimate contender in the AFC West.”
ON BROWNS
Dungy: “Who is the hottest team in the AFC North? The Cleveland Browns.”
ON BILLS
Harrison on the Bills and QB EJ Manuel: “I’m buying in to Buffalo. They are a young team. They play very hard each week. They are competitive and loaded with talent. It starts each week with their quarterback EJ Manuel. He’s so mature.”
ON TITANS
Harrison: “They are one of the best defenses in the league. They play with a lot of enthusiasm. They are very aggressive. I like what I see.”
ON STEELERS
Dungy on the Steelers starting the season 0-4: “I’m not sure they can fix this. I don’t know that they have the talent. I think they just have an old defense that does not have playmakers. They don’t have a takeaway in four weeks.”
ON JAGUARS
Peter King on Jacksonville playing more games in London: “They are obligated to play one game for each of the next three seasons, and they may be interested in playing a second one in each of those seasons. But I’m told that their ardor has cooled because of a tough road schedule this year.”
ON LIONS
Dungy: “They are not the same old Lions. They proved it today. They came out strong.
ON FALCONS
Dungy on Osi Umenyiora: “They wanted to get help with the pass rush, but they got more than that. They got a versatile guy who brought some leadership.”
Harrison on Roddy White and Julio Jones: “You can’t stop them. You have to double-team Julio Jones as well as Roddy White.”
ON PATRIOTS
Pioli on rumors that Rob Gronkowski’s handlers didn’t want him to play tonight: “I think it’s comical to think that for one minute the handlers are going to make Bill Belichick make decisions or help him make decisions. Bill is going to deal with the players, the trainers, and the medical people. That’s it.”
And we’re done.
