Let’s provide the Sunday NFL pregame quotage. All of the press releases from the NFL TV partners are in. We give you NFL GameDay Morning from NFL Network as the first post today.
News and Sound Bites From Week 12 Edition of NFL GAMEDAY MORNING
“He must adjust his game and adjust it right now.” – Warren Sapp on Lions DT Ndamukong Suh
“They should take the matter into their own hands and they should suspend him. The Lions should send a message to their team that Ndamukong Suh is not bigger than the team.” – Michael Lombardi on the Lions & Suh
“Jason Garrett has done a wonderful job in reestablishing a culture – a winning culture – back in Dallas.” – Michael Irvin
“Everybody wants to say Mark Sanchez can’t get it done, but for me there are a whole bunch of problems going on here from the concepts, to the receivers, to the quarterback. Because there are so many problems, I don’t think they can fix them.” – Kurt Warner on the New York Jets
NFL GameDay Morning is the FIRST pregame show on the air Sunday morning at 9:00 AM ET, taking viewers straight up to kickoff. Host Rich Eisen joins analysts Michael Irvin, Warren Sapp, Marshall Faulk, Steve Mariucci and new analyst Kurt Warner to bring fans the latest news, injury reports, pregame analysis and game previews.
Quotes from NFL GameDay Morning:
“When you’re a defensive lineman and you’re in the trenches where the big boys are, we have to take care of each other…He must adjust his game and adjust it right now.” – Warren Sapp on Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh“The league has continued to say we can’t stand this behavior, but I haven’t heard that from the team up to this point. It seems like one side is saying it’s OK, just keep playing and we kind of appease him, and the other side is saying you can’t do that. I think this organization has to step up and say we will not condone this anymore and then go along with what the league has been saying all along.” – Kurt Warner on the Detroit Lions and Ndamukong Suh
“The Cowboys are going to be real formidable going down the stretch because they have weapons that you must deal with.” – Warren Sapp on the 7-4 Dallas Cowboys
“Everybody wants to say Mark Sanchez can’t get it done, but for me there are a whole bunch of problems going on here from the concepts, to the receivers, to the quarterback. Because there are so many problems, I don’t think they can fix them.” – Kurt Warner on the 5-5 New York Jets
“Jason Garrett has done a wonderful job in reestablishing a culture – a winning culture – back in Dallas.” – Michael Irvin on the Dallas Cowboys under head coach Jason Garrett
“As a great defender in this league, I’m disgusted to look at the tape. It’s no more than assignment football: if I have dive, I want the dive; if I have the quarterback, I’m going to hit the quarterback.” – Warren Sapp on defending the option offense the Broncos are running with quarterback Tim Tebow
“They were fancy, they were finessing – they were fooling everybody…That offense needs help, that’s the problem. They are not ready for big-time football.” – Michael Irvin on the difference between the beginning of the season and now for the Buffalo Bills
“We poke holes in the Patriots: they’re great on offense, not so good on defense. But it seems to me that this defense is getting better as we go. Two big wins lately and they’re taking the ball away.” – Steve Mariucci on the New England Patriots’ defense
“Detroit has the components and that’s their defensive front. They were able to attack the offensive line and expose the fact that when in the gun, Aaron Rodgers can be hit. And when you hit him, he’ll go down and he does lose the football at times…The Detroit Lions showed you can attack Aaron Rodgers and this offensive line and get them off of their game.” – Marshall Faulk on if the Detroit Lions exposed a way to beat the undefeated Green Bay Packers
“I don’t know if that exposes a weakness; I think that exposes a strength. That no matter what, even if you think you got us in the first half, wait 30 more minutes [and] this game will be over.” – Michael Irvin on the Green Bay Packers, who led 7-0 at halftime against the Detroit Lions
“I usually look at a team and say who do you have coming to help correct the issue when you’re not going so well? They don’t have anyone coming, but they do have a situation that they can correct and that’s turnovers…You can correct this issue, you can correct a lot of things.” – Michael Irvin on the New York Jets, who have allowed 76 points off turnovers this season
“I look at the strength of the New England Patriots against the weakness of the Philadelphia Eagles’ defense, and I’m not sure outside of a pass rush how they present any kind of a problem for this great Patriots’ offense.” – Kurt Warner on the Patriots offense facing the Eagles defense
“He has to understand that these last five weeks it hasn’t all been about Jay Cutler; Jay Cutler has played good football, but so has the defense, so has Matt Forte, they’ve run the ball extremely well and they’ve protected upfront.” – Kurt Warner on Bears quarterback Caleb Hanie
“The most versatile football player in the National Football League is named Julian Edelman. Watch what he does in any given game. This guy does it all.” – Steve Mariucci on New England’s Julian Edelman
“He was upset when he came into the league and he was out to prove something. Now he’s out to prove something again: that I’m only going to do what I want to do because you’re not paying me.” – Marshall Faulk on Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson
‘Front Office View’ with Michael Lombardi
On Denver Executive Vice President of Football Operations
John Elway:
He needs to continue going forward with the sense that he has to find himself a quarterback that can throw the football effectively. Everybody’s job, especially when you’re rebuilding, is not taken for granted. Tim Tebow has won some games, but John Elway must ask himself this question: can we win a Super Bowl with Tim Tebow and this offense the way we are going? He has to build a team that is not just beating the Oakland Raiders, not beating just the San Diego Chargers, but beating the better teams in the National Football League to get to the Super Bowl. That’s the ultimate goal; it’s not just to win the division, it’s to win the Super Bowl. He answered it correctly without the filter: he’s not sold yet. It’s going to take more time before you can say Tim Tebow is a franchise quarterback, especially in the passing game.On if Matt Leinart can lead the Texans to the Super Bowl:
What’s going to take the Texans to the Super Bowl is Arian Foster and their defense. This team scores 80 points in the first quarter, 80 points in the second quarter – that’s 160 points to go into halftime. So they’ve played in front which takes the burden of responsibility off of the quarterback. Matt Leinart is not going to take them to the playoffs; the defense will, the running game will. Matt Leinart is the king of checkdown passes, and unfortunately until he can prove he can throw the ball down the field, teams are going to force him to be involved in the game. But the defense is really good in Houston and the running game is good, so I think Matt Leinart is going to be a game-manager all the way.On if the Philadelphia Eagles overpaid Michael Vick:
Ultimately when they signed him, they knew he was not going to be able to endure the contact and physicality he puts himself in for 16 consecutive games. It’s a little too early to judge his contract yet; this year has been a disappointment for a lot of people. You could say the same thing about Nnamdi Asomugha’s contract, you could say the same thing about Cullen Jenkins’ contract this year based on the way this team has performed. You have to give it a little bit longer time and Michael Vick has to prove to people that he can lead his team, come from behind and not always give the lead up in the fourth quarter when he has a chance with the ball in his hand. That’s ultimately really the fundamental question you have to ask.On what the Lions should do concerning Ndamukong Suh:
They should take the matter into their own hands and they should suspend him. The Lions should send a message to their team that Ndamukong Suh is not bigger than the team, that he’s serving something other than himself. His actions were really self-indulgent on his part on Thanksgiving, and the team must take action. Now, what happens is when you take action you’re always worried that if the league isn’t in concert with you, then the player can go ahead and he can file a grievance and your actions become watershed. But I really think in concert with the league office the Lions must really make sure that they send a message to the locker room to the other players that they’re going to handle this Ndamukong Suh situation because they can’t let it affect their team for the remainder of the season.
On how he would have taken Ndamukong Suh’s post-game comments if he were the team’s GM:
To me you have to understand what you did. Before you can fix the problem, you have to identify what is the problem. I don’t think Ndamukong Suh really understands what the problem is. Somebody better give their full attention to that matter.
For the latest from the ‘Front Office View’ of Michael Lombardi, including his article on Tony Romo, Alex Smith and the remainder of Week 12, visit:
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d82474d86/article/romo-carrying-the-cowboys-unlike-49ers-smith-week-12-notes‘Inside Slant’ with Jason La Canfora
On Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh:
A lot of people anticipate a suspension here and it seems like it’s called for. You talk to GM’s, you talk to coaches, they believe it’s called for. The interesting thing though is there are people in his own locker room who believe it’s called for and frankly, players I’ve talked to, believe the only way this behavior will stop is if the league does suspend him and if the message is sent [that] this can’t be condoned. They feel like the team itself has enabled him in some degree over these last few years in not coming to grips with this and curbing it prior. This is all coming to a head and people need to remember as well that as much as we want instant discipline, this is something that we heard after the Week 12 games are done. We’re talking about a Monday, Tuesday decision.On Steelers linebacker LaMarr Woodley and Raiders running back Darren McFadden:
LaMarr Woodley tonight I’m not sure he’s going to go. I had a team official tell me it’s maybe a 40 percent chance he plays. They’re cautioning him we’re playing the Chiefs, let’s take the extra week, get you as healed as possible for that stretch run to try to catch the Ravens in that division. Oakland with Darren McFadden a similar situation, probably even a little more severe. He still can’t put weight on that foot the way he’d like to; he’s still rehabbing now, not really blasting it out in practice or testing himself. Not going to go this week, probably not next week either.On changes to the franchise tag:
There are going to be some unhappy star players when you spin this forward to February because the way the franchise tag is being computed now has changed completely in this CBA. It’s going to cost players millions of dollars. If you want to go and get all of the details on how the formula changed, it’s on NFL.com, I have a column up there. But the reality is some of these tags are going to go down two to three million dollars from what they were last year to this year. That’s not going to make a lot of players happy, but again no one has paid much attention to this so I don’t think a lot of the grassroots know exactly what they’re in for. You spin it forward to Drew Brees: he’d be a bargain at $14.4 million when you have Michael Vick making $16.6 million on his new deal, and Peyton [Manning] and [Tom] Brady at $18 million. Matt Forte, we’ve been talking about his contract situation forever: $7.7 million, that’s not what he has in mind. That’s what the tag would be. He sees guys getting $20-$30 million guaranteed at his position; I don’t think he’d sign that tag for a long time – maybe not ever – until he gets a long-term deal. And Mario Williams coming off that injury, you have guys getting $30 million at his position of defensive end. That tag was $13 million a year ago; only $10.6 [million] given the injury, given where he is. I would expect the Texans maybe tag him and bring him along slowly.On how the Bears will change their offense with Caleb Hanie at quarterback:
Not a whole heck of a lot. Now, is [Mike Martz] going to attempt as many passes as we’ve seen in the past? Probably not. But their base formations, the things they do, who they are, their verbiage – that’s all going to be the same. That’s why they like Caleb Hanie, and that’s why had they even gotten Kyle Orton on waivers he would have been behind Caleb Hanie in the pecking order. We may see a little more Marion Barber, though; they will run the ball, and they run the ball often maybe a little more with two tight end sets, putting a little more oomph behind the running game. People say Matt Forte, they’ll use him more: they can’t, he’s touching the ball 30 times a game in many cases. If you look the last couple of weeks, and they’re cognizant of this, he’s down around 2.5 [yards] a carry the last few weeks; you only have him doing so much. Marion Barber will be that hammerhead slamming it a little more, that will be a change we see.For the latest from the ‘Inside Slant,’ including Jason La Canfora’s article on the 2012 franchise tag figures, visit:
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d8247df3a/article/2012-franchise-tag-figures-will-be-down-across-the-boardBold Predictions
Steve Mariucci: Texans quarterback Matt Leinart will throw for 300 yards against the Jacksonville Jaguars
Marshall Faulk: Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow will outrush the entire San Diego Chargers team
Kurt Warner: Five players will score touchdowns in multiple ways
Warren Sapp: Raiders will have seven sacks and two interceptions against the Chicago Bears
Michael Irvin: Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow will throw for 300 yards against the San Diego Chargers.
On NFL.com the following video clips from NFL GameDay Morning are available for viewing:
Week 12 Bold Predictions – The NFL GameDay Morning crew make some bold predictions for Week 12, including some conflicting thoughts on Tim Tebow.
http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-network-gameday/09000d5d8247e518/Week-12-Bold-predictions
Sapp: ‘Suh must adjust his game’ – Warren Sapp, Steve Mariucci and Kurt Warner discuss Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh following his ejection from the game against the Green Bay Packers.
http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-network-gameday/09000d5d8247dfea/Sapp-Suh-must-adjust-his-gameConfident in the Cowboys – The NFL GameDay Morning crew explains whether they believe the Cowboys are back to their winning ways.
http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-network-gameday/09000d5d8247e46c/Confident-in-the-CowboysNFL Leftovers – NFL GameDay Morning explains which NFL players and coaches are getting heated up, put on ice or thrown in the trash.
http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-network-gameday/09000d5d8247e2cc/NFL-leftoversNext Man Up – Steve Mariucci examines how the Bears and Texans will adjust their gameplans with new quarterbacks.
http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-network-gameday/09000d5d8247e147/Next-man-upRunway Closing in New York – Can the 5-5 New York Jets fix their problems and make the playoffs?
http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-network-gameday/09000d5d8247e251/Runway-closing-in-New-YorkThe Marshall Plan: So Many Options – Marshall Faulk examines the option offense the Denver Broncos are running with quarterback Tim Tebow.
http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-network-gameday/09000d5d8247e33c/The-Marshall-Plan-So-Many-OptionsStopping Tebow – Steve Mariucci and Warren Sapp discuss how to stop Denver’s option offense.
http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-network-gameday/09000d5d8247eb11/Stopping-TebowSouthpaw Disadvantage – Kurt Warner and Warren Sapp explain the problems starting a left-handed quarterback and why more teams don’t run a no-huddle offense.
http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-network-gameday/09000d5d8247e713/Southpaw-disadvantage
We’ll have ESPN’s quotage for Week 12 next.
