“INSIDE THE NFL” ON SHOWTIME
FEATURES THE FIRST SHOW TO SCORE INTERVIEWS WITH BOTH
SUPER BOWL XLIII-BOUND COACHES Ken WhisenhunT AND MIKE TOMLIN
Plus, CBS News Chief Investigative Correspondent Armen Keteyian Examines Role “Fearsome Foursome” Played in
Senator Robert F. Kennedy’s 1968 Presidential Campaign
Wednesday, January 21, 2009 – at 9 p.m. ET/PT
Only On SHOWTIME
NEW YORK (Jan 20, 2009)–-On this week’s INSIDE THE NFL on SHOWTIME – Wednesday, Jan. 21 at 9 p.m. ET/PT , both Super Bowl XLIII-bound coaches, Ken Whisenhunt of Arizona and Mike Tomlin of Pittsburgh join James Brown, Phil Simms, Cris Collinsworth and Warren Sapp via satellite to preview the game.
Plus, a day after Barack Obama is inaugurated as the 44th President of the United States, CBS News Chief Investigative Correspondent Armen Keteyian examines the role that members of the Los Angeles Rams’ “Fearsome Foursome,” including Lamar Lundy, Deacon Jones and Rosey Grier, played in Senator Robert F. Kennedy’s 1968 presidential campaign. The feature includes interviews with Joe Kennedy, eldest son of Senator Robert Kennedy, looking back on his father’s campaign and the part the NFL stars played in providing security. Also, Jones and Grier recall their memories of the campaign, their interactions with the Senator and reflect on history.
Host Brown anchors INSIDE THE NFL on SHOWTIME with All Pro NFL greats Collinsworth, Simms and Sapp serving as expert analysts. INSIDE THE NFL is being produced by CBS Sports and NFL Films with new shows airing on SHOWTIME every Wednesday during the NFL season through February 11, 2009. The executive producers are Sean McManus, President, CBS News and Sports, and NFL Films President Steve Sabol.
Excerpts from tonight’s show:
(On Arizona’s Offensive Coordinator Todd Haley):
COLLINSWORTH: You know who was the big winner out of this whole playoff run so far? (It) has been Todd Haley of the Arizona Cardinals.
This past weekend, to watch him keep it together… Anquan Boldin in the middle of that final drive screaming at him, and you saw Haley screaming back at him. And to be able to maintain his composure and make the play calls to go down the field for the game-winning touchdown, to me, that says a lot. Not only great play calls, obviously, but the ability to handle that kind of situation on the sideline and keep it together. I think he’ll be a head coach.
(On Kurt Warner playing MVP-caliber football in playoffs)
COLLINSWORTH: You cannot deny what they’ve done. To beat Atlanta, to go and beat Carolina there, and to come back and beat one of the top defenses the way they did against Philadelphia. Kurt Warner, I think if we had a chance to take a re-vote on the MVP of the league at this point instead of at the end of the regular season, may well win the award. Because what he’s done in these playoffs has been second-to-none. He has been spectacular.
INTERVIEW WITH PITTSBURGH STEELERS HEAD COACH MIKE TOMLIN
(On health of Hines Ward and Troy Polamalu)
TOMLIN: They are both great, and even if they weren’t I’d say that…This is the Super Bowl, if they are walking and talking and breathing, they are playing. I look forward to watching them doing just that.
(On using criticism of offensive line to get them going all year, and if there is anyone that he wants the media to put the heat on this week)
TOMLIN: Pick the guys that have to cover Larry Fitzgerald. Because based on what I am looking at on tape, that is pretty scary. This guy gets down the field in one-on-one situations, or two-on-one situations for that matter, he usually comes back with the football. So put a bulls-eye on our secondary this week because it’s going to be big in the football game.
INTERVIEW WITH ARIZONA CARDINALS HEAD COACH KEN WHISENHUNT
(On Edgerrin James getting more playing time in playoffs)
WHISENHUNT: Well, I think at the time, when we put Tim (Hightower) in, our offense was going in a direction that we felt was the best fit for us at that time. But, we knew going into the playoffs that we were going to need Edgerrin. And when we played in New England, in the snow and the field conditions were bad, Edgerrin had a couple of carries in that game where he ripped off some good runs, with some good footing. That led us to believe going into the playoffs, a guy that has this experience, whose legs look fresh, it’s the right time to get him back in there. And just because he’s going to have a lot to prove to everybody that he can still do it, it really has worked out well for us.
(On Ben Roethlisberger and what he sees in his development since he coached him as a rookie in Pittsburgh)
WHISENHUNT: I see a guy who is very aware of everything that is going on around him on the football field. When he first came in as a young player, which a lot of young players do, he would go back, he would get one of his reads, he made a lot of great plays for us. But now you see him reading the field. You see him changing protections. He’s still doing the things that make him so dangerous. That is, when plays break down being able to move in the pocket and make throws down the field. He is probably one of the best in the game, if not the best ever at doing that. He has really brought their offense to a whole new level and he is a very dangerous quarterback.
ON BALTIMORE RAVENS RAY LEWIS AND PHILADEPHIA EAGLES DONOVAN McNABB
(On possibility that Ray Lewis is not retained by the Ravens)
SAPP: I will tell you what, if this team let’s Ray Lewis go, you are starting back from scratch. I don’t think that’s possible. Losing your defensive coordinator, then losing your emotional leader and the staple to your franchise all at one time, then you are going back to the Stone Age. There’s no way they can allow that to happen. They have to give him a two-year deal, something that sets up everybody in the right form and finish this thing out the right way.
(On Eagles retaining Donovan McNabb)
SIMMS: I would not want to be the quarterback that follows him. Because I am telling you that you are going to have very little chance of duplicating what he has done. And I’ve heard all this criticism about the Arizona game. All I saw was a quarterback that threw for well over 300 yards, three touchdowns, ran and had some big runs. How about the 60-something yard throw he threw down the field to DeSean Jackson? Do you think every quarterback in the NFL can make that? How about some of the stick throws to the sideline, into tight coverage? They’re not talked about. But it’s Donovan McNabb and as soon as he misses an open receiver, “Well he’s, he’s, he’s missing.” Alright, so he missed a couple. But think of all the plays that he made in that game where only a handful of guys make in the NFL. He doesn’t get credit for it.
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