“Peyton Manning is the best pure quarterback in the National Football League but Tom Brady is my quarterback with a minute left and we’re down four points.” – “Football Night’s” Harrison

“There is no other quarterback that I would want” – “Football Night’s” Dungy on Manning

“This one is as good as anything I can remember -very similar to Dallas and San Francisco in the 90′s.” – SNF’s Michaels on Rivalry

NEW YORK – Nov. 11, 2009 – Peyton Manning and the undefeated Indianapolis Colts (8-0) host Tom Brady and the New England Patriots (6-2), who have won three straight, in the latest installment of the ‘Rivalry of the Decade’ on “NBC Sunday Night Football” in a game that will have significant consequences on the AFC playoff picture.

Coverage begins with “Football Night in America,” Sunday at 7 p.m. ET with Bob Costas hosting live from inside the stadium. Al Michaels (play-by-play), Cris Collinsworth (analyst) and Andrea Kremer (sideline reporter) call the action from Lucas Oil Stadium.

Dan Patrick and Keith Olbermann will co-host “Football Night” from NBC’s 30 Rockefeller Plaza studios joined by Super Bowl-winning coach Tony Dungy, two-time Super Bowl winner Rodney Harrison and Sports Illustrated’s Peter King. “Football Night’s” Tiki Barber will report from Lambeau Field on the Cowboys-Packers game.

NBC Sports conducted a media conference call today with Michaels, Dungy, Harrison and SNF producer Fred Gaudelli. Highlights of the call are below:

HARRISON ON COVERING THIS GAME AS AN ANALYST: “Now that I’m covering it from a media standpoint, it gets me even more excited because now I get a chance to?sit back and relax and enjoy the game and not have to really worry about being nervous or having that anxiety facing those guys.”

MICHAELS ON THE RIVALRY: “This is the fifth time in six years that our crew has had a chance to do this game (third time on SNF, twice on MNF) and this game has been either the most anticipated or one of the most anticipated of the season. It’s one of those games when the schedule comes out and you see it you just hope each team gets out to a pretty good start and they have. Without question, this is the rivalry of the decade.”

DUNGY ON THE RIVALRY: “From a coaching standpoint, it’s a tremendous matchup. When you play against a team like (New England), it’s such a big challenge. It brings out the best in you and elevates your game. It’s just a tremendous rivalry. The respect for each other is there and it’s been a great game and one I’m looking forward to seeing for the first time from a different perspective.”

HARRISON ON THE RIVALRY: “I’ve played in this rivalry many times. You get really excited about facing the biggest challenge of the year, which is always going to be the Indianapolis Colts. Just being a part of one of the greatest rivalries in football really gets you excited. I know both of these teams have a mutual respect for one another, but I also know they have a distinct dislike for one another. It’ll be exciting and hopefully the Patriots can go out and kick some butt.”

MICHAELS ON COMPARING THIS RIVALRY: “This one is as good as anything I can remember. This is very similar to Dallas and San Francisco in the 90′s.”

GAUDELLI ON THE QUARTERBACK MATCHUP: “Without a doubt, besides the fact that they are two great teams, the headline of this game?is the two quarterbacks, Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. Al (Michaels) and I were talking over the last week, and in any decade was there one single quarterback matchup where you can clearly say these are the two best guys? While there were a lot of great matchups in the ’90′s, ’80′s and ’70′s, we couldn’t really delineate two quarterbacks where you could say, ‘these were absolutely the two best guys.’ In this decade, I don’t think there is any question, and you can put them in any order you want — Tom Brady-Peyton Manning, Peyton Manning-Tom Brady — these are the two best quarterbacks of this decade. They are what make this game really special on Sunday night.”

ON THE BETTER QUARTERBACK:

HARRISON: “Peyton Manning is the best pure quarterback in the National Football League but Tom Brady is my quarterback with a minute left and we’re down four points and we need a touchdown because he’s done it. Three Super Bowl rings, Super Bowl MVP, a guy whose preparation goes above and beyond anyone in that facility. It’s not very often that you find Tom Brady not prepared or ready to go. He’s my guy with a minute left.”

DUNGY: “I’ve been with Peyton Manning for seven years, I’ve seen him prepare and I’ve seen what he does and how he’s lead our team. There is no other quarterback that I would want, and I might see it differently if I had been with Tom Brady for seven years, but that’s the experience I had and I can’t imagine anybody running the offense and doing as much as Peyton does for the Colts.”

ON THE PATRIOTS DEFENSE TRYING TO CONFUSE MANNING:

HARRISON: “The thing that Bill (Belichick) gave us to do was to create a lot of freedom by trying to disguise the coverage. I lined up at cornerback and Ty Law lined up at safety at times which really seemed to confuse Peyton.”

DUNGY: “That was one of the few things that New England did that we hadn’t seen before. That was very unusual with Rodney playing corner. Usually you come into a game with New England showing a lot of blitzes, five-man pressures and then in our game they decide to rush three and drop eight or vice versa. The thing from the Colts standpoint that we’ve always admired about the Patriots is they’ve been able to have a different game plan, even for a half sometimes. You have to be ready to adjust when you play New England.”

DUNGY ON COACH CALDWELL: “He’s a little more emotional, a little more fiery?It was important to the team to transition well and not take a step backwards and that’s why everyone in our organization felt that Jim would be the best man for the job.”

DUNGY ON CALDWELL AS A FIRST YEAR COACH AGAINST BELICHICK: “Jim obviously has the benefit; he’s not like most first year coaches. He’s been there for seven years. He’s seen it. He’s provided a lot of the game planning, especially offensively, for those however many games were played. It’s not like the new guy coming in. He’s very aware of everything that’s taken place in the last seven years. I really don’t look at this like the first year coach in the normal sense.”

HARRISON THE COLTS SECONDARY: “I look at a Colts secondary that’s in trouble. You lose Bob Sanders, which is not a big surprise for those guys because he’s missed a lot of time, but losing Marlon Jackson and Calvin Hayden. Two losses for them, especially Marlon Jackson. He’s a guy who shows up a lot in the run game. Very physical, very aggressive cornerback who can play corner, safety, nickel back, dime back, cover a tight end, a guy that’s very versatile. If you’re Tom Brady and the Patriots you’ve got to look to really exploit that secondary.”

DUNGY ON MICHAEL VICK IN BUFFALO: “That was my personal opinion. I didn’t have anything to base it on. No conversations with anyone else. There are a number of teams that are going to be looking for quarterbacks at the end of the year and, looking at their quarterback situation, I think Buffalo is one of those that’s a very good team with a lot of skill positions guys. Any quarterback would want to play with Lee Evans and T.O. and (Marshawn) Lynch and some of the guys they have there. They haven’t gotten consistent quarterbacks playing the last three or four years. That’s probably been their Achilles heel, so I think it could be an intriguing situation.”

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RIVALRY OF THE DECADE: The Colts and Patriots have won four total Super Bowls this decade (NE-3, IND-1). The teams have met 13 times since 2000 with the Patriots holding an 8-5 edge, but the Colts have won four of the past five. Each of the last three games have been decided by four points or less. Each of the last four have been decided by seven points or less.

Six of the games have been played in Indianapolis with each team winning three. The Colts are 2-1 in the last three played in Indy. The teams have competed in three playoff games during the decade, including two AFC Championship Games. The Patriots are 2-1 in those games with the teams splitting the two title games.

COLTS VS. PATRIOTS: The Patriots lead the all-time series 44-28, including 2-1 in the playoffs. The teams played twice per season (except 1982 strike-shortened season) as members of the same division from 1970-2001. They have met every year since 1970 except 2002.

Dating back to 2008, the Colts have won 17 consecutive games and can tie the 2003-04 Patriots for the second-longest steak of all time with a win. Colts QB Peyton Manning has passed for 15 TDs vs. four INTs at home against the Patriots in his career. Patriots QB Tom Brady has passed for three consecutive 300-yard games, leading New England to a three-game winning streak.

COLTS-PATRIOTS IN PRIMETIME: Since NBC acquired the NFL’s premiere primetime package in 2006, the Indianapolis Colts are 8-3 on “Sunday Night Football,” including 2-0 this season. In Week 3, the Colts defeated Arizona 31-10. In Week 5, they defeated Tennessee 31-9. Both games were on the road.

The New England Patriots are 3-4 on “NBC Sunday Night Football.” Sunday Night’s game is the first of two scheduled NBC appearances for the Patriots this season. They are scheduled to travel to Miami to face the Dolphins in Week 13.

This is the third time the Colts and Patriots have met on SNF since 2006. Last season, the Colts defeated the Patriots at Indianapolis when QB Peyton Manning passed for 254 yards and completed two touchdowns to WR Anthony Gonzalez. In 2006, the Colts beat the Patriots 27-20 in New England in a game that was watched by 21.9 million viewers, tied for most in SNF history.

SUNDAY NIGHT IS 300-YARD NIGHT: Six quarterbacks have passed for 300-or-more yards seven times in eight “Sunday Night Football” games this season. Indianapolis’ Peyton Manning has done it twice. Earlier this season (Weeks 2-5), winning quarterbacks passed for 300-or-more yards in four consecutive weeks, the first time in Sunday Night history.

Following are the seven 300-yard passing performances this season on SNF:

Week 2 Eli Manning, Giants, 330 yards vs. Cowboys – W 33-31
Week 3 Peyton Manning, Colts, 379 yards vs. Cardinals – W 31-10
Week 3 Kurt Warner, Cardinals, 332 yards vs. Colts – L 31-10
Week 4 Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers, 333 vs. Chargers – W 38-28
Week 5 Peyton Manning, Colts, 309 yards vs. Titans – W 31-9
Week 6 Jay Cutler, Bears, 300 yards vs. Falcons – L 21-14
Week 9 Tony Romo, Cowboys, 307 yards vs. Eagles – W 20-16

SNF DOMINATES PRIMETIME THROUGH 9 WEEKS: Since the beginning of the football season (9/10/09-11/8/09) “Sunday Night Football” ranks as the top program in all of primetime television in viewers (19.5 million), the key advertising demos including Adults 18-49 (7.7), Adults 18-34 (6.8), Adults 25-54 (8.3), Men 18-49 (10.6), Men 18-34 (9.1) and Men 25-54 (11.4) and tied for No. 1 with NCIS in households (11.8).

Since the beginning of the television season (9/21/09), SNF is tied for the No. 1 primetime program in Adults 18-49 and ranks No. 2 in viewers only behind NCIS.

BEST START IN “SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL” HISTORY: Through nine weeks (eight SNF games) “Sunday Night Football” is off to its best start since NBC acquired the NFL’s premier primetime package in 2006 (SNF, 2006-Present, MNF, 1970-2005). Below is the SNF viewership through seven weeks from 2006-2009:

2009: 19.5 million
2008: 16.0 million, up 22%
2007: 16.1 million, up 21%
2006: 17.8 million, up 10%

“SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL” GAMES WITH 20+ MILLION VIEWERS:
1. 9/20/09, Giants-Cowboys, 24.8 million (Dallas Cowboys stadium debut)
2. 12/14/08, Giants-Cowboys, 23.1 million
3. 9/10/06, Colts-Giants, 22.6 million (“Manning Bowl”)
4. 9/21/08, Cowboys-Packers, 22.29 million
T5. 11/8/09, Cowboys-Eagles, 21.9 million (This past Sunday Night)
T5. 11/5/06, Colts-Patriots, 21.9 million
7. 11/25/07, Eagles-Patriots, 21.8 million
8. 9/13/09, Bears-Packers, 21.1 million
9. 9/10/09, Titans-Steelers, 20.9 million (Thursday Night Opener)

ROTOWORLD.COM’S WEEK 10 FANTASY SLEEPER PICKS: Rotoworld.com managing editor Gregg Rosenthal, who was named Fantasy Football Writer of the Year by the Fantasy Sports Writers Association, picks his fantasy sleepers for Week 10.

1. Mike Bell, Saints RB vs. Rams: When New Orleans gets an early lead, Bell’s workload will pick up.
2. Darren McFadden, Raiders RB vs. Chiefs: He’s back! And he’s facing the Chiefs!
3. Ladell Betts, Redskins RB vs. Broncos: Betts is probably an upgrade over the 2009 version of Clinton Portis.
4. Austin Collie, Colts WR vs. Patriots: The Patriots will do everything possible to stop Dallas Clark, so look for Collie to find plenty of passes over the middle.
5. Dustin Keller, Jets RB vs. Jaguars: Keller has way too much talent to be sitting on so many waiver wires. Pick him up and play him against a weak Jacksonville safety group.

2009 “NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL” REMAINING SCHEDULE
Football Night in America begins every Sunday at 7 p.m. ET
Sun. Nov. 15 Week 10 New England Patriots at Indianapolis Colts
Sun. Nov. 22 *Week 11 Philadelphia Eagles at Chicago Bears
Sun. Nov. 29 *Week 12 Pittsburgh Steelers at Baltimore Ravens
Sun. Dec. 6 *Week 13 New England Patriots at Miami Dolphins
Sun. Dec. 13 *Week 14 Philadelphia Eagles at New York Giants
Sun. Dec. 20 *Week 15 Minnesota Vikings at Carolina Panthers
Sun. Dec. 27 *Week 16 Dallas Cowboys at Washington Redskins
Sun. Jan. 3 *Week 17 TBA
*Flex Week

FLEXIBLE SCHEDULING: The NFL will utilize flexible scheduling in Weeks 11-17. In those weeks, the schedule will list the games tentatively scheduled for Sunday night on NBC Sports. Only Sunday afternoon games are eligible to be moved to Sunday night, in which case the tentatively scheduled Sunday night game will be moved to an afternoon start time. Flexible scheduling will not be applied to games airing on Thursday, Saturday or Monday nights. A flexible scheduling move will be announced at least 12 days before the game. For Week 17, the move may be announced six days before the game. Flexible scheduling will ensure quality matchups on Sunday night in those weeks and give surprise teams a chance to play their way onto primetime.

NBC & THE NFL: NBC’s long history with the NFL dates back 70 years to 1939 when NBC became the first network to televise an NFL game – Philadelphia Eagles vs. Brooklyn Dodgers from Ebbets Field to the approximately 1,000 sets then in New York. NBC first broadcast the NFL Championship Game in 1955. In 1964, NBC signed a five-year contract to televise the AFL. NBC was awarded the AFC package in 1970, an association that would continue through the 1997-98 season. NBC televised the first Super Bowl in 1967, the historic New York Jets’ upset of the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III in 1969, and this past February broadcast Super Bowl XLIII, the most-watched program in television history.