“THE NFL ON CBS” BEGINS AFC PLAYOFF COVERAGE WITH
PITTSBURGH STEELERS-DENVER BRONCOS WILD CARD GAME #2 ON SUNDAY, JAN. 8
AUDIBLES WITH LEAD “NFL ON CBS” ANALYST PHIL SIMMS AND
“THE NFL TODAY” ANALYST BILL COWHER
THE NFL ON CBS, continues its 52nd year broadcasting the NFL with coverage of the 2012 American Football Conference Playoffs with the national broadcast of Wild Card Playoff Game #2 on Sunday, Jan. 8 (4:30 PM, ET) live on the CBS Television Network. The No. 5-seeded PITTSBURGH STEELERS (12-4) visit the AFC West Champions and No. 4-seeded DENVER BRONCOS (8-8). THE NFL ON CBS’s coverage begins with THE NFL TODAY, the Network’s studio show (4:00-4:30 PM, ET), live from the CBS Broadcast Center in New York City.
THE NFL ON CBS lead announce team of Jim Nantz and Phil Simms call the action live from Sports Authority Field at Mile High in Denver, Colo. Lance Barrow is the coordinating producer and lead game producer and Mike Arnold is the lead game director.
Sean McManus is Chairman, CBS Sports, and serves as executive producer of CBS Sports’ coverage of THE NFL ON CBS. Harold Bryant is Executive Producer and Vice President, Production, CBS Sports.
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PHIL SIMMS
(On Pittsburgh-Denver): A lot of people have these preconceived notions about this game. But I’ll be surprised if it’s not close because the Broncos have a style and the talent to keep it close, no matter what, especially playing at home. There are exceptions, Detroit, but that took some unusual circumstances. Denver is built to make this game close. That is what they want. And then they hope either Tim Tebow or the defense makes a play at a crucial moment to win.
BILL COWHER
(On Pittsburgh-Denver): From Denver’s standpoint, the biggest key to this game is, obviously, they cannot turn the ball over. Defensively, it’s going to be trying to put pressure on Ben Roethlisberger. Another key is for Von Miller andElvis Dumervil being able to break down the pocket against Ben. For Pittsburgh, it’s going to be dealing with the unconventional offense that Denver runs. You’re going to see a lot of Troy Polamalu close to the line of scrimmage. It’s eliminating the big plays in the Broncos running game. That’s the one thing you’ll see. Willis McGahee has been their big-play person. They can’t fall asleep on the pass, and certainly they’re going to have to defend the option game that they present.
(Have teams figured out Tim Tebow?): The key for Denver is to get away from what they’ve been doing because they’ve been very predictable. Teams definitely know what to take away from Tebow – and defending the right side of the field with a left-handed quarterback. In order to be successful against Pittsburgh, they’re going to have to do something unconventional and unpredictable.
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Following are THE NFL ON CBS assignments for the AFC Playoffs (subject to change).
AFC WILD CARD GAME #2 – Jan. 8, 2012
GAME
4:30 PM, ET starts:
Pittsburgh @ Denver Jim Nantz/Phil Simms Lance Barrow/Mike Arnold
AFC DIVISIONAL PLAYOFF GAME #1 – Saturday, Jan. 14
GAME
8:00 PM, ET starts:
TBD @ New England TBD
AFC DIVISIONAL PLAYOFF GAME #2 – Sunday, Jan. 15
GAME
1:00 PM, ET start:
TBD @ Baltimore TBD
AFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME – Sunday, Jan. 22
GAME
3:00 PM, ET start:
TBD
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“THE NFL TODAY’s” DAN MARINO SITS DOWN WITH DENVER BRONCOS
HEAD COACH JOHN FOX, TIM TEBOW, CHAMP BAILEY AND ELVIS DUMERVIL FOR WILD CARD WEEK OF
“THE NFL TODAY” ON SUNDAY, JAN. 8
THE NFL ON CBS, continues its 52nd year broadcasting the NFL with coverage of the 2012 American Football Conference Playoffs with the national broadcast of Wild Card Playoff Game #2 on Sunday, Jan. 8 (4:30 PM, ET) live on the CBS Television Network. The No. 5-seeded PITTSBURGH STEELERS (12-4) visit the AFC West Champions and No. 4-seeded DENVER BRONCOS (8-8). THE NFL ON CBS’s coverage begins with THE NFL TODAY, the Network’s studio show (4:00-4:30 PM, ET), live from the CBS Broadcast Center in New York City.
THE NFL TODAY’s Dan Marino previews the Pittsburgh-Denver game by sitting down with Broncos head coach John Fox, quarterback Tim Tebow, and all-pro defensive stars CB Champ Bailey and DE Elvis Dumervil to talk about their game plan to beat the Steelers and whether they can regain their winning ways.
The AFC West Champion Broncos are back in the playoffs for the first time since 2005. After winning six in a row to improve to 8-5, the Broncos have lost three straight as they host the Pittsburgh Steelers. Denver, led by Tebow and the rejuvenated RB Willis McGahee, boasts the top rushing attack in the NFL. But will the Tebow magic return in time to overcome the defending AFC champion Steelers, who feature the league’s overall No. 1 defense? Deb Gelman is the producer.
Jim Nantz and Phil Simms report live from Denver on the Steelers-Broncos game. And Lesley Visser reports live from East Rutherford, N.J. on the New York Giants-Atlanta NFC Wild Card game.
James Brown hosts THE NFL TODAY, along with analysts Marino, Boomer Esiason, Shannon Sharpe and Bill Cowher, NFL TODAY “General Manager” Charley Casserly, as well as Visser reporting.
Sean McManus is Chairman, CBS Sports, and serves as the executive producer for the Network’s coverage of THE NFL ON CBS. Harold Bryant is Executive Producer and Vice President, Production, CBS Sports.
Eric Mann is senior producer and Bob Matina is director of THE NFL TODAY.
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