FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA HIGHLIGHTS: WEEK 3
Dungy’s Coach’s Clicker, Straight Talk from Rodney Harrison & Costas Interviews Fitzgerald, Caldwell, Schwartz, Ryan
PATRICK: “Do you think Brett Favre knows who Greg Lewis is?”
DUNGY: “He does now.”
NEW YORK – September 27, 2009 – Following are highlights from NBC Sports’ “Football Night in America.” Bob Costas hosted the show live from University of Phoenix Stadium. The temperature outside was 110 degrees. Inside the retractable dome stadium it was 71 degrees. He was joined on site for commentary by Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth. Co-hosts Dan Patrick and Keith Olbermann, analysts Tony Dungy and Rodney Harrison, and reporter Peter King were live from NBC’s 30 Rockefeller Plaza studios, covering the news of the NFL’s third week.
TONY DUNGY’S “COACH’S CLICKER” ON PEYTON MANNING AT THE LINE OF SCRIMMAGE:
Dungy: “Every single thing he does has meaning. Every movement, every gesture he is getting information to players.”
ON MICHAEL VICK’S FIRST GAME BACK
Dungy: “He was really excited, just happy to be out there. He told me he can’t remember having butterflies before a game and he had butterflies today…He wants to be a drop-back quarterback. He wants to be part of the reason they win. But he’ll do what it takes and what Andy asks him.”
Harrison: “I saw him in the preseason and I saw him today. I think the wildcat is a joke right now. I think it’s a joke for Michael Vick. He wants to be a drop-back quarterback. He’s not a running back. He’s lost some quickness. He’s not as explosive as he once was. It’s a complete joke. They’re not getting any production out of this wildcat offense. If Andy Reid really wants to help Michael Vick, put him under center and let him drop back 10 or 12 times and let him become a quarterback. Let him get repetitions as a quarterback instead of this gimmick stuff. This is not Michael Vick’s game.”
ON THE REDSKINS PROBLEMS
Harrison: “It’s many problems dealing with the Washington Redskins. One problem in particular is Jason Campbell, the quarterback. I don’t know what they see in this guy. To me, he’s a backup quarterback that’s been elevated to a starter. He’s a guy that’s unpredictable. He’s inconsistent. He’s not a guy that defensive players look at and fear.”
Dungy: “I wouldn’t blame it all on the quarterback. He threw for a lot of yards today. They’re having trouble scoring. I think it goes to a bigger thing, maybe an organizational thing. It’s always new free agents, new players, all-star guys. They need to build a team concept there.”
Patrick: “It seems like Daniel Snyder treats it like it’s a fantasy league team. You bring in [Albert] Haynesworth. They were trying to get Sanchez. They’re always looking for something different. There’s no core there.”
Dungy: “It’s not always getting the best players. It’s building a good team, building a team that everyone has confidence in, and, right now, they don’t have confidence.”
ON BRETT FAVRE’S GAME-WINNING TD PASS TO NEW WR GREG LEWIS
Patrick: “Do you think Brett Favre knows who Greg Lewis is?”
Dungy: “He does now.”
ON TOM BRADY
Harrison: “Brady is obviously not himself right now. He has to learn patience. He has to know he’s coming off an ACL-MCL injury. It’s going to take a year or year-and-a-half. I had a similar injury as Tom Brady. It took me at least six-to-eight weeks to really feel comfortable. As a quarterback dropping back, looking downfield, the timing is going to be off course a little bit and he’s not going to be the Tom Brady of old.”
ON TERRELL OWENS’ POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE
Dungy: “You really don’t want that. But I think you know that’s what you get with Terrell Owens. When things aren’t going well, you’re going to get stuff like that. That’s hard to coach.”
Harrison: “He’s just a clown, a straight up clown. He’s more concerned with individual stats as opposed to the team’s success. Just a clown.”
ON REX RYAN
Harrison: “He’s got a big mouth. He’s super arrogant. But he’s a great coach. That team believes in him.”
ON THE PITTSBURGH STEELERS BEING 1-2
Dungy: “The Pittsburgh Steelers are 1-2 because they can’t run the football. They’re putting all the pressure on Ben Roethlisberger to win games. They’ve got to run it better.”
COSTAS INTERVIEWS
“Football Night” host Bob Costas interviewed Colts head coach Jim Caldwell and Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald prior to the game, and conducted a live interview with Detroit Lions head coach Jim Schwartz, who led the Lions to a win today to break their 19-game losing streak and, at halftime, 3-0 Jets head coach Rex Ryan.
CALDWELL on what he learned from Penn State head coach Joe Paterno, who he worked for as an assistant coach from 1986-92: “I can sum it up in one saying. I actually have the saying in our locker room in Indianapolis. ‘Take care of the little things and the big things will take care of themselves.’ Play smart. Play fast. Play physical. All the other things will fall into line.”
FITZGERALD on thoughts of the Cardinals near-win in the Super Bowl: “A frown. It brings up bad memories. We talked about it as a team and we tried to put that behind us. That was last year and we have to continue to move forward.”
SCHWARTZ on the college atmosphere at Ford Field after the game: “We were in the locker room and the players were celebrating. It felt good after the game. I just told the players this win is more than just about us. This is the city of Detroit. Let’s get out of the locker room and share this win with our fans. The fans that stayed around were lucky enough to have the players come out and high five with them.”
RYAN on his dad, former NFL head coach Buddy Ryan, being the defensive line coach for the Jets’ Super Bowl III team: “I speak to him a couple of times a week. When I took this job, when I got this amazing opportunity to be the head football coach of the Jets, he just told me ‘not to mess it up because this was his team.’ So I’m trying not to mess it up. He’s proud as any father would be of his son coming back to his stomping grounds. We think we have great karma here. The first year my dad was a head coach [sic] he went to the Super Bowl.”
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