Dungy Takes Viewers Inside a Colts TD…
Costas Interviews Goodell Live from Lambeau…
Collinsworth Says Rogers Better Than Favre…
NEW YORK – Sept. 13, 2009 – Following are highlights from NBC’s “Football Night in America.” Bob Costas hosted the show live from Lambeau Field – the first time Costas has broadcast live from historic Landeau Field since Dec. 8, 1996 – it was 31-degree day, tonight it was 83 degrees. Costas had a piece of turf taken from the Packers practice field, frozen and sitting on his sideline desk. 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 Kickoff Weekend.
ON BRETT FAVRE:
Collinsworth: “Make no mistake about this right now, Aaron Rodgers is the better quarterback at this point. Much better than Brett Favre.”
Harrison: “Brett realizes he doesn’t have to be the gunslinger of old. He doesn’t have to come in and throw it 30-40 times. All he has to do is manage the game, turn around, hand it back to the best running back in the National Football League, Adrian Peterson.”
Collinsworth on the upcoming Packers-Vikings games: “It’s so much bigger now than just these two quarterbacks and their rivalry. You may be looking at the two best teams in the NFC as we start the season.”
ON COLTS:
219 Z CRACK POST: Patrick to Dungy breaking down the play – 219 Z Crack Post – that resulted in a Manning TD pass to Reggie Wayne: “This is insider…are you going to hear from Peyton now. You’re giving up secrets here, aren’t you?”
Dungy: “I promise you I will get a text before the show is over.” [Dungy did receive a text from Manning after the show].
Manning at his postgame press conference regarding communicating with Dungy: “He texted me last night and said that we were his game to break down for the postgame. He told me to give him some good highlights so hopefully he’ll go easy on me for the interception.”
Dungy on injury to Colts WR Anthony Gonzalez: “The injury must not be that serious. If they’re not going to go after Marvin Harrison, who can still play by the way, that means that Jim Caldwell and Peyton Manning have confidence in those young receivers Austin Collie and Pierre Garcon.”
Dungy on the status of free agent WR Marvin Harrison: “Marvin does want to play, he can play but Marvin does want to get paid.”
ON MICHAEL VICK:
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to Bob Costas live from Lambeau Field: “When I first reinstated Michael back into the NFL, he didn’t have a team at that point in time. We needed to have a step process to have a successful transition back into the NFL. We want Michael to be successful now that he’s reinstated and we’re trying to provide those resources. He now has a great organization, the Philadelphia Eagles, by his side and we want him to continue the progress he’s made. I said that we would do it by Week 6. The progress he’s made is significant and I think he deserves to be back on the field.”
Dungy on Vick attending today’s Eagles game: “I thought it would be important for Michael since hadn’t played in so long to really get into that routine, go to the meetings, get on the road, do everything like you would as a player, get back in that groove. I think that’s going to help him.”
DUNGY ON CUTLER & BEARS: “He has changed the entire the way the Chicago Bears are playing offense. When we played them in Super Bowl XLI, we really didn’t think Rex Grossman could beat us throwing the football, we loaded up the box, put Bob Sanders up there, we wanted to take away the run and force them to throw. You can’t play the Bears like that anymore. They are spreading the field, moving receivers around, looking for mismatches because they want the ball in Jay Cutler’s hands.”
Harrison on Jake Delhomme: “He’s acting like he’s a rookie quarterback.”
Olbermann on Dolphins WR Greg Camarillo making a catch on the ground with his legs: “This, kids, is why you do squats. So you can pull this play out of your aspirations.”
ON THE ABSENCE OF TERRELL OWENS IN DALLAS:
Dungy: “It really didn’t feel like Tony Romo had to go to one guy. Take who’s open, throw it to the guy who’s available and they can all make plays.”
Harrison: “When we faced Dallas, it wasn’t even about T.O. It was about Marion Barber and the running game, and Jason Witten, who, to me, is the best player on their team in the passing game.”
ON THE GIANTS:
Dungy: “They are not going to be a pass-first team all season. That big back, Brandon Jacobs, you’ve got to run him.”
Harrison: “This is the most physical offensive line in the game.
* * *
“NBC Sunday Night Football” the premier primetime game of the week, is preceded by the “Football Night in America” studio show, which kicks off NBC’s regular season coverage each Sunday at 7 p.m. ET. Bob Costas, the most honored studio host of all-time with 20 Emmy Awards, hosts from the “Sunday Night Football” game site where he is joined at the top of the show by SNF duo Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth. Co-hosts Dan Patrick and Keith Olbermann, who together redefined sports highlights at ESPN, narrate the highlights from NBC’s 30 Rock studio. They are joined by analysts Tony Dungy, the historic Super Bowl coach whose teams made the playoffs each of the last 10 seasons, unprecedented in this era, and Rodney Harrison, the three-time All-Pro and two-time Super Bowl champion. Peter King, who covers the NFL for Sports Illustrated and is considered one of the country’s foremost NFL reporters, and former NY Giants RB Tiki Barber serve as reporters for “Football Night in America.”
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