“Three teams, three quarterbacks thrown under the bus.” – ‘Football Night’s’ Collinsworth on T.O.
“All false, all lies.” – T.O. to ‘Football Night’s’ Barber on Reports of a Confrontation with Jason Whitten
“This is not his football team and as long as Terrell Owens is here, it will never be his football team.” – ‘Football Night’s’ Collinsworth on Tony Romo
“He has a lot of confidence in himself and more importantly the guys believe in him. After what happened at the beginning of last season between he and I, his teammates really rallied around him. There are no dissenting voices in that locker room. It’s Eli Manning’s team.” – ‘Football Night’s’ Barber on Eli Manning
NEW YORK – December 14, 2008 – Following are highlights from NBC’s “Football Night in America” studio show, as host Bob Costas, co-host Cris Collinsworth, co-host Keith Olbermann, co-host Dan Patrick, analysts Tiki Barber and Jerome Bettis, and reporter Peter King of Sports Illustrated take a look at the day’s top storylines in the NFL:
TERRELL OWENS TO BARBER ON INCIDENTS THIS WEEK: “I’m not really concerned about anything that happened in the past. We met to get on the same page as a team and obviously everyone knows that I’m a big part of that. Anything that happened last week we’re going to put it behind us.”
T.O TO BARBER ON REPORTS OF A CONFRONTATION WITH JASON WHITTEN: “All false, all lies.”
COLLINSWORTH ON T.O.: “Three teams, three quarterbacks thrown under the bus.”
BARBER ON T.O.: “You knew what you’re getting when you brought T.O. here. It happened in San Francisco, it happened in Philadelphia, so they know that it’s going to happen. It’s about winning and losing. If they win this game, it’s a dead issue, if they lose this game then it’s a distraction.”
KING ON T.O.: “Terrell Owens is a cancer on the Dallas Cowboys. They won’t win until he’s gone.”
COLLINSWORTH ON ROMO: “This is not his football team and as long as Terrell Owens is here, it will never be his football team. But this is something we could have completely expected.”
COLLINSWORTH MOCKING THE T.O. SITUATION DURING COLTS HIGHLIGHTS: “Dallas Clark was huge today. Marvin Harrison got insanely jealous and wanted to fight him afterwards. No, just kidding.”
TIKI BARBER INTERVIEW WITH ELI MANNING:
BARBER: “Before last season, on NBC I publicly questioned your early leadership. Now, clearly I was proven wrong. But what was your reaction when you heard?”
MANNING: (Laughing) “I didn’t know we were going there. I obviously had to stand up for myself. I felt I had my way of doing things. I kind of felt I was called out so, I had to come back and stand up for myself. It was a time for me to stand up and fight for myself and say ‘I am a leader.’ I’ve been through all sorts of things in New York City through the media. There’s a time when you reach a certain point where you’ve got to stand up and fight back a little bit.”
BARBER: “That’s one thing I’ve always admired about you, is that criticisms, praise, no matter what it is, you just kind of let it go. And you go do your job. Do you think that helps you on the field?”
MANNING: “I think so. That’s just the way I’ve always been. People saying different things about you. I think I’ve gotten better at it since I’ve gotten here is, really putting everything aside and going and trying to do your job.”
BARBER: “Here’s what I’ve noticed. I think the New York Giants have taken on your personality, not Tom Coughlin’s, but yours. Whether the ups and downs you kind of just settle into the middle. Is there a point when you thought to yourself, or you felt to yourself, ‘This team, at least this offense, it’s mine now’?”
MANNING: “I have felt that the team and a little bit of the offense has taken that philosophy. We have some guys on our offense and the coaching staff, who kind of get tensed up. And whether that’s Coughlin or Kevin Gilbride their intensity, I tried to stay calm. And they might be yelling at me. But I just keep my cool. And I think that helps keep everybody on the sideline relaxed. When things are going haywire and some of these coaches might be ripping some of the players, my job’s keep everything cool on the sideline and keep us prepared.”
BARBER: “The discussion goes on with people discussing the Giants, take away their running game, and Brandon Jacobs is a little beat up right now, put the pressure on Eli and the wide receivers. And that’s how you beat them. Can you guys deal with that pressure?”
MANNING: “I think we can deal with that. That’s been the game plan for the last couple of weeks. Pick your poison, ’cause we’ve got an answer for you.”
BARBER ON MANNING: “He has a lot of confidence in himself and more importantly the guys believe in him. After what happened at the beginning of last season between he and I, his teammates really rallied around him. There are no dissenting voices in that locker room. It’s Eli Manning’s team.”
BARBER ON HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH HIS FORMER TEAM: “Contrary to what you may have heard, these guys are still my good friends. And that’s what you’d expect. This was my home for many years.”
OLBERMANN ON STEELERS-RAVENS: “As disputed a game-deciding call as we’ve seen in many years.”
COLLINSWORTH ON USE OF REPLAY RULE AT END OF STEELERS-RAVENS: “It’s supposed to be for a no-brainer, everybody in their right mind understands that this should be overturned, and I cannot put that call in this category.”
OLBERMANN ON THE CHIEFS: “At Kansas City, they had to play, they sold tickets.”
COLLINSWORTH ON THE REDSKINS: “You have to wonder about Jim Zorn. This team has essentially fallen apart down the stretch.”
COLLINSWORTH ON THE FALCONS: “They out ‘Buc-balled’ the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.”
COLLINSWORTH ON KERRY COLLINS AND THE TITANS: “Kerry Collins played like Phil Collins today. That’s the formula. Put the ball in Kerry Collins’ hands and take your chances.”
COLLINSWORTH ON THE JETS: “They should have lost their third in a row. They did nothing right to win this football game. Brett was bad, they couldn’t stop the run.”
FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA:
Michael Weisman is the executive in charge of production, “Football Night in America,” Sam Flood is coordinating producer and Bucky Gunts serves as director.
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