THE NFL ON CBS: WEEK 16 (SUNDAY, DEC. 23)
AUDIBLES WITH “NFL ON CBS” LEAD ANALYST PHIL SIMMS
The CBS Television Network, home of Super Bowl XLVII, continues its 53rd year broadcasting the NFL with coverage of THE NFL ON CBS on Sunday, Dec. 23 (1:00-7:00 PM, ET) beginning with THE NFL TODAY, the Network’s one-hour studio show (12:00 NOON-1:00 PM, ET), live from THE NFL TODAY studio in New York City.
THE NFL ON CBS lead announce team of Jim Nantz and Phil Simms call the action live from the Cincinnati Bengals-Pittsburgh Steelers game from Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pa. 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 Cincinnati beating Pittsburgh): There are always more than one key in these games. The big thing when you watch the Cincinnati Bengals play is their defense is what really jumps out. In a game like this where I don’t think there will be a lot of scoring, it’s about which defense can make the big plays; get turnovers, sack the quarterback; intercept a pass, cause a fumble. Pittsburgh is ranked No. 1, but the Bengals can rush the passer very well and have speed on the defensive side. So it’s going to be a great contest.
(Keys for Pittsburgh): It’s going to come down to the offensive side of the ball for Pittsburgh. Can they make the big plays with their wide receivers? We go over all these numbers in the NFL about quarterbacks who complete a certain percentage of their passes, but you need big pass plays in the NFL to win games. Last week they had a chance to beat the Dallas Cowboys because Ben Roethlisberger made some big plays in the passing game. Well, can they get that done against the Bengals? Again, there are a lot of determining factors in this game, but that will be one segment of this game that I’ll be watching closely.
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Following are THE NFL ON CBS assignments for Week 16 (subject to change).
WEEK 16 – Dec. 23
GAME PLAY-BY-PLAY/ANALYST PRODUCER/DIRECTOR
1:00 PM, ET starts:
·Tennessee @ Green Bay Greg Gumbel/Dan Dierdorf Mark Wolff/Bob Fishman
·Oakland @ Carolina Spero Dedes/Steve Beuerlein Ken Mack/Steve Milton
·Buffalo @ Miami Don Criqui/Randy Cross Craig Silver/Jim Cornell
·Cincinnati @ Pittsburgh Jim Nantz/Phil Simms Lance Barrow/Mike Arnold
·N. England @ Jacksonville Kevin Harlan/Solomon Wilcots Jim Rikhoff/Mark Grant
·Indianapolis @ Kansas City Bill Macatee/Steve Tasker Victor Frank/Chris Svendsen
·San Diego @ N.Y. Jets Marv Albert/Rich Gannon Ross Schneiderman/Andy Goldberg
4:00 PM, ET starts:
·Cleveland @ Denver Ian Eagle/Dan Fouts Bob Mansbach/Suzanne Smith
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Follow CBS Sports on Twitter: @CBSSportsGang and @NFLonCBS, #CBSSuperBowl
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