“No one could have been a bigger star in the New York area than I was. And no one, in some ways, could be a bigger let down than I have been”
NEW YORK (September 18, 2013) – Pro Football Hall of Famer and New York Giants legend Lawrence Taylor joins INSIDE THE NFL tonight at 9 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME. Taylor joins host James Brown and analysts, All-Pro greats Phil Simms and Cris Collinsworth to discuss his life and times.
LT: The Life & Times, premiering Friday, September 20 at 8 p.m. ET/PT, is the first feature-length documentary on the football legend. This raw, honest portrayal of one of the most polarizing figures in sports is narrated by Jon Bon Jovi, and features untold stories from Taylor, his family and friends and his former teammates and coaches during his legendary and controversial career with the New York Giants.
Now in its 36th season on television, INSIDE THE NFL will feature a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a guest analyst each week. New episodes premiere every Wednesday night on SHOWTIME through February 5, 2014.
INSIDE THE NFL covers every game, every week, with trademark highlights from NFL Films, special, in-depth features and spirited debate on the hottest topics in the league.
INSIDE THE NFL is produced by CBS Sports and NFL Films. The executive producers are Sean McManus, Chairman, CBS Sports, Ross Ketover and Pat Kelleher of NFL Films. Pete Radovich Jr., the Emmy Award-winning Creative Director for CBS Sports, serves as coordinating producer.
Following are excerpts from this week’s episode:
On LT: The Life & Times Documentary…
TAYLOR: That portrayal of me is probably too honest. No matter how you look at it. I say, well I understand why they would have thought that. I would understand why they would look at it that way. Because I’m seeing it now through somebody else’s eyes. And it is very, very humbling.
TAYLOR: I cannot say that it’s not a true portrayal of the things I’ve gone through. I mean it hit both the highs and the lows. No one could have been a bigger star in the New York area than I was. And no one, in some ways, could be a bigger let down than I have been.
On Whether it’s Time for Teams to Panic…:
SIMMS: Of course it’s time to panic….Let’s be honest, you don’t even have to make it up anymore. There was panic in Week 1…When you’re 0-1 the hardest five days or six days of your life is waiting for that second week to come, that second game. But when you’re 0-2, you feel like you’ve never won a game and you do start to worry about everything else.
COLLINSWORTH: It is kind of interesting though because these teams look different to me. I mean, let’s face it. RGIII’s injury, that’s a different looking team now when you watch them play. The New York Giants, David Wilson, was supposed to take over the role at the running back position, couple of injuries up front on that offensive line. This was a team that was built around their offensive and defensive lines, and won two championships and could pound the ball where all three backs averaged five yards-per- carry. Now Eli (Manning) is having to carry the whole load and trying to make plays that he probably shouldn’t make. And the Pittsburgh Steelers, I watched them on tape the other night, and it just doesn’t look like the Pittsburgh Steelers. We’ll start with, they couldn’t stop the run and they couldn’t run the ball. I mean it was like they had switched uniforms when they played the Bengals the other night. So yes, some different looks out there with these teams.
On the Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos making the Super Bowl…
COLLINSWORTH: Well I know this, if you want to go to the Super Bowl from the NFC, somebody better start beating Seattle because if they get home field advantage, and somebody has to go there in the playoffs and win. You know what’s really interesting about that team, they can get away with something that you rarely see. They just play 8-man at the line of scrimmage and pound your running game and when you try and throw it they get after the quarterback because they can send more than you can block and you go well how come everybody doesn’t do that. Well not everybody else has the secondary that this team has. I think they’re the best secondary in all the National Football League because they’re so diverse.
On NFL Quarterback Leadership…
SIMMS: There’s Josh Freeman. You’re the quarterback of the football team of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. How can you not show up for the team photo. First off, being late, red flag, he overslept. I mean…he slept through the whole thing? Was this picture taken at 6:00 in the morning? That’s what you have to wonder. But you know, red flags for quarterbacks: If you’re overweight. If you’re not a hard worker or perception-wise the hardest worker on the football team. And showing up late for meetings or something like that. It says a lot about the quarterback and it has to really concern you.
TAYLOR: I think the quarterback has to be a person that takes control of the field. Takes control of the locker room. I mean you (Phil Simms) became a leader. You didn’t start off a leader for the first couple of years…When he became a leader, he took responsibility for his own actions. He ran that team. He ran that offense. But it took a while.
# # # #
Recent Comments