News and Sound Bites From Week 13 Edition of
NFL GAMEDAY MORNING
“No. I don’t know what I would have done at the end of this football season, but I knew I wasn’t done, I knew I hadn’t played my last snap.” – Carson Palmer on if the thought of never playing again crossed his mind
“If he stays anywhere close to where he is right now, I will say it is the best quarterback season ever…I’ve never seen anybody play the quarterback position this consistently.” – Kurt Warner on Packers QB Aaron Rodgers
“If anybody in the National Football League has earned an opportunity to see this thing through, certainly Andy Reid has. Bar none, period.” – Michael Irvin on the Philadelphia Eagles
“Donovan [McNabb] is going to have to decide what he wants to do with his career: backup or perhaps go into television.” – Michael Lombardi
NFL GameDay Morning is the FIRST pregame show on the air Sunday morning at 9:00 AM ET, taking viewers straight up to kickoff. Host Rich Eisen joins analysts Michael Irvin, Warren Sapp, Marshall Faulk, Steve Mariucci and new analyst Kurt Warner to bring fans the latest news, injury reports, pregame analysis and game previews.
Steve Mariucci 1-on-1 with Raiders QB Carson Palmer:
With the Oakland Raiders in first place in the AFC West, NFL Network analyst Steve Mariucci sits down for a one-on-one conversation with quarterback Carson Palmer on his return to the NFL, his time in Cincinnati and the future of the Oakland Raiders.
“No. I don’t know what I would have done at the end of this football season, but I knew I wasn’t done, I knew I hadn’t played my last snap.” – Palmer on if the thought of never playing again crossed his mind
“No. It was time for me to move on. It was time for them to move on. It’s worked out well for them and it’s worked out well for us here.” – Palmer on if there is any part of him that feels he may have quit on the Cincinnati Bengals
“I didn’t play well enough. I always judge a win and loss by a quarterback’s performance. When you win four games, you’re not playing well enough at the quarterback position.” – Palmer on his role in the Cincinnati Bengals’ struggles last season
“No. Never. The first game was a whirlwind. I was here for four or five days. There were some things that happened in the first game – there are some things that happen in every game – that you know right when that ball is just about to come out of your hand it shouldn’t be coming out of your hand. Three times in that game it happened, but you have to move on. You have to find ways to improve and see why you made mistakes, and improve on them.” – Palmer if he thought playing for the Raiders may be a disaster during his first game
“Win. There are tons of expectations on a quarterback, and it’s just a little bit more expectations because of the loss [of draft picks] and the future of the team. I have to make up for that with my play.” – Palmer on what he has to do to prove his worth
“That was everything – that was my offseason, my OTAs, my training camp, the first six weeks of the season. I was trying to workout twice a day, I was taking every rep in practice, I was getting hardly any sleep and it finally kind of caught up to me.” – Palmer on his first month with the team
“It’s tough to say…I was a couple of classes away [from my degree]. I looked at going back to school and finishing it up. I looked at a number of different things, let half my mind go there and also still wanted to an opportunity to play elsewhere.” – Palmer on what he would be doing right now outside of football if he wasn’t traded
“He’s just playing good football when he needs to. We talked about after our last game an ugly win is a lot better than a pretty loss. They may win ugly, but winning is winning.” – Palmer on Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow
To view Steve Mariucci’s entire interview with Carson Palmer, visit:
http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-
Quotes from NFL GameDay Morning:
“The Raiders are all set at the quarterback spot for the future.” – Steve Mariucci on Raiders quarterback Carson Palmer
“If he stays anywhere close to where he is right now, I will say it is the best quarterback season ever…I’ve never seen anybody play the quarterback position this consistently.” – Kurt Warner on the season for Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers
“I’m looking for a guy like Justin Tuck and that defensive line to take a hold and say, ‘Alright it’s my time now.’ Stop living off of Michael Strahan. I’m sick of seeing [Tuck] on Michael Strahan’s Subway commercial. You get to Aaron Rodgers, you make a play and let’s get your own commercial.” – Michael Irvin on the defensive end Justin Tuck and the New York Giants against the undefeated Green Bay Packers
“He was being a receiver, to me. He was being a receiver who didn’t catch a touchdown, he didn’t catch balls like he wanted to – they didn’t feed him in that game. And that’s what receivers do – star receivers do that if they don’t get featured in primetime games.” – Marshall Faulk on Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson’s comments after the game
“If anybody in the National Football League has earned an opportunity to see this thing through, certainly Andy Reid has. Bar none, period. I say you sign DeSean Jackson, you bring this thing back together and you say give us an offseason, and let us get back at it next year.” – Michael Irvin on the Philadelphia Eagles
“You fight fire with fire. It’s just that simple. You put your high-powered offense on the field against their high-powered offense and you say, ‘Let’s get into a shootout.’ I’m going to see if my Ford muscle car can go down to the Mercedes-Benz [Dome] and run with that Benz. I don’t see anything on the defensive side of the ball that says we can slow them down.” – Warren Sapp on how the Detroit Lions can beat the New Orleans Saints
“I’ve watched an individual on my football team walk into the head coach’s office and say, ‘I don’t like you, I don’t like your offense, I don’t like this team, I want out.’ So yes, players do quit on their football team no doubt about it. I’ve seen it with my own eyes.” – Warren Sapp on if players quit on a football team
“You won the Lombardi Award last year – that means you were the best lineman in the [country]. Just show today that you’re the best lineman on the Detroit Lions and make some plays.” – Michael Irvin to Lions rookie defensive tackle Nick Fairley
“You have to rely on where your investment is, and their investment is in those young receivers.” – Marshall Faulk on if the Pittsburgh Steelers are too reliant on the passing game
“If you want to be a Bengal and win the division, you have to go into the bully’s backyard and punch them right in the mouth. They haven’t done that.” – Steve Mariucci on the Cincinnati Bengals facing the Pittsburgh Steelers
“In a short week they know they have to play their very best game against the best team in the league, or else it’s curtains on the season.” – Steve Mariucci on the New York Giants facing the Green Bay Packers
“I want to be fully onboard, but I can’t be. The problem I have with Mark Sanchez is actually when he stays in the pocket; when he has to read one, two, three, four, get through his progressions, he struggles. Where I like Mark Sanchez is when he gets out of the pocket, when they design things and they cut the field in half for him.” – Kurt Warner on New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez
‘Front Office View’ with Michael Lombardi
On what the Indianapolis Colts do about Peyton Manning moving forward:
The reality here is Peyton is not going to get back on the field, and practice is going to be really a stretch. What the Colts must do is prepare as if Peyton isn’t going to come back because they really don’t know. I know it was encouraging this week, but there still is some doubt whether he can completely come back in Peyton’s mind, in the doctors’ mind and clearly in the Indianapolis Colts’ mind. So they need to proceed along, and if they decide that Andrew Luck is the best prospect, they go ahead and draft him and they have two quarterbacks. It can work because of the rookie salary cap now; it isn’t as [prohibitive] as it was before.
On the future for Donovan McNabb:
This year it’s really going to be a stretch to see him play for any team. Chicago right after he was released said they weren’t interested; Houston will not be interested based on the relationship with the Shanahans and [Gary] Kubiak. So what Donovan must do now is decide does he in fact want to go somewhere and be a backup quarterback? Is he willing to take a lot less money? This is now time for him to check the crossroads of his career to decide where does he want to go. No one is going to walk in there next year and say here is the starting quarterback job, here is starting salary to Donovan McNabb. That’s just not going to happen. Washington was the only team willing to trade for him, Minnesota signed him this year; Minnesota tried to actually trade him before the trading deadline and there was no interest in him at that point. Donovan is going to have to decide what he wants to do with his career: backup or perhaps go into television.
On what the Philadelphia Eagles need to change:
Andy Reid has to change the team in ters of getting some toughness. He has to change the culture in the locker room. It has to become a locker room that focuses more about being a good team as opposed to what’s next on the payroll or what I get rewarded for in terms of my game check. This team lacks a true toughness in the sense that when they get the ball inside the red zone, they can’t really pound it in; it has to be deceptions and decoys. The smart play here is to bring Andy Reid back for another year, but also I think they’re going to have to rearrange the chairs of their coaching staff defensively. I don’t think they can go through another season the way they went through this year. Ultimately, get tougher and fix the defense.
On if calling out players works:
No, I really don’t think it works in my over 20 years in the NFL. It’s a team sport and when you lose as badly as the New York Giants lost in New Orleans, the team lost; from the coaches’ gameplan to the players’ execution. When you single out just the players, then you divide the locker room and then all of sudden it becomes us against them. I don’t think at this point in the season you really want that. I think Perry Fewell made a mistake here and if he goes out and they don’t play well against Green Bay, the mistakes will be extremely costly for him.
For the latest from the ‘Front Office View’ of Michael Lombardi, including his article on the changes the Philadelphia Eagles must make, visit:
‘Inside Slant’ with Jason La Canfora
On the management of the San Diego Chargers:
Norv Turner, I can’t fathom a scenario where he’s back at this point, and frankly in his heart I think he knows the same thing. The big question will be A.J. Smith and what happens there because there are A-list coaches like Jeff Fisher and Bill Cowher who would have interest in that job but not with that management team in place as it currently stands. Remember Cowher’s mentor is Marty Schottenheimer who went 14-2, lost a power struggle with A.J. Smith and then ended up on his way out [with] Norv Turner replacing Marty Schottenheimer. Jeff Fisher as well I’m told would have some reservations about working with A.J. Smith. So if they want the kind of coach that they may desire, then they may have to blow up everything to get him.
On head coaches on the hot seat:
I came up with a list and I think I put about eight other people on there. Really, if you start and look at the top, the first three names there you have Norv Turner, you have [Steve] Spagnuolo, you have [Jim] Caldwell – I don’t really see a scenario where they’re back at this point based on all of my reporting. That next tier – [Tony] Sparano and [Todd] Haley – Miami was chasing A-list coaches a year ago; I fully expect that to happen again. Scott Pioli in Kansas City always hires within his family tree; Kirk Ferentz at Iowa is in that tree, as is Josh McDaniels. Somebody is going down in the NFC East, at least one coach and maybe more; if Tom Coughlin can’t pull out of this swoon, and we’ve seen December swoons there before, Jeff Fisher is a name to watch there. Andy Reid, I don’t believe he’ll be fired at this point based on what I’ve heard, but there could be friction about the composition of the staff, defensive coordinator, does [Juan] Castillo stay or go? So maybe that gets things going in another direction, but I think he’ll be back. The bottom two names there, [Leslie] Frazier and [Raheem] Morris, I believe will get one more year. Keep this in mind as well, Mike Sherman was contacted by the Jaguars before they fired Jack Del Rio; he was at A&M at that point, Texas A&M has since let him go. Mike Sherman, Jay Gruden, Brian Schottenheimer, names I’d watch in connection to that Jacksonville job.
On Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis:
I’ve talked to numerous people in that organization and they tell me the same thing: they’re actually happy he’s being prudent and listening to the doctors. The doctors have told him stay off of that thing until at least Week 15. If that game in San Diego looks like it’s going to be big, then maybe we evaluate you then. But they recall 2007 he had a hamstring problem; he rode a stationary bike for three hours to get blood flow enough to be cleared to play in that game and he tore the hamstring off the bone. That was the end of the season. It’s all about a ring there. So if that Week 15 game doesn’t really matter for the Ravens so much and guys like [Dannell] Ellerbe who are replacing him are doing the job, he may not go until Week 17 against Cincinnati. If that doesn’t matter, maybe the playoffs. But he will play again this year; they’re not concerned about that. It’s a matter of when does it make the most sense to get the most out of him
For the latest from the ‘Inside Slant,’ including Jason La Canfora’s article on the status of Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis, visit:
Bold Predictions
Steve Mariucci: There will be over 800 yards passing combined in the game between the Green Bay Packers and New York Giants
Marshall Faulk: The Detroit Lions and New Orleans Saints will combine to score 90-plus points
Kurt Warner: Every AFC East team will win today
Warren Sapp: Atlanta’s Roddy White, Tony Gonzalez and Michael Turner each will have over 100 yards and a touchdown against the Houston Texans
Michael Irvin: Green Bay Packers tight end Jermichael Finley will have four touchdowns against the New York Giants
On NFL.com the following video clips from NFL GameDay Morning are available for viewing:
Wide Open Field – NFL GameDay Morning analysts do some role playing to state their case for who is the best team in the AFC.
http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-
Can the Lions Stop the Saints’ March? – The Detroit Lions are Suh-less as they visit the Saints in New Orleans and need a big win to keep themselves in the Wild Card hunt.
http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-
Quarterbacks, Take Note – Is Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers having the best quarterback season of all time? NFL GameDay Morning says it’s very much a possibility.
http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-
Dallas Cowboys in December – The Dallas Cowboys have had problems in December over the past five years. Can Tony Romo keep November’s hot streak going?
Such Divas – Michael Irvin and Steve Mariucci break down why wide receivers need the spotlight.
http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-
Do Players Quit – The ex-players on NFL GameDay Morning examine if players give up on their teams.
http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-
Front Office View – Michael Lombardi gives the inside scoop on all of the big news around the league, including the status of Peyton Manning and the future of Donovan McNabb.
http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-
Bold Predictions – The NFL GameDay Morning crew go out on some limbs to predict big happenings on Sunday.
http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-
The Marshall Plan – Marshall Faulk breaks down how the Houston Texans can win with quarterback T.J. Yates leading the way.
http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-
Sunday Menu – NFL GameDay Morning breaks down the big matchups between the Green Bay Packers and New York Giants, and the Cincinnati Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers.
http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-
What Will We Learn? – Steve Mariucci discusses what will give the Ravens the edge over the Browns and which plays lead to wins.
http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-
M&M: All QBs, All the Time – Marshall Faulk and Michael Irvin debate three quarterback-centric topics.
http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-
EXTRA POINTS:
- Pittsburgh Steelers Host Cleveland Browns in AFC North Showdown on NFL Network’s Thursday Night Football December 8 at 8:00 PM ET:
Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh Steelers look to keep pace in the AFC North when they host wide receiver Josh Cribbs and the division rival Cleveland Browns on NFL Network’s Thursday Night Football December 8 at 8:00 PM ET. Brad Nessler provides the play-by-play and Mike Mayock serves as game analyst. Alex Flanagan provides reports from the sidelines of Heinz Field in Pittsburgh. On the Thursday Night Kickoff Presented by Sears pregame show at 6:00 PM ET, NFL Network analyst Michael Irvin sits down with Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger for a one-on-one conversation. At the midway point of the Thursday Night Football schedule, NFL Network games are averaging a record 7.1 million viewers, up 24 percent from 2010. Additionally, a total of 38.8 million fans tuned into NFL Network last month – the most-viewed November in the eight-year history of the network.
- The Coaches Show is Back: The Coaches Show returns for its third season airing Mondays at 6:30 PM ET. The weekly half-hour show features former head coaches Brian Billick and Jim Mora who have been on the sidelines and experienced the ups and downs associated with being at the helm of a team in the National Football League. During the 30-minute show, the duo share situations and experiences from their careers that remain applicable to today’s head coach.
- Third Season of Wildly Popular NFL RedZone: After a successful sophomore season that has transfixed NFL fans across the country, NFL RedZone is back for 2011 at 1:00 PM ET/10:00 AM PT. Hosted by Scott Hanson and produced by NFL Network from its state-of-the-art studio in Los Angeles at NFL Network’s headquarters in Los Angeles, NFL RedZone whips around every NFL game on Sunday afternoons delivering the touchdowns and most exciting moments as they happen and in high definition. When a team goes inside the 20-yard line, fans see the crucial plays live. The channel keeps fans up-to-date in real time, switching from game to game with live look-ins, highlights and a chance to see every important play. NFL RedZone has more than quadrupled its distribution roster since its rookie campaign last season with availability more than 140 affiliates across the country. In addition, the channel is also available at every NFL stadium. For more information visit: http://redzonetv.nfl.com/?
icampaign=redzone_mb
NFL GameDay Morning begins the NFL Network schedule on Sundays, which will now be called “NFL GameDay.” Following NFL GameDay Morning will be NFL GameDay StatZone at 1:00 PM ET, NFL GameDay Scoreboard at 4:00 PM ET, NFL GameDay Highlights at 7:30 PM ET and NFL GameDay Final at 11:30 PM ET.
NFL Network airs seven days a week, 24 hours a day on a year-round basis and is the only television network fully dedicated to the NFL and the sport of football. For more information, log on to www.nfl.com/nflnetwork. NFL.com is the exclusive Internet home of NFL videos and NFL Network.
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