NEW YORK – October 30, 2011 – Following are highlights from Football Night in America. Bob Costas hosted the show live from Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia and was joined on site for commentary by Sunday Night Football
commentators Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth. Co-host Dan Patrick and
commentators Tony Dungy, Rodney Harrison, Peter King and Mike Florio
covered the news of the NFL’s eighth week live from Studio 8G at NBC’s
30 Rockefeller Plaza studios in New York. Alex Flanagan reported from
Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pa., on the Patriots-Steelers game.
EMBED NBC SPORTS VIDEO: Highlights from Football Night and other NBC Sports programming are available to be embedded at NBCSports.com. Click the following links for:
Al Michaels’ interview with Cowboys defensive coordinator Rob Ryan:
Cowboys RB DeMarco Murray:
ON SAINTS
Dungy:
“What happened to the Saints? We had them last Sunday night and they
looked like a juggernaut. They are playing their second straight winless
team with a chance to control the division. They got totally
out-hustled and got hit by the winless Rams.”
Harrison: “No way is that supposed to happen if you’re the New Orleans Saints. No way.”
Patrick: “How do the Saints go from being so good to so bad in a week’s time?”
Dungy:
“Part of it is, instead of being at home, being on the road. They have
not played well being on the road all year. But I have to credit the St.
Louis Rams, they did not play like a winless team. I have never seen
Drew Brees rattled like this and it started with that (Rams) defensive
line.”
ON RAMS
Michaels: “The Rams were clearly inspired by the Cardinals.”
ON GIANTS
Harrison:
“If you look at the Giants, yes, we know they can get to the
quarterback, but they miss a lot of tackles, no gap responsibility, and
lack of effort by some players.”
Harrison
(while showing video highlights): “You look at Chris Canty, he’s a
veteran player, look at the lack of hustle right here. This is not a
division winning effort. Then you come up the middle with Reggie Bush,
there are three guys right here, linebackers over pursuing, Kenny
Phillips missing tackles, just a terrible effort. Then you have another
one of your veteran defensive tackles (#95, Rocky Bernard) not hustling
and completing the play.”
Harrison: “They’ve got the Patriots next week, they better come ready.”
Dungy: “They better play a lot better than this.”
ON BILLS
Dungy:
“I’m on the Buffalo bandwagon now. My question with them was about
their defense, but the way they played today, shutting down that running
game, pressure, their defense played great today.”
Harrison:
“When you talk about their defense, you talk about one guy in
particular and that guy is George Wilson…He’s been getting it done all
year round. At this midpoint, he should be Defensive Player of the
Year.”
Dungy: “He’s had big plays, and he did it again today.”
ON RAVENS
Harrison:
“Two teams that won today that still have some issues are the Ravens
and the Giants. The Ravens have to find a way offensively to manufacture
some touchdowns in the passing game.”
Harrison on Joe Flacco: “The last month of the season he’s thrown one touchdown and four interceptions. He has to play better.”
ON STEELERS
Dungy: “They shut Tom Brady down for the first time in a long time.”
Harrison:
“Last year Pittsburgh tried to play a zone coverage and Tom Brady ate
them alive. This year, they came out in basic man-to-man coverage.”
Harrison: “Pittsburgh’s defense, basically dominating the game and holding Tom Brady to under 200 yards passing.”
King:
“Ryan Clark, the safety for the Steelers, told me a few minutes ago
that this is the most press coverage that he’s played in the six years
that he’s been a Pittsburgh Steeler. That to me was the huge difference
in the game in frazzling both Wes Welker and Tom Brady.”
Harrison: “I think they are the best team in the AFC. Earlier in the year, everybody called them old and washed up.”
Patrick: “Yeah, that was like three weeks ago.” (laughter)
ON NEXT WEEK’S SNF RAVENS @ STEELERS
Collinsworth:
“No matter what happens, when you get Baltimore and you get Pittsburgh
together, and we’ve talked about it before, it’s probably the most
electric game that we do every year.”
ON BRONCOS
Patrick: “No encore for Tim Tebow.”
Harrison:
“Everyone is talking about Tim Tebow. Yes he played bad, but he’s not
the only problem. You look at the offensive line, they gave up a bunch
of sacks. He doesn’t have anybody to throw to down the field. The
defense gave up 48 points. You can’t blame Tim Tebow for everything.”
Patrick:
“I think the media overreacts when he does something great, and now
they are going to overreact. He’s a rookie quarterback, basically, in
his fifth start.”
Harrison: “Stay with Tim Tebow, ride it out.”
ON BENGALS
Dungy:
“I’ve been on Cam Newton’s bandwagon, but Andy Dalton, the Cincinnati
quarterback, and A.J. Green, they are for real and they’ve got a very,
very good defense.”
ON EAGLES
Harrison
on if he still thinks the Eagles are the best team in the East: “I do. I
think they have the best quarterback. I think Washington is terrible,
and the Giants are inconsistent.”
Dungy: “I believe Rodney. He has been saying it for three weeks now, so I am going with him – Eagles.”
ON COLTS
King
on Andrew Luck: “I talked to Bill Polian, the Colts’ Vice Chairman and
draft czar this week. He said, ‘We’ve made no decision whatsoever. We
can’t. We don’t know where we are drafting, nothing like that.’ However,
after I talked to him I thought two things: number one, they are not
going to let Peyton Manning dictate anything about their first pick in
the draft, and number two, if I had to guess right now, based on my
conversation and based on knowing Bill Polian’s history, they will take
Andrew Luck with the first pick of the draft, if they have it.”
ON DOLPHINS
Florio
on rumors the team will hire a big name coach for next season: “Stay
tuned in Miami. It’s not a done deal that they are going to go big.”
ON BILL COWHER & JON GRUDEN 2012 COACHING STATUS
King:
“Everybody in America heard Bill Cowher say today, ‘I have no plans to
return to coaching.’ He actually used the word ‘plan’ twice, saying he
had no plans to coach. Coach, I’m sorry, I’m not buying it. The reason
I’m not buying it is because if you have no plans to coach, what you say
is, ‘I’m definitely not coaching next year.’ Bill Cowher will get some
phone calls at the end of this year. The big thing that people will have
to decide is, is five years out of the game too much?”
Florio:
“This is all about throwing water on the talk during the season and
deferring it to out of the season. Same thing with Jon Gruden; signs a
five year exclusive deal with ESPN, but what does exclusive mean? Does
it mean he can’t coach? Well, we’re not going to tell you that. So same
idea, Gruden’s name stays out of the mix until January. I think Gruden
and Cowher are both going to be in play.”
Patrick to Dungy: “Got any plans for 2012?”
Dungy: “No. Peter, it is easy to say. This is how you say it, ‘I’m definitely not coaching in 2012.’”
Following
are highlights from Al Michaels’ interview with Cowboys defensive
coordinator Roby Ryan, and Rodney Harrison’s interview with Eagles CB
Nnamdi Asomugha:
ROB RYAN WITH AL MICHAELS
MICHAELS
on Ryan’s father, Buddy, having been the head coach in Philadelphia and
Arizona, both Cowboys rivals: What was his initial reaction when you
got the job in Dallas?
RYAN:
Disbelief. He was a little shocked by it. He’s like, ‘You’ve got all
these other things going. Why here?’ I’m like, ‘Dad, it’s the best
opportunity for me.’ It really has worked out great.
MICHAELS on Dallas’ defense playing better: What’s made the difference this year?
RYAN:
Well, me. [joking; laughter]. Honestly, starting over with some Pro
Bowl football players. All these guys have been in the Pro Bowl and
deservedly so. We got all together and have been working hard ever
since. We’re not all the way there yet, but we’re playing good ball and
we’re going to keep doing it.
MICHAELS:
You’ve been an assistant coach for 25 years, 10 different places, but
no head coaching opportunity yet. Does that eat at you?
RYAN:
I don’t think it’s going to eat much further. My chance will come. It
only took my dad 25 years and, hell, he’s better than me and Rex put
together. Those things happen. I’m not sure how it will go, but
eventually I’ll get my chance to be a head coach.
RYAN on his war of words with Eagles WR Desean Jackson earlier this year:
That was kind of annoying because we signed three great players the day
before, so I’m bragging about those guys and all I’m hearing about is
all these great players that Philadelphia had signed. It bothered me
because I thought it was disrespecting the players that I coach and that
I knew would be great for us.
RYAN on Jackson saying, ‘Maybe I can run on the sideline and tackle the coach’ and Ryan responding that he’ll fall on him:
[Joking] There’s no question. Is he a good enough athlete to get it
done? Absolutely. Am I a bad enough athlete to get tackled by a small
guy? Sure, but I am going to fall on him. So I welcome the challenge. If
he wants to come hit me, beautiful. A little guy like that not’s going
to hit that hard anyway.
It would be
fun to beat these guys. There’s no question. They have a ton of talent
over there. They’re the fastest team I’ve ever seen on offense, but I
always believe in hitting them in the mouth. We’ll see what happens.”
NNAMDI ASOMUGHA WITH RODNEY HARRISON
HARRISON: Three months in, is there anything you regret?
ASOMUGHA:
No. Not at all…I don’t regret it because the journey isn’t over
yet…Everyone’s hot and cold on us. And it’s all part of the journey. We
know that at the end of this thing, we’re going to be better for what
we’ve gone through right now. It’s coming together.
HARRISON: Will Philadelphia make the playoffs? Win the division?
ASOMUGHA:
You can’t convince me that we’re not the team to beat. It may not look
like it because we’ve lost those close games, and they’ve all been close
games. We lost in the fourth quarter, really. You still can’t convince
us that it’s not going to be our show to win.
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