FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sunday, November 3rd, 2013
NOTES & QUOTES FROM “FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA” — WEEK 9
“Drew Brees today was truly rattled.” – Rodney Harrison on Jets defense
“Make a foot running the ball, please!” – Dungy on Chargers
“There is some void of leadership somewhere within the Miami Dolphins locker room.” – Scott Pioli on Jonathan Martin situation
“They have no chance moving forward if they can’t run the ball.” – Harrison on Ravens struggles
NEW YORK – Nov. 3, 2013 – Following are the highlights for Football Night in America, the most-watched pre-game show in sports. Bob Costas opened the show live from inside Reliant Stadium in Houston, Tex., where the Texans are hosting the Indianapolis Colts. Costas was joined on site by Al Michaels (play-by-play), Cris Collinsworth (analyst), and two-time Super Bowl winner Hines Ward.
Dan Patrick co-hosts Football Night from famous Studio 8H at NBC’s 30 Rockefeller Plaza studios in New York City. He is joined by Super Bowl winning head coach Tony Dungy; two-time Super Bowl winner Rodney Harrison; Peter King of Sports Illustrated; Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk on NBCSports.com and NBCSN; and Scott Pioli, the former NFL Executive of the Year. Carolynn Manno reported from Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., on the Steelers-Patriots game.
Costas interviewed Houston Texans DE J.J. Watt and Indianapolis Colts head coach Chuck Pagano.
Following are highlights from Football Night in America:
ON SEAHAWKS
Dungy on Russell Wilson: “He has so much poise and so much confidence.”
Harrison: “My concern is this defense, this front seven. They haven’t stopped the run the last couple of weeks against rookie running backs. You play in a division with Frank Gore. That’s a big concern of mine.”
Dungy: “There are some holes in that armor. Offensive and defensive lines are not playing well.”
ON CHIEFS
Dungy on Chiefs next game: “You mentioned all of the backup quarterbacks they’ve faced so far. It won’t be a backup quarterback in Denver. It will be Peyton Manning.”
ON SAINTS
Patrick: “Saints are a different team on the road.”
Dungy: “They really are…On the road, it’s a little different. The protection’s not quite as good and they aren’t quite as strong.”
ON JETS
Harrison: “The Jets defense set the tone from the beginning of the game…Drew Brees today was truly rattled.”
Patrick: “We keep saying that when the Jets have a win we seem to blame it on the other team. The Jets played extremely well today.”
ON PATRIOTS
Dungy: “This New England offense has been very, very mediocre for three weeks and they looked like world beaters today.”
ON STEELERS
Patrick on Steelers defense: “They look old.”
Harrison: “Old and slow.”
ON RAVENS
Dungy: “We can look at their offense and say they’re missing (Anquan) Boldin and (Dennis) Pitta, but it’s the offensive line. Ray Rice held at 17 yards today, there were just no holes. These guys just are not creating holes in the running game.”
Harrison: “When you have a great back like Ray Rice you would think that they would want to block for this guy, but they have no chance moving forward if they can’t run the ball.”
ON BRONCOS
King, who spoke to John Elway (within 30 minutes of 7:15 p.m. ET), on who will be team’s interim leader: “He told me, ‘we’re close, but we’re not there yet. Clearly, it’s going to come from somebody on our staff.’”
ON CHARGERS
Dungy: “You’ve got to be able to pound these balls in…Make a foot running the ball, please!”
ON REDSKINS
Harrison: “Pierre Garcon, he is just too physical for those little cornerbacks.”
Dungy on Garcon’s career longevity: “Pierre is a physical guy who loves football.”
ON DOLPHINS
Florio on Jonathan Martin: “Early today, Martin’s representatives provided to the Dolphins specific evidence of alleged harassment. I’m told that that evidence relates specifically to the conduct of left guard Richie Incognito and more generally to the team’s culture.”
Pioli on Incognito: “If he’s a leader in your locker room, that’s a problem because he has a long history of issues going back to Nebraska when he was kicked out of school. What this shows me is that there is some void of leadership somewhere within the Miami Dolphins locker room, because, if there are issues like this, generally the head coach or the general manager is going to know something about this. They’re going to be able to fix the problem before it manifests itself into this disaster that they have right now.”
Patrick: “Would you want Richie Incognito in your locker room?”
Pioli: “I didn’t want him coming out and I don’t want him now.”
ON FALCONS
Harrison: “At 2-6, they’re done — too many injuries to overcome.”
ON VIKINGS
Patrick: “They still don’t have a win in North America.”
ON COLTS
Collinsworth on Robert Mathis: “I really think that Mathis this year has a shot at (Michael) Strahan’s record and here’s why. In the past he’s had to play on the left side, and, of course, Freeney would play on the other side. What I didn’t know, and we just learned this weekend, is that he’s left handed. His whole career, all he wanted to do was play on the right hand side and they finally moved him to that side…and he’s got 11.5 sacks after seven games. This is an opportunity for this guy to be featured and he’s taken advantage of it.”
Dungy on Robert Mathis’ college highlight tape: “It was the best highlight tape, other than Barry Sanders, that I’ve ever seen.”
Harrison on Mathis: “He’s a complete player.”
Ward on Pagano: “Don’t let the smile fool you. He’s a great guy but he loves a hard-nosed football game.”
ON TEXANS
Michaels: “If they lose tonight, then you have to start thinking about next year.”
INTERVIEW: Below are excerpts from Costas’ interviews with Watt and Pagano.
J.J. WATT WITH BOB COSTAS
On his explanation for the team’s poor play: “We’ve been playing bad football. That’s the explanation. On defense, we need to get takeaways. That comes along with winning because as you win, you put other teams in passing situations. They have to throw the ball more. You can get sacks. You can get interceptions. We just need to get the ball rolling again.”
On his relationship with the late Bum Phillips: “It was neat. When I first got drafted here, I had a chance just to do some research. I wanted to learn about Houston, learn about the city, and one of the first things that comes up is ‘Luv Ya Blue.’ It all came back to one man, Bum. And when I got a chance to meet him, and the way that he was around me and some of the words he said to me, and just seeing who he was, was a big deal to me.”
On Bum’s memorial service: “It was a special deal. I don’t know if it’s weird to say this about a memorial, but it was really cool. It’s so neat to see the way Bum handled his life and to see how many people he affected, and that’s what we all hope for. We all hope that someday, when our time comes, that people want to rally around and want to celebrate our life because we affected so many lives.”
On Halloween at his house: “A little bit crazy. It’s just me by myself handing out trick or treats. I loved that time as a kid and it’s so fun to see the kids’ faces light up and the smiles. It’s the best.”
Click here to watch the entire interview: http://www.nbcsports.com/football/nfl/watt-weve-been-playing-bad-football
CHUCK PAGANO WITH BOB COSTAS
On Reggie Wayne: “You just can’t replace a Reggie Wayne. His leadership is going to be missed. Obviously what you see on game day, what the public sees, is one thing. But what you don’t see is Monday through Saturday is just; it’s a huge hit for all of us.”
On Andrew Luck being unique (size, athleticism, intelligence): “Absolutely. Everything that you just said makes him very, very special. He’s a linebacker, mentality wise, playing quarterback. He gets a little bit jittery. In college, he would always go out a little bit early in the game and take off running on purpose (to get hit) just to get the cobwebs out or whatever. And now we’ve kind of said, look, we really can’t afford to have you doing that at this level, Andrew. So, (joking) if you need me to slap you around before the game or start head butting somebody on the sideline, why don’t we try that.”
On younger brother and Chargers defensive coordinator John Pagano: “Before the game is really the only time, shake hands, give a hug here or there. My record is not very good vs. my little brother. I think I’m 1-8 now. He doesn’t rub it in. We’re good about that. I did it the one win that I got.”
Click here to watch the entire interview: http://www.nbcsports.com/football/nfl/pagano-recognizes-few-can-replace-wayne
—FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA—
