FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, September 4th, 2014

NOTES & QUOTES FROM “NFL KICKOFF 2014” & “PRO FOOTBALL TALK”

“He’s not even the best defensive back on this team.” – Hines Ward on Seahawks DB Richard Sherman

“This is why they are a Super Bowl contender – because of Aaron Rodgers.” – Tony Dungy

I don’t know that I’ve ever seen an NFL player make a bigger jump.” – Cris Collinsworth on Russell Wilson’s Growth from 2013 to 2014

 “If this gets done by Sunday, those suspensions (to Wes Welker & Josh Gordon) could go away completely.” – Mike Florio on NFL & NFLPA Working on New Drug Policy

STAMFORD, Conn. – Sept. 4, 2014 – NBC’s coverage of the 2014 NFL season began tonight with NFL Kickoff 2014 at 7:30 p.m. ET. Bob Costas opened the show live from inside CenturyLink Field in Seattle, Wash., where the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks hosted the Green Bay Packers.

Dan Patrick co-hosted the program from inside the stadium and was joined on-site by Football Night in America analysts Tony Dungy, Rodney Harrison, and Hines Ward, as well as NFL insiders Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com and Peter King of Sports Illustrated.

As part of the NFL Kickoff 2014 celebration, Josh Elliott anchored NBC’s coverage of a pre-game concert that featured performances by Grammy Award-winning singer, song-writer, producer, and The Voice judge, Pharrell Williams, as well as Seattle-natives and Grammy Award-winning band Soundgarden from a specially constructed stage outside of CenturyLink Field. Elliott also provided live commentary from the stands amongst some of the Seahawks most passionate fans, commonly known as “The 12th Man.” Coverage included sit-down interviews between Costas and Packers QB Aaron Rodgers, as well as Elliott and Seahawks QB Russell Wilson.

NBC Sports Group’s NFL coverage began with a special two-hour edition of Pro Football Talk at 5:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, co-hosted on-site in Seattle by Mike Florio and Liam McHugh, alongside Sunday Night Football analyst Cris Collinsworth, Dungy, Harrison, and Ward.

Pro Football Talk co-host Paul Burmeister anchored the show from NBC Sports Group’s International Broadcast Center in Stamford, Conn., joined by analysts Kevin Gilbride and Jon Ritchie.

 

Following are highlights from NFL Kickoff 2014 on NBC:

Florio on NFL and NFLPA making progress on comprehensive new drug policy and its effects on Wes Welker and Josh Gordon suspensions: “They could be reduced. If this gets done by Sunday, those suspensions could go away completely.”

ON SEAHAWKS

Harrison on Seattle’s chances of repeating: “I think they’re going to repeat. I think they’re going to win. They’ve got everything they need to repeat.”

Dungy on Seattle’s chances: “They’re in the best division in football – the NFC West. I don’t think they’re going to repeat…I like New Orleans to win enough games to get that Championship Game in New Orleans, rather than here (Seattle).”

Ward on if Richard Sherman is the best DB in the NFL: “I wouldn’t say so. He’s not even the best on defensive back on this team. I would go with safety Earl Thomas…Richard Sherman is a great cornerback, but he benefits from having a strong pass rush, and Seattle plays a lot of zone coverage, so he’s always on one side of the field. To be considered the best in the league, you have to cover the other team’s best wide receiver.”

Dungy comparing Russell Wilson to Hall of Fame QB Joe Montana: “He really does (remind me of Montana). That confidence, that playmaking ability…the clutch moments, where his coolness comes in.”

ON PACKERS

Dungy on Rodgers: “The ability to make plays, not only in the pocket, but use his mobility…this is why they are a Super Bowl contender – because of Aaron Rodgers.”

Ward on RB Eddie Lacy: “He was hurt, and he didn’t have Rodgers for seven games. Eddie Lacy will  not face eight guys in the box now that Aaron Rodgers is back in the lineup.”

Dungy on rookie C Corey Linsley: “There’s a name you haven’t heard, but he might be the most important player for the Packers tonight. A rookie center…he’s got to make all the calls, and he’s got to block…Corey Linsley’s got to be big tonight.”

 

Following are highlights from Pro Football Talk on NBCSN:

ON SEAHAWKS

Collinsworth on growth of Russell Wilson: “When I watched him on tape last preseason to when I watched him on tape this season against the Chicago Bears, I don’t know that I’ve ever seen an NFL player make a bigger jump.”

Harrison on Seattle WR Percy Harvin: “(He) is the most dangerous weapon in the National Football League.”

Harrison on Seattle S Earl Thomas: “Earl Thomas is the best free safety in the game…he’s very aggressive, great in the open field, and the leader of that defense.”

Harrison on Seattle head coach Pete Carroll tabbing Thomas to return punts: “It’s a huge mistake to have Earl Thomas return punts because he’s your best defensive player – point blank, period. Why would you take a chance to catch and return a punt, and now guys get an opportunity to take a shot at him?”

Florio on noise factor of Seattle’s ‘12th Man’: “I don’t think you can take the crowd out of it here.”

Florio on Seahawks repeating: “Complacency is not going to be a problem with the Seahawks. They are driven and motivated.”

King on Wilson’s intensity: “Russell Wilson has approached this training camp and this season as a perfect disciple of Pete Carroll – ‘you haven’t done anything unless you win another one.’”

Ritchie on Seattle running game: “This is an offense that is built on angry, unfettered, ‘attack-mode’ with Marshawn Lynch.”

Gilbride on Seattle offense: “They’re going to be a much more explosive offense this year than last year.”

 

ON PACKERS

Ward on Packers WR Jarrett Boykin: “He’s a better version of James Jones.”

Ritchie on Packers offense and Eddie Lacy: “They will always be in the proper play to take full advantage of your defense. Now that they’ve got an absolute road raider of a running back, they’re having a lot of success.”

Gilbride on impact of LB Julius Peppers on Green Bay defense: “The loss of B.J. Raji inside is going to be devastating…the one thing they’ve got going for them is Julius Peppers…that’s the only chance they have. How effective is Julius Peppers going to be? Because he’s the key to the whole thing.”

 

AARON RODGERS WITH BOB COSTAS

Costas interviewed Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers. Following are highlights:

Rodgers on noise from Seahawks’ ‘12th Man’: “It’s a big factor, especially on third downs, with the stuff that we’d like to do that gets hampered by noise…they’re a smart crowd, as loud as any in the league.”

Rodgers on silencing Seattle crowd: “We want to be up tempo, run a lot of plays in a short amount of time, but that gets neutralized if you’re not converting third downs…the key for us is converting third downs, more first downs and opportunities to quiet the crowd.”

Rodgers on 4th-and-8 TD pass to beat Bears and make postseason last year: “It’s a special memory in a great stadium where we’ve had some great battles…I don’t think anything can really touch that for me because I was coming off a very difficult injury…to be a factor and help our team get to the playoffs, finish it off with a touchdown was as good as it gets.”

Rodgers on the art of ‘photobombing’: “It’s one of the requests I’ve gotten a lot when I’m out and about…fans not saying, ‘Can I have a picture with you?’ but, ‘Will you photobomb my picture?”, which is an easy request to agree to…just try to have fun with it.”

Click here for video of this interview: http://www.nbcsports.com/football/nfl/aaron-rodgers-12th-man-seattle-big-factor

 

RUSSELL WILSON WITH JOSH ELLIOTT

Elliott interviewed Seattle Seahawks QB Russell Wilson. Following are highlights:

Wilson on the label of ‘underdog’: “I never consider myself an underdog. If I considered myself an underdog, I don’t think I’d be here…I’ve always viewed myself as a champion.”

Wilson on throwing less passes than other elite QBs: “I want to do whatever it takes to win…great teams play to the strengths of what they do…I have an itch. Going through college, I threw the ball 50 times, so I know how to do that too.”

Wilson on keeping focus for 2014 following Super Bowl win: “We know that we’re champions. We know that we’ve done great things. At the end of the day, it doesn’t mean anything about this year. The journey is just starting, and we’ve got to try and get more banners up there.”

Wilson on saying ‘Go Hawks’ at the end of every interview: “It’s something special for the 12th Man fans. It’s about them, it’s about our football team, and what we do on a daily basis…so ‘Go Hawks.’”

Click here for video of this interview: http://www.nbcsports.com/football/nfl/russell-wilson-one-one-josh-elliot

 

–NBC SPORTS GROUP–