FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sunday, November 17th, 2019

FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA – WEEK 11 NOTES & QUOTES

“I think they’ve proven that they’re the cream of the crop. They’re the best team in the NFL.” – Chris Simms on the Ravens

 “The best strong safety on the planet.” – Rodney Harrison on Jets Safety Jamal Adams

 “We know one thing, the loser of this game in terms of playoff contention is in serious jeopardy.” – Al Michaels on the Importance of Tonight’s Bears-Rams Matchup

STAMFORD, Conn. – Nov. 17, 2019 – Mike Tirico hosted the Week 11 edition of Football Night in America tonight from NBC Sports’ International Broadcast Center in Stamford, Conn., in advance of the Sunday Night Football matchup between the Chicago Bears and the Los Angeles Rams. Tirico was joined on the set by analysts Tony Dungy, Rodney Harrison, and Chris Simms, as well as NFL Insider Mike Florio.

Liam McHugh co-hosted Football Night in America from an outdoor set outside the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California. He was joined by SNF analyst Cris Collinsworth, with Al Michaels and Michele Tafoya also reporting from inside the stadium.

McHugh interviewed current 200m world champion and 2020 Olympic hopeful Noah Lyles, which can be seen here, and spoke pregame with Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey and Bears running back Tarik Cohen.

FNIA also included highlights, analysis, and news from around the league.

Following are highlights from Football Night in America on NBC:

ON RAMS-BEARS MATCHUP

Michaels: “These teams are not who we thought they were. These teams in fact are very disappointing…We know one thing, the loser of this game in terms of playoff contention is in serious jeopardy.”

Tirico: “Why is this game so important? Because Minnesota and Seattle are having such good seasons not as division leaders.”

 

ON RAMS

Tirico: “Nine months ago, Jared Goff and the Rams were in great shape, they were the NFC champs. Now they’re 5-4 and a return to the playoffs is in doubt.”

Collinsworth on Rams’ offense: “They’ve changed up the running game a little bit and found something Todd Gurley really likes.”

Harrison on Jalen Ramsey: “Always fun to watch him. He brings the toughness and attitude and he gives that secondary an identity.”

Dungy on Ramsey: “He’s helped (defensive coordinator) Wade Phillips because now they can play more man-to-man coverage. Doesn’t matter who the number one receiver is on the other team, he can handle it.”

 

ON BEARS

Collinsworth on Mitchell Trubisky: “Since he recovered from the shoulder injury about a month ago, he has looked much, much better.”

Simms on Bears offense: “It’s tough sledding for this offense right now. It’s not just Mitchell Trubisky…The pass protection has not been good and they have a horizontal passing game.”

 

ON COLIN KAEPERNICK

Tirico: “I was told by someone very high up in the league office that this workout that happened – or was supposed to happen under league auspices – yesterday in fact was six weeks in the making.”

Florio: “The bottom line is there’s an extensive history between these two sides and I think that history made it hard for both sides to have the level of trust necessary to believe, from Kaepernick’s perspective, that this was a legitimate opportunity. The league contends that it was, but from Kaepernick’s perspective they were being very careful and it resulted in a dispute about the language of the waiver they wanted him to sign before the workout, whether or not he would be allowed to have his own camera crew tape the workout and that contributed to how it all kind of fell apart yesterday. As it relates to the teams though, my sense is from talking to people around the league, this hasn’t changed anything. He hasn’t been signed, he hasn’t received an offer, he hasn’t had a workout with a single team in 32 months and I’m told that his agent, Jeff Nalley, hasn’t heard from any teams since the workout. No offers for a private workout or an opportunity to join a team.”

Simms on a scout he spoke with who attended the workout: “He mentioned to me that he still has his fastball…But I don’t know if that translates to anything on the field or getting him signed.”

Dungy: “Colin Kaepernick is a good quarterback. He’s a good athlete. I know he can throw the ball…What I don’t know is how badly he wants to play and that didn’t get answered yesterday and that was the problem with that.”

Simms: “Not a good look for the NFL or Colin Kaepernick…I don’t know if this necessarily helps his chances around the NFL.”

 

ON MYLES GARRETT

Florio on Garrett’s next steps: “Under the NFL’s labor deal for on-field misconduct, the argument will be on appeal that you can’t have an indefinite suspension, there has to be a number. And this could be a, ‘Be careful what you wish for’ situation because if the NFL says, ‘Hey, we need to give you a specific number? Ok, 12 games, 10 games.’ Whatever the case may be. So that’s the first fight coming this week.”

 

ON TUA TAGOVAILOA

Florio: “There are concerns now about his durability…Can he sustain the wear-and-tear that goes with being an NFL quarterback? One general manager suggested you could draft him in the first round next year and just don’t play him…Another GM suggested maybe he just decides to stay at Alabama next year and that would throw the first round of next year’s draft into flux.”

 

ON RAVENS

Simms: “Ever since that Sunday Night Football game, I think they’ve proven that they’re the cream of the crop. They’re the best team in the NFL…Lamar Jackson is a human highlight reel right now.”

Dungy on Lamar Jackson: “We had questions about this guy throwing from the pocket when he came out of college, but he has answered those. He’s been brilliant.”

 

ON 49ERS

Dungy: “I was impressed with San Francisco today. They didn’t play their best game, but they stayed with it, fought through it, and got the job done in the fourth quarter.”

Harrison: “I just think they need to stick with the run. Run the football, don’t go away from it.”

Dungy on Deebo Samuel: “He’s made some big plays for them.”

Simms on Samuel: “He’s like a running back playing wide receiver. He’s added a lot of juice to that offense.”

 

ON SAINTS

Dungy: “They didn’t score a touchdown last week, Drew Brees wasn’t going to let that happen two weeks in a row. He was great today.”

 

ON COWBOYS

Harrison on Ezekiel Elliott: “I just wish they gave him more opportunities in the passing game.”

Simms on Randall Cobb: “You have Amari Cooper on the outside…Now Dak Prescott has a real target throwing down the middle (of the field).”

 

ON BILLS

Simms on Josh Allen: “His ability to improvise is great…I thought overall it was Josh Allen’s best day we’ve seen him play all year long.”

Dungy on Allen: “I really liked Josh Allen’s day. He was under control, he was poised and he made good throws from the pocket.”

 

ON VIKINGS

Florio on the Vikings’ comeback: “They knew how important it was to go into their bye week next week with that eighth win…They knew they needed to get that win today if they were going to have a shot at getting to the postseason.”

 

ON EAGLES

Simms: “The Eagles just can’t make any big plays on offense.”

Harrison: “They don’t have any speed at wide receiver.”

 

ON FALCONS

Simms: “I don’t know what is going on with the Falcons, but everything’s better – offense, defense and special teams.”

Florio on the Falcons’ turnaround: “Another big factor (Matt Ryan) told me was the decision of owner Arthur Blank to not make a coaching change. That allowed them to keep building on the things that they’ve been doing well.”

Simms on Calvin Ridley: “Calvin Ridley is becoming one of the better receivers in all of football. He is one of the go-to guys for Matt Ryan.”

Harrison: “He is definitely a number one receiver.”

 

ON RAIDERS

Simms: “(Defensive end) Maxx Crosby has been phenomenal for this defense. I mean, he looks like the number four pick in the draft like Clelin Ferrell is. He’s been dominant.”

 

ON COLTS

Simms on Colts’ offensive line: “I think if they can get back to kind of dominating the way we saw them last year, watch out for the Colts. They’re still dangerous.”

Dungy: “I like when you say that, ‘Watch out for the Colts.’”

 

ON JETS

Harrison on Jamal Adams: “The best strong safety on the planet…It was just enjoyable to sit back and watch this young man.”

Tirico on Adams: “He’s been the best thing about the Jets the last few weeks. All season as a matter of fact.”

Dungy on Sam Darnold: “I was impressed with him today.”

 

ON BUCCANEERS

Simms on Buccaneers’ wide receivers: “Chris Godwin has been a star. He’s been in the conversation for one of the best receivers in football this year. We talk about Mike Evans a lot, but don’t forget about Chris Godwin.”

Harrison on O.J. Howard: “I’m just waiting for him to be that star. He’s got the size, the speed, the athleticism.”

Simms on Howard: “He just can’t put it together.”

 

ON CARDINALS

Simms on Kyler Murray: “Look how quickly he can get the ball out of his hands. That’s the thing that jumps out to me more than anything about Kyler Murray.”

Harrison on Cardinals’ defense allowing game-winning drive: “Why are they blitzing, playing tight man-to-man when they have the lead?”

 

ON BRONCOS

Tirico the Broncos’ last-second loss: “Another crushing loss at the end.”

Dungy on the final drive: “The only problem for Denver, after these fourth-down conversions there was some bad clock management. They wasted a lot of time and had to rush at the end.”

–FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA–