FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sunday, November 9th, 2014
NOTES & QUOTES FROM NBC’S “FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA” – WEEK 10
“He’s the most dominant defensive player outside of J.J. Watt.” – Rodney Harrison on Ndamukong Suh
“The 49ers are going to be very dangerous down the stretch.” – Cris Collinsworth
“The only way Ray Rice will play again this year is if a desperate team really needs a running back down the stretch.” – Peter King
Dungy & Harrison Preview Week 11 Patriots-Colts Sunday Night Football Matchup on Conference Call Tuesday, Nov. 11
STAMFORD, Conn. – November 9, 2014 – Following are highlights from NBC’s Football Night in America, the most-watched studio show in sports. Bob Costas opened the show live from inside Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisc. Costas was joined on site by Sunday Night Football analyst Cris Collinsworth, sideline reporter Michele Tafoya, NBC NFL analyst Hines Ward, and NBC Sports’ Josh Elliott.
Dan Patrick co-hosted Football Night from NBC Sports Group’s Studio 1. He was joined by Super Bowl-winning head coach Tony Dungy; two-time Super Bowl winner Rodney Harrison, Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk on NBCSports.com, and NFL Insider Peter King. Carolyn Manno reported from CenturyLink Field in Seattle, Wash., on the Giants -Seahawks game.
In addition, Costas interviewed Chicago Bears head coach Marc Trestman, while Elliot spoke with Green Bay Packers LB A.J. Hawk. In honor of Veterans Day, tonight’s edition of Football Night In America also featured a story on Bears DE Jared Allen, whose family has a long history of military service.
Following are highlights from Football Night in America:
ON CHIEFS
Dungy: “They’ve won six out of seven and are playing red hot football.”
Harrison: “I think we underestimated Alex Smith.”
Harrison: “This is a well-coached team. You have to give Andy Reid a lot of credit.”
ON CARDINALS
King on Carson Palmer: “It’s feared that Carson Palmer, for the second time in the last nine years, has suffered a torn ACL of his left knee. This would leave the Arizona Cardinals with Drew Stanton to quarterback them down the stretch. No MRI has been taken yet, but the fear in Arizona is that Carson Palmer has a torn ACL.”
Dungy: “They have won games this season without Carson Palmer. The Cardinals are going to be in good shape.”
Harrison: “Drew Stanton is a backup QB, because he’s a backup QB. This is a significant injury and a loss for the Cardinals, but they can depend on their defense. They have a great defense.”
ON FALCONS
Dungy: “Atlanta’s got some holes on their team. They’re not a great team. They’re in a terrible division though. They can win the division, but their stars have to play better.”
Harrison: “They’re a very undisciplined team.”
ON SAINTS
Harrison: “I still believe the Saints are the best team in their division.”
ON 49ERS
Ward: “Today was a huge win for San Francisco. Kaepernick may have saved the 49ers’ season with that fourth-down conversion at the end of regulation.”
Collinsworth on Aldon Smith: “There are three guys in the league that I say ‘It’s not fair’, Aldon Smith is one of them. Von Miller is one of them, and J.J. Watt is the other. It’s not fair when they are on the field. That’s the kind of impact Smith can have.”
Collinsworth: “This team has proven they can win on the road. The 49ers are going to be very dangerous down the stretch.”
Ward: “I was really impressed with the 49ers defense. They played solid and are only going to get better when they get Patrick Willis and Aldon Smith back.”
ON LIONS
Harrison on Ndamukong Suh: “He’s the most dominant defensive player outside of J.J. Watt. He’s becoming more of a leader. You don’t see those silly mistakes and those penalties that we’re used to seeing.”
ON DOLPHINS
Florio on injuries: “I’m told Brandon Albert, major free agent acquisition for the Dolphins this year, is done with a knee injury. Rookie right tackle, Ja’Wuan James, will now have to slide over to that left side.”
ON RAVENS
King on Ray Rice appeal: “Now that the Ray Rice appeal hearing is over, it’s going to take about two weeks for the judge to come back with the decision. I believe he will be reinstated. Most people around the NFL believe that Rice will be, but that is only half the question.”
King on Ray Rice appeal: “Will anyone take a chance on him? The only way Ray Rice will play again this year is if a desperate team really needs a running back down the stretch.”
ON VIKINGS
Florio on Adrian Peterson: “If the NFL doesn’t reinstate Peterson by 5 p.m. ET on Monday, the NFL Players Association intends to file a grievance… asking an arbitrator to immediately reinstate Peterson. Meanwhile, the NFL has asked Peterson to turn over the contents of the court files from the child abuse charges in Texas. Because the alleged victim was under the age 18, I’m told that file has been sealed. The NFL is going to have a hard time getting it.”
ON BEARS
Harrison: “Every week we seem to have the same conversation about the Chicago Bears offense. They have to take the ball out of Jay Cutler’s hands. He makes too many mistakes. You have to run Matt Forte.”
Dungy on Jared Allen: “To beat Green Bay in Lambeau, you’ve got to rush the passer. That’s why they got Allen. He hasn’t given them that production yet. He needs a big game tonight.”
Ward on Brandon Marshall: “I understand Marshall’s frustration, but he went about it the wrong way. When you start pointing fingers in the locker room, that’s the quickest way to divide a team. As a leader, you have to be supportive of your teammates when they’re struggling. Brandon Marshall needs to help the Bears by going out and elevating his play.”
Harrison on Matt Forte: “Jay Cutler makes a lot of mistakes and the way to neutralize those mistakes is you have to give Matt Forte the ball. He’s one of the most complete backs in this league and when he’s in open field, he’s very difficult to bring down. He is so good you could line him up as a wide receiver. He could be a starting wide receiver in this league. That’s how good he is.”
Dungy on Forte: “He’s got acceleration on an open-field. And it doesn’t have to be just the running game. You can use him in the passing game, screens, little option routes. He can catch deep balls. The Bears have to find ways to get Matt Forte the ball.”
Following are Costas’ interview with Trestman, and Elliot’s interview with Hawk.
MARC TRESTMAN WITH BOB COSTAS
Trestman on how the Bears handled their bye week after the team’s 51-23 loss to the Patriots: “We didn’t take this as torture, we embraced it. We went back to work a couple days after the bye, spent some time trying to find things we could do to help our players get better, and reevaluated what we were doing.”
Trestman on Rodney Harrison’s statement that the Bears need to re-focus their offense around RB Matt Forte: “I think it’s a valid point. We want everybody involved to be a part of our success as we move the ball on offense.”
Trestman on QB Jay Cutler: “He’s an extremely bright guy with great football intelligence. He works extremely hard at his craft and is looking to move up and play better. He needs to do a better job at protecting the football, and he’s certainly taken accountability for that.”
Trestman on DE Lamarr Houston’s sack celebration and injury: “Lamarr knows what he did was completely inappropriate at the time. It was something that we not only don’t want to see on our team, we don’t want to be a part of that. That’s not what the NFL is all about.”
Trestman on the significance of the Bears-Packers rivalry: “No doubt it’s a great rivalry. Growing up in the Midwest, watching this rivalry my whole life, I understand it’s really about the NFL. It’s about the traditions of the NFL, and anybody who loves the league has got to love this matchup, because it’s part of the history of the league.”
A.J. HAWK WITH JOSH ELLIOTT
Hawk on flying with the Blue Angels: “It’s hard to even describe. I didn’t come in as a tough guy and say, ‘Alright, try and make me puke. I can pull 9 G’s.’ I said, ‘I was getting sick in the car ride over here. I have a little baby stomach. Sorry if I throw out these corny Top Gun lines. I’m sure every guy that sits back here does it.’ In between trying to fight off the (motion) sickness, I was trying to recreate scenes from Top Gun. I was in the air for 50 minutes, and I would say for the last 42 minutes I was dying – but I would do it right now if they asked me again.”
Elliott: “You’ve found a lot of balance in your life, and now you’re coming for our jobs with The HawkCast (laughing)?”
Hawk on his podcast: “I’m a curious little guy. My kids have turned me more curious because I see the questions they ask me. It’s like the old saying, ‘I know enough to know that I don’t know everything.’ I just want to talk to people of all different walks of life, and ask them why they are the way they are, and what makes them so successful.”
Elliott: “Have you taken lessons from what you’ve learned in your conversations with members of the military, and applied those lessons on the field?”
Hawk: “I heard a Navy SEAL say, ‘If I can’t trust a man with what he does off the field, if he doesn’t have good morals and character off the battlefield, you can’t trust him on the battlefield.’ I feel like everything is intertwined, and hopefully I’m living right, taking care of my family, my wife and kids. Hopefully when I’m on the field, I’m a positive influence on the guys around me.”
TONY DUNGY & RODNEY HARRISON PREVIEW WEEK 11 PATRIOTS-COLTS “SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL” MATCHUP ON CONFERENCE CALL TUESDAY, NOV. 11
Football Night In America analysts Tony Dungy and Rodney Harrison will preview next weekend’s Sunday Night Football matchup, featuring the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts, on a media conference call Tuesday, November 11 at 3:30 p.m. ET. Click here for full information on Tuesday’s conference call: http://nbcsportsgrouppressbox.com/2014/11/06/tony-dungy-rodney-harrison-preview-patriots-colts-sunday-night-football-matchup-on-media-conference-call-tuesday-nov-11/
–FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA–
