FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sunday, October 18th, 2015

NOTES & QUOTES FROM FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA – WEEK 6

“If they’ve been angry for the first four games of the season against perfectly innocent opponents, you can only imagine what it’s going to be like tonight.” – Cris Collinsworth on New England facing Indianapolis

“There’s no question that this game tonight is a referendum on the future of Indianapolis Colts head coach Chuck Pagano.” – Peter King

I like the fact that they aren’t talking. There’s not a lot of drama.” – Tony Dungy on 4-1 New York Jets

“I apologize, Carolina Panthers. Every year I doubt this team. Great win.” – Rodney Harrison on 5-0 Panthers defeating Seahawks

“I think he knows the offense better than (Michael) Vick. I would stay with him.” – Dungy on Steelers QB Landry Jones

STAMFORD, Conn. – October 18, 2015 – Following are highlights from Football Night in America, which aired prior to NBC’s Sunday Night Football matchup between the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts. Bob Costas opened the show live from inside Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Ind., and was joined on site by Sunday Night Football analyst Cris Collinsworth, sideline reporter Michele Tafoya, and NBC NFL analyst Hines Ward.

Dan Patrick co-hosted Football Night, the most-watched studio show in sports, from NBC Sports Group’s Studio 1 in Stamford, Conn. He was joined by Super Bowl-winning head coach Tony Dungy; two-time Super Bowl winner Rodney Harrison; and NFL Insiders Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk on NBCSports.com and Peter King. Paul Burmeister reported from CenturyLink Field in Seattle, Wash., on the Panthers-Seahawks game.

Costas interviewed Colts RB Frank Gore and WR Andre Johnson.

Following are highlights from Football Night in America:

ON COLTS-PATRIOTS

Costas: “This is a revenge game, is it not?”

Collinsworth: “But for which team? It should be the Colts that are fired up because Andrew Luck has been beaten by at least 21 (points) each time these teams have gotten together…But now it is completely flipped around because of ‘Deflategate.’…We have seen the Patriots, since opening day, play with almost an anger to them.”

Costas: “Like in ’07 after ‘Spygate.’”

Collinsworth: “No question about it. So, if they’ve been angry for the first four games of the season against perfectly innocent opponents, you can only imagine what it’s going to be like tonight when they come out on this field.”

Collinsworth: “We all know the Colts have to stop the running game…One of their (Patriots) running backs ends up on the cover of Sports Illustrated every time these two teams get together.”

Harrison on Patriots: “I know Tom Brady. I know Bill Belichick. They’ve taken this personally and they’re going to try and make a statement and try to score 50 points on the Colts tonight.”

Dungy on Colts: “I’ve got news for you. It’s not just another game for the Colts either…Every move the Colts have made since the championship game last year — getting Andre Johnson, drafting the receiver number one, drafting defensive lineman — it’s all been focused for this game tonight.”

King: “There’s no question that this game tonight is a referendum on the future of Indianapolis Colts head coach Chuck Pagano. The biggest reason that owner Jim Irsay didn’t give Pagano a lucrative long-term extension offer in the off-season is because he hasn’t been able to be competitive with New England. A lopsided loss tonight would make Irsay even more skeptical that Pagano is his guy long term.”

ON JETS

http://www.nbcsports.com/video/time-believe-jets

Dungy: “For me, the highlight (of the early games) has to be the New York Jets, something we thought we’d never hear or haven’t heard in a while. Winning football and winning quietly. Todd Bowles has them playing good, sound fundamental football.”

Dungy: “This is a different Jets team. They’re running the ball extremely well. Chris Ivory is giving them a lift. They got Sheldon Richardson back. And I like the fact that they aren’t talking. There’s not a lot of drama. Once they get Brandon Marshall calmed down, it’s just business.”

Harrison: “Pretty humble group.”

Patrick: “For a change.” (laughter)

ON BRONCOS

Dungy: “I’m seeing too much of this — interceptions, off-target throws, the timing is not there. During the bye week, they’ve got to do something to get this timing back in the passing game.”

Harrison: “Demaryius Thomas has to stop dropping the ball. He’s a great receiver. He has to gain his confidence back.”

ON SEAHAWKS

Dungy: “This defense is not the same.”

Harrison: “It’s not the same without (former Seahawks defensive coordinator and current Atlanta Falcons head coach) Dan Quinn.”

ON PANTHERS

Harrison: “I apologize, Carolina Panthers. Every year I doubt this team. Great win, great team win.”

ON BILLS

Dungy on Sammy Watkins’ mid-week comments about not getting the ball enough: “I didn’t go off on players very much, but I would have gone off on Sammy Watkins, if he played for me. If you say that to me or you say that in the meeting rooms, then maybe you’re trying to be constructive. If you say it to the media, that’s selfish, and you can’t have selfish football.”

ON STEELERS

Dungy on Landry Jones: “I thought they looked good…It looked like offensive coordinator Todd Haley had more confidence calling plays, getting them into things. Le’Veon Bell had more room once Jones came in. I think he knows the offense better than Vick. I would stay with him.”

ON LIONS

Dungy after Golden Tate’s touchdown catch was overturned after initially being called an interception: “I don’t know what a touchdown is anymore.”

Harrison: “Do you agree with the call?’

Dungy: “No.”

ON TITANS-DOLPHINS

Regarding Titans head coach Ken Whisenhunt’s post-game comments that there is no place in the game for the type of low hit Olivier Vernon delivered to Marcus Mariota…

Patrick: “Got any problem with Vernon’s hit on Mariota?”

Harrison: “No, he slipped. Wait until (Whisenhunt) sees the film tomorrow.”

ON DOLPHINS

Dungy: “Their best players, Ndamukong Suh and Cameron Wake, finally stepped up and played like we’ve been expecting.”

Patrick: “Is this sustainable for Miami?”

Dungy: “It is because they also made a change in the defensive coordinator position and these defensive lineman have been begging for this…We saw some penetration today.”

ON TEXANS

Harrison: “DeAndre Hopkins, he’s been fantastic…But it’s even more impressive because each week he doesn’t know who the starting quarterback is.”

Dungy on DeAndre Hopkins: “They had to let Andre Johnson go because they needed to feature this guy. He is a tremendous receiver.”

ON OFFICIATING

Florio on recent discipline to officials who have made mistakes during primetime games: “Now the NFL’s position is there’s accountability regardless of when a game is played, but the message received by the officials is loud and clear, if you make a mistake in a primetime game the consequences are going to be more significant.”

FRANK GORE & ANDRE JOHNSON WITH BOB COSTAS

http://www.nbcsports.com/video/how-frank-gore-and-andre-johnson-ended-indianapolis

Note: Frank Gore and Andre Johnson both grew up in the Miami area and played for the University of Miami, winning a national title together in 2001.

Gore on making the decision to play for the Colts together: “As soon he (Andre Johnson) got released, I gave him a call and said ‘Hey Dre, what are you going to do?’ He took a couple of hours to get back to me, but he asked me what I was thinking. He thought I was going to Philly. I was like, ‘I want to play with you.’ He asked me what team would be the best fit to get to the Super Bowl, and I told him the Colts. He was like, ‘I was thinking the same thing.’”

Johnson on talking to Gore about playing together in Indianapolis: “You could hear his excitement on the phone, ‘Man, let’s get together and give this a shot.’”

Gore on the 2001 Miami Hurricane National Championship team which also had Clinton Portis, Willis McGahee, Ed Reed, and Vince Wilfork: “We had a lot of great guys…They helped me to become who I am. I was a freshman. I was young. Just watching those guys making plays, and doing the right things, I told myself that one day I want to be like those guys.”

Johnson on the significance of the Patriots-Colts matchup: “When we first got here, and you see the fans, that’s what they talk about. I was actually in the mall the other day and the same guy asked me four or five times, ‘Hey, we’re going to win on Sunday, right?’ And I’m like, ‘Man, we’re going to go out there and give it our best shot. We try to win every game that we play.’ You can tell how much it means. They’re big on their football here. I’m just glad to be a part of it.”

Gore on Andrew Luck: “He’s all football. What surprised me was, when I got here, he made me feel like I’m the young guy.”

Johnson on Luck: “Last week against the Texans, he didn’t play. So he was just coming up to guys on the sidelines. He’s a great leader — a great guy.”

Johnson on how inflated Luck likes his footballs: “(Laughs) I don’t know.”

FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA