FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sunday, October 2nd, 2022
NOTES & QUOTES FROM WEEK 4 EDITION OF FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA ON NBC AND PEACOCK
“The Bucs – led by Tom Brady, the greatest quarterback to ever play the game – against the Chiefs – led by Patrick Mahomes, one of the best quarterbacks of his generation.” – Maria Taylor
“Please take care of yourself. Don’t depend on the NFL. Don’t depend on anybody. If something’s wrong with your head, report it.” – Rodney Harrison speaking to today’s NFL players about head injuries
“The union wants the doctors to treat the players not like football players, but like patients, and to put their best interests as human beings above their desire to get back on the football field.” – Mike Florio reporting on the Tua Tagovailoa investigation
“Nobody ever talks about Sean McDermott. This guy is an outstanding coach…the mental toughness he’s built up there is fantastic.” – Jason Garrett
“He gave the team energy, and the game didn’t look too big for him. He looked like he was very comfortable playing quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers.” – Chris Simms on Steelers rookie QB Kenny Pickett
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STAMFORD, Conn. – Oct. 2, 2022 – NBC Sports’ presentation of Week 4 of the 2022 NFL season began tonight from Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla., with Football Night in America leading into coverage of Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs facing Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday Night Football on NBC and Peacock.
Football Night in America was hosted by Maria Taylor, who was on site in Tampa along with Hall of Fame head coach Tony Dungy, two-time Super Bowl champion Rodney Harrison, and co-host Jac Collinsworth. Co-hosting from NBC Sports’ Studio 1 in Stamford, Conn., was Ahmed Fareed, who was joined by former NFL head coach Jason Garrett, former NFL quarterback Chris Simms, and fantasy sports industry pioneer Matthew Berry. NFL Insider Mike Florio reported from his home studio.
Taylor and Dungy, a longtime Tampa resident, discussed Hurricane Ian’s impact on Floridians and the NFL’s relief efforts, including large donations made by the league, the Buccaneers and Brady.
In advance of tonight’s game Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes spoke to Maria Taylor about his relationship with Brady, his playing style, and more. See below for a link to the entire interview and transcribed highlights. Tony Dungy also spoke to Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles.
Mike Tirico (play-by-play), Cris Collinsworth (analyst), Melissa Stark (sideline reporter) and Terry McAulay (rules analyst) are calling tonight’s game. Tirico also reported from the field during FNIA.
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Following are highlights from tonight’s edition of Football Night in America on NBC and Peacock:
ON THE QB MATCHUP
Taylor: “One of the most anticipated games of the NFL season. The Bucs – led by Tom Brady, the greatest quarterback to ever play the game – against the Chiefs – led by Patrick Mahomes, one of the best quarterbacks of his generation.”
Harrison on Brady and Mahomes: “What I love about these guys, they’re terrific leaders. When they win, they give their teammates and coaches credit. When they lose, they take the blame. Terrific leaders.”
Football Night chronicled all five of the previous meetings between Brady and Mahomes.
ON CHIEFS
Harrison on the Chiefs’ WRs and RBs: “When I look at this receiving corps without Tyreek Hill, nothing about them scares me. I look at JuJu Smith-Schuster in the slot – I want to see him get back to bullying people and being physical. Marquez Valdes-Scantling – I want to see him become a complete receiver as opposed to just a deep guy. Mecole Hardman, he’s been in the system for a long time and he should be their No. 1 receiver – he has to play more consistently. You’ve got to be able to create separation and put some pressure on these safeties…Clyde Edwards-Helaire has been absolutely average as a first-round draft choice. I’m excited to see Isiah Pacheco. I want to see this young guy, he’s got some talent, let’s see if they give him an opportunity.”
ON BUCCANEERS
Harrison on speaking to Bucs players about their week of practice in Miami due to Hurricane Ian: “They said they can’t stop thinking about (Hurricane Ian) and how it impacted so many people. They also said going to Miami and taking their families, they got a chance to bond and get closer as a team.”
Jac Collinsworth: “They took pets – I was told there were a whole bunch of dogs as you would expect, and even a pet rabbit made the trip. This is not your traditional home game.”
Garrett on the Buccaneers offense: “The real issue on this team has been the offensive line. Three new moving parts on the interior, it’s a work-in-progress…and too many unforced errors, pre-snap penalties have put them in bad situations.”
ON TUA TAGOVAILOA SITUATION
Click here to watch the 5-minute segment.
Harrison on Miami QB Tua Tagovailoa’s Week 4 injury: “When I saw it, it scared me because I thought about my two boys that play football – 15 years old and 18 years old. It also made me think about my buddy Junior Seau — my mentor, my friend, my brother, and what he meant to me and seeing him repeatedly take those head trauma hits, go back in the football game time and time again. It just brought a lot of bad memories.”
Taylor: “You bring up a strong point in the fact that players can’t be allowed to assess themselves. There has to be some type of guardrails essentially protecting these players…head trauma can have an everlasting effect on someone.”
Harrison on what he would tell his younger self about head injuries: “Number one, I would say, it’s not worth it. I was that guy. I would get hit, the entire stadium is spinning around, and I would go back into the game. It’s not worth it. I would implore these young men, don’t go back on that football field if you get hurt because I don’t want them to feel like me and so many other former players that had to deal with concussions, whether it’s depression, anxiety, paranoia, broken relationships, not being able to communicate with your spouse, things like that. CTE takes you to a dark place and I want these players to know it’s not worth it. Please take care of yourself. Don’t depend on the NFL. Don’t depend on anybody. If something’s wrong with your head, report it.”
Dungy: “Your advice is good and it’s true, but we understand that most of the players are like you when you were young. They want to play. So those safeguards have to be in place, and they were in place. My last few years of coaching, I had so many guys come to me and say, ‘Coach, I feel good, but they’re not allowing me to play.’ That is the right thing to do. That’s the way it should be. No one wants to send someone out there who is not healthy and is not ready to go, but we can’t rely on the player to tell them. We’ve got to rely on those tests. We’ve got to rely on the neurological findings. That needs to be done.”
Harrison: “Nobody’s going to think you’re soft or weak or anything like that if you’re reporting. So, please, I’ll tell you again, please report it if something’s wrong with your head because life after football is serious. Five, 10, 15, 20 years from now, you’re going to feel the effects of CTE.”
Taylor: “What you bring up is a great point. It’s a culture of next man up. Is someone else going to take my spot? And that fear of being out and being held out will keep you from reporting, but at the same time, those guardrails have to be in place, they have to be monitored, and it really has to be executed perfectly.”
Dungy: “If we’re playing on Thursday night, teams need to have a bye before so that you don’t play four days (later). When I was coaching and we had a Thursday game coming, you always thought about that. It was in the back of your mind trying to get your guys rested up. I think we need to make some changes there and look at the scheduling and give teams a bye.”
Florio on Tagovailoa investigation: “There are two important things happening between the NFL and the NFLPA. First, there will be changes made to the concussion protocol, and second, the investigation is ongoing as to whether or not the current protocol was followed last Sunday.
“As to the biggest change to the concussion protocol, the term we heard so much the past week – gross motor instability – the wobbliness from Tua Tagovailoa. In the future when that happens, regardless of the reason, the player is done for the day. No exceptions and no loopholes.
“As for the investigation, the NFL Players Association intends to ask Tua Tagovailoa this week a very simple question – if it was your back, if you told the doctors it was your back, what did they do to examine your back? And the broader point is this – if Tua had a back injury that caused him to wobble and nearly fall, shouldn’t he have been ruled out because of the back injury?
“The league and the union really working together here trying to find a way to make the concussion protocol less of a checklist for letting a guy back onto the field and more of a device for protecting players. The union wants the doctors to treat the players not like football players, but like patients, and to put their best interests as human beings above their desire to get back on the football field. That’s one of the reasons the union exercised its right to terminate the unaffiliated neurotrauma consultant who was involved in clearing Tua to play last weekend.”
ON BILLS
Garrett: “How about the Buffalo Bills? Last week they had the heartbreaking loss in Miami, they’re down 20-3 in Baltimore…and they just keep on coming. Josh Allen is something else – he can do it with his arm, he can do it with his feet.”
Garrett: “Nobody ever talks about (head coach) Sean McDermott. This guy is an outstanding coach. He’s built a great program up there, they had a tough loss in Miami last week…the mental toughness he’s built up there is fantastic. He’s a hell of a coach.”
ON RAVENS
Garrett on HC John Harbaugh’s decision to go for it on 4th down late in the game tied 20-20: “John Harbaugh is one of the best coaches in the league because he makes aggressive decisions. He’s done this all throughout his career and his team responds to (those decisions). I would have taken the points there just to go ahead and put the pressure back on Buffalo. The bigger issue was the interception. Instead of incomplete and Buffalo is backed up, it’s an interception and they get it back on the 20.”
ON EAGLES
Simms: “I think it’s safe to say (the Eagles are) the best team in football through four weeks.”
ON COWBOYS
Garrett on the Cowboys’ defense: “This pass rush starts with Micah Parsons, but Demarcus Lawrence is playing as well as he’s played the last few years. They create one-on-one matchups up front, and they’ve got the guys to get home. It gets contagious – all of those white shirts chasing (QB Carson) Wentz. It was an ugly environment for him all day long.”
Simms: “Dante Fowler coming off the edge, the defensive tackle Neville Gallimore is disruptive…but it’s (defensive coordinator) Dan Quinn’s ability, I’ve got to give him a lot of credit, for adjusting his defensive style since his days of being a head coach with the Atlanta Falcons. They’re very multiple, they stress out the protection schemes of teams, and then you add in the talent…and can we just keep playing like this when Dak Prescott gets back and not get pass-happy? ‘Oh, Dak’s back, let’s throw it 40 times a game.’ They’re at their best when there is balance.”
Florio on QB Cooper Rush: “I spoke to him after the game. He said he thinks he’s proven he can be a starter in the NFL elsewhere and he’s ignoring any noise about a potential controversy in Dallas – even if some if it is coming from Jerry Jones himself.”
ON STEELERS
Simms on rookie QB Kenny Pickett’s performance: “Overall, really positive. He gave the team energy, and the game didn’t look too big for him. He looked like he was very comfortable playing quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers…made some good throws under pressure and looked the part.”
Garrett on Pickett: “As a coach, when you have a rookie quarterback, all you’re looking at is demeanor. Does he look like he belongs? He walked out there like he owned the place. There were ups and downs, he made some mistakes, but he’s going to be their quarterback.”
ON JETS
Fareed: “Kenny Pickett was the story, but Zach Wilson stole the show.”
Simms on Wilson: “Very impressive. When you take into account he only played one drive in the preseason and you’re down by 10 points in Pittsburgh, you’ve thrown a pick-six on a late second quarter interception – they needed him to make great decisions and big-time throws…you can see a guy here that’s got a quick release, a strong arm, and an ability to get outside the pocket when he needs to…he didn’t look like a second-year quarterback that hasn’t played a lot.”
Garrett: “The number one trait for a quarterback is instinct – the aptitude to play the game. He showed that today. You see the athleticism; you see the quick throws. The mental toughness at the end of the game to come back was big-time.”
ON TITANS
Garrett on Titans’ win vs. Colts: “Vintage Tennessee Titans. Hand (Derrick Henry) the ball. Hand it to him inside, hand it to him outside, give him the ball and a lot of good things happen for the Titans. Balanced throughout (the game) and it started with him.”
ON GIANTS
Simms: “Daniel Jones’ legs are a big part of the Giants’ offense. It’s Daniel Jones’ legs and Saquon Barkley’s legs – they’re the best things we got going as Giants fans.”
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PATRICK MAHOMES SPEAKING TO MARIA TAYLOR
Click here to watch the full interview, portions of which aired in tonight’s FNIA. Following are highlights of the interview:
On relationship with Tom Brady
“You want to not like Tom, but he’s just like the best guy. So, it’s hard, it’s hard to not like him. But to be able to play in golf tournaments, and him give me kind of advice and stuff like that. I mean, he’s the GOAT. You want to learn from the best and it’s really cool to have that relationship with him.”
On advice he’s gotten from Brady
“The first thing was after the AFC Championship Game when we lost to him (with the Patriots). Obviously, I’m upset, sad, and I’m sitting in the locker room forever. I start to walk out and he’s there waiting. He could be celebrating. He’s going to the Super Bowl and everything like that. All he said to me, and it wasn’t a big thing, he said, “Hey, just keep doing it how you’re doing it. You’re doing it the right way.” As a young quarterback, you just go out there and play and try to have fun and do whatever you can to put your team in the best position to win. But when the GOAT’s saying that you’re doing it the right way, it kind of shows you that you are doing it the right way. So that was big for me.”
On what he’s learned from Brady
“Off the field, you learn how to manage kind of everything…I think that’s the greatness in Tom Brady; no matter how much off the field stuff he does, football is always the main priority.”
On playing a Brady-led team
“They take advantage of mistakes. That’s a big thing…If you make a mistake on the field, if I throw interception or if you have a fumble or if something like that happens, he’s going to make you pay and get points on the board and then he’s going to manage the game…So you got to go out there and play a near-perfect football game to win…Whenever you play against a Tom Brady-led team, you make sure you kind of keep that foot down on the pedal and try to do whatever you can to finish the game off.”
On his improvisation
“Well, Coach (Andy) Reid does a good job of letting us kind of have that creativity…When special teams are going, you’ll see Travis (Kelce) come up with ideas, you’ll see Coach (Matt) Nagy, you’ll see Coach (Eric) Bieniemy. You’ll see all of us kind of work together to kind of come up with these shovel passes or these fake quarterback motions and all these different types of stuff because we want to keep taking the game to the next level.”
On how he would teach a QB if he were a high school coach
“I always go back to the fundamentals first. You’ve got to learn the fundamentals, you’ve got to perfect those. Once they perfect the fundamentals, I’ll tell him you can have some fun and try some stuff out. But they’ve got to know that if they try some stuff out and it’s bad, I’m going to get on them.”
On being a dad and influencing his kids in sports
“I’m going to stay out of the way. I think that’s the best thing for me. I’m going to help teach my son, my daughter, all the fundamentals and like whatever they want to learn. Um but at the same time, I’m, I want to stay out the way and let it be about them.”
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Peacock Sunday Night Football Final, an NFL post-game show produced by NBC Sports, streams exclusively on Peacock following every Sunday Night Football game during the 2022 season. The show is hosted by NBC Sports commentators Kathryn Tappen and Chris Simms, who provide instant reactions to each Sunday game along with highlights and interviews. Football Night in America co-host Jac Collinsworth and analyst Rodney Harrison also provide recaps and insights into the day’s biggest moments from the site of each week’s SNF game. NFL Insider Mike Florio provides injury and news updates. Matthew Berry provides fantasy football analysis and an early look at the fantasy waiver wire.
— Football Night in America —
