POSTED: Monday September 28th 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA HIGHLIGHTS: WEEK 3

Dungy’s Coach’s Clicker, Straight Talk from Rodney Harrison & Costas Interviews Fitzgerald, Caldwell, Schwartz, Ryan

       PATRICK: “Do you think Brett Favre knows who Greg Lewis is?”

DUNGY: “He does now.”




       NEW YORK – September 27, 2009 – Following are highlights
from NBC Sports’ “Football Night in America.” Bob Costas hosted the
show live from University of Phoenix Stadium. The temperature outside
was 110 degrees. Inside the retractable dome stadium it was 71 degrees.
He was joined on site for commentary by Al Michaels and Cris
Collinsworth. Co-hosts Dan Patrick and Keith Olbermann, analysts Tony
Dungy and Rodney Harrison, and reporter Peter King were live from NBC’s
30 Rockefeller Plaza studios, covering the news of the NFL’s third week.



TONY DUNGY’S “COACH’S CLICKER” ON PEYTON MANNING AT THE LINE OF SCRIMMAGE:

Dungy: “Every single thing he does has meaning. Every movement, every gesture he is getting information to players.”



ON MICHAEL VICK’S FIRST GAME BACK

Dungy: “He was really excited, just happy to be out there. He told me
he can’t remember having butterflies before a game and he had
butterflies today…He wants to be a drop-back quarterback. He wants to
be part of the reason they win. But he’ll do what it takes and what
Andy asks him.”



Harrison: “I saw him in the preseason and I saw him today. I think the
wildcat is a joke right now. I think it’s a joke for Michael Vick. He
wants to be a drop-back quarterback. He’s not a running back. He’s lost
some quickness. He’s not as explosive as he once was. It’s a complete
joke. They’re not getting any production out of this wildcat offense.
If Andy Reid really wants to help Michael Vick, put him under center
and let him drop back 10 or 12 times and let him become a quarterback.
Let him get repetitions as a quarterback instead of this gimmick stuff.
This is not Michael Vick’s game.”



ON THE REDSKINS PROBLEMS

Harrison: “It’s many problems dealing with the Washington Redskins. One
problem in particular is Jason Campbell, the quarterback. I don’t know
what they see in this guy. To me, he’s a backup quarterback that’s been
elevated to a starter. He’s a guy that’s unpredictable. He’s
inconsistent. He’s not a guy that defensive players look at and fear.”



Dungy: “I wouldn’t blame it all on the quarterback. He threw for a lot
of yards today. They’re having trouble scoring. I think it goes to a
bigger thing, maybe an organizational thing. It’s always new free
agents, new players, all-star guys. They need to build a team concept
there.”



Patrick: “It seems like Daniel Snyder treats it like it’s a fantasy
league team. You bring in [Albert] Haynesworth. They were trying to get
Sanchez. They’re always looking for something different. There’s no
core there.”



Dungy: “It’s not always getting the best players. It’s building a good
team, building a team that everyone has confidence in, and, right now,
they don’t have confidence.”



ON BRETT FAVRE’S GAME-WINNING TD PASS TO NEW WR GREG LEWIS

Patrick: “Do you think Brett Favre knows who Greg Lewis is?”



Dungy: “He does now.”



ON TOM BRADY

Harrison: “Brady is obviously not himself right now. He has to learn
patience. He has to know he’s coming off an ACL-MCL injury. It’s going
to take a year or year-and-a-half. I had a similar injury as Tom Brady.
It took me at least six-to-eight weeks to really feel comfortable. As a
quarterback dropping back, looking downfield, the timing is going to be
off course a little bit and he’s not going to be the Tom Brady of old.”



ON TERRELL OWENS’ POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE

Dungy: “You really don’t want that. But I think you know that’s what
you get with Terrell Owens. When things aren’t going well, you’re going
to get stuff like that. That’s hard to coach.”



Harrison: “He’s just a clown, a straight up clown. He’s more concerned
with individual stats as opposed to the team’s success. Just a clown.”



ON REX RYAN

Harrison: “He’s got a big mouth. He’s super arrogant. But he’s a great coach. That team believes in him.”



ON THE PITTSBURGH STEELERS BEING 1-2

Dungy: “The Pittsburgh Steelers are 1-2 because they can’t run the
football. They’re putting all the pressure on Ben Roethlisberger to win
games. They’ve got to run it better.”



COSTAS INTERVIEWS

“Football Night” host Bob Costas interviewed Colts head coach Jim
Caldwell and Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald prior to the game, and
conducted a live interview with Detroit Lions head coach Jim Schwartz,
who led the Lions to a win today to break their 19-game losing streak
and, at halftime, 3-0 Jets head coach Rex Ryan.



CALDWELL on what he learned from Penn State head coach Joe Paterno, who
he worked for as an assistant coach from 1986-92: “I can sum it up in
one saying. I actually have the saying in our locker room in
Indianapolis. ‘Take care of the little things and the big things will
take care of themselves.’ Play smart. Play fast. Play physical. All the
other things will fall into line.”



FITZGERALD on thoughts of the Cardinals near-win in the Super Bowl: “A
frown. It brings up bad memories. We talked about it as a team and we
tried to put that behind us. That was last year and we have to continue
to move forward.”



SCHWARTZ on the college atmosphere at Ford Field after the game: “We
were in the locker room and the players were celebrating. It felt good
after the game. I just told the players this win is more than just
about us. This is the city of Detroit. Let’s get out of the locker room
and share this win with our fans. The fans that stayed around were
lucky enough to have the players come out and high five with them.”



RYAN on his dad, former NFL head coach Buddy Ryan, being the defensive
line coach for the Jets’ Super Bowl III team: “I speak to him a couple
of times a week. When I took this job, when I got this amazing
opportunity to be the head football coach of the Jets, he just told me
‘not to mess it up because this was his team.’ So I’m trying not to
mess it up. He’s proud as any father would be of his son coming back to
his stomping grounds. We think we have great karma here. The first year
my dad was a head coach [sic] he went to the Super Bowl.”



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 Contact:



       Lindsay Hill Fitz

       2126642121

       lindsay.fitz@nbcuni.com

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