POSTED: Monday November 16th 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

"FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA" NOTES & QUOTES; WEEK 10

Manning to Costas: “I like being in the old club with guys who just played their butts off.”

       Dungy & Harrison break down “Illinois Z Delay”





       Andrea Kremer Asks Hall of Fame QBs: Brady or Manning?



NEW YORK – November 15, 2009 – Following are highlights from NBC
Sports’ “Football Night in America.” Bob Costas hosted the show live
from Lucas Oil Stadium. 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 tenth week. Tiki Barber reported from Lambeau Field,
site of the Cowboys-Packers game.



LIVING HALL OF FAME QBs CHOOSE MANNING OVER BRADY

Prior to the game, “Sunday Night Football” sideline reporter Andrea
Kremer asked the 20 living Hall of Fame QBs, including 97-year old Ace
Parker, who is better, Patriots QB Tom Brady or Indianapolis QB Peyton
Manning? The results were 13.5 votes for Manning, 2.5 for Brady and
four abstentions. Joe Montana was responsible for the half votes saying
he would start Brady in the first half and Manning in the second. A
comprehensive story can be found on NBCSports.com.



ILLINOIS Z DELAY

Harrison broke down a Colts play the Patriots named “Illinois Z Delay,”
which he described as the most frustrating play to cover when he
competed against the Colts as a member of the Patriots.



Harrison: “It was a zone beater. As a defender, you have two men in
your zone. I can’t cover both. I have to decide who I’m going to cover.
You knew it was coming but you had no way of stopping it.”



Dungy: “It’s a quick pass, an easy read for the quarterback against
zone coverage. They’ll throw this seven, eight, maybe 10 times tonight
if they’re playing a lot of zone.”



Harrison: “Really the only way of covering it is to go to man-to-man coverage but that plays into Indianapolis’ hands.”



NOTE: Dungy would not reveal the actual name the Colts use for the play.



COSTAS INTERVIEWS MANNING: “Football Night” host Bob Costas interviewed Colts QB Peyton Manning prior to the game.



Manning on Tom Brady: “I can’t tell you where he ranks. I can tell you
what a great quarterback he is or what a great leader he is. Certainly,
when the stakes are at their highest that’s when he seems to shine and
make the most plays. At the end of the AFC Championship a few years
ago, I don’t usually pray during a game but I just knew I gave Brady a
1:23. That’s just way too much time…He’s made the hard look easy.
He’s one of the best.”



Manning on great quarterbacks who have not won a Super Bowl: “I still
defend Marino. I still defend Tarkenton. I still defend Jim Kelly. All
I know is what great quarterbacks they were. I’ve seen guys change when
they’ve won one. They kind of say, ‘I’m out of that club now I’m in
this new club.’ I kind of like being in the old club with guys who just
played their butts off every single Sunday. Jim Kelly, Marino,
Tarkenton, John Stockton, you get guys not just in the NFL. I admire
those guys for how long they played, how well they competed, how hard
they competed. That’s really all I want to do every single Sunday—
win as many games as I can and certainly, every year, try to win
another championship.”



ON THE BENGALS

Collinsworth: “(Today’s game) was one of those old fashioned, physical
kind of battles that the Bengals always seem to find a way to lose to
Pittsburgh. Today, in Pittsburgh, they won a big one…It’s hard to
believe but right now you have to start thinking about the Bengals
possibilities of going to the Super Bowl.”



Dungy: “I’m more excited about their defense. Those guys won the game
for them today. They out-defensed Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh.”



ON THE JETS

Olbermann: “All you need to know about the 2009 Jets is that after six
weeks of not being able to score when they needed to, today they were
unable to let the other team score when they needed them to.”



Harrison: “It’s inexcusable to have two veteran safeties miscommunicate with two weeks to prepare.”



ON VINCE YOUNG WINNING THREE STRAIGHT GAMES & CHRIS JOHNSON

Dungy: “What if they had played him six weeks ago?...He’s opened it up for Chris Johnson.”



Harrison: “Chris Johnson is the best running back in football.”



Dungy: “He’s more exciting. He has a chance to go 90 yards every time he touches the ball. I still like Adrian Peterson.”



ON THE BROWNS

King: “I think that fairly soon the Cleveland Browns are probably going
to make an offer to Mike Holmgren to be that football czar.”



ON BRETT FAVRE

Olbermann: “Brett Favre’s 300th consecutive start dating back to 1894.”



ON THE CURSE OF THE COACH’S CLICKER

Patrick: “Every time you break down a quarterback to tell us how great
they are, the second coming of Peyton Manning, Matt Ryan once again
lays an egg.”



Dungy: “We had Matt Ryan on, he was playing great football, looked very
polished, poised like a veteran. Now he’s throwing interceptions left
and right, making bad decisions, a 50-percent passer. He’s gone down
hill since we clicked him.”



Harrison: “He did the same thing to Eli Manning!”



Dungy (joking): “Can I click Brady tonight?”

 Contact:



       Christopher Paul Mc Closkey

       212-664-5598

       Christopher.Mccloskey@nbcuni.com

# # #

Keywords · NFL · NBC · NBC Sports Football Night in America · Bob Costas · Al Michaels · Cris Collinsworth · Dan Patrick · Keith Olbermann · Tony Dungy · Rodney Harrison · Peter King · Tiki Barber

Name: Brian Walker
Organization: NBC
Email:
Phone: +1.212-664-5533
URL: http://www.nbcuni.com

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