"THE NFL ON CBS" CONTINUES AFC PLAYOFF COVERAGE WITH AFC DIVISIONAL PLAYOFF GAMES - BALTIMORE vs. TENNESSEE ON SATURDAY, JAN. 10 AND SAN DIEGO vs. PITTSBURGH ON SUNDAY, JAN. 11 ON CBS
AUDIBLES WITH LEAD ANALYST PHIL SIMMS AND DAN DIERDORF
NEW YORK -- THE NFL ON CBS continues its coverage of the 2009 American Football Conference Playoffs with the national broadcasts of the AFC Divisional Playoff games on Saturday, Jan. 10 (4:30 p.m., ET) and Sunday, Jan. 11 (4:30 p.m., ET) live on the CBS Television Network. AFC South champions and No. 1-seeded TENNESSEE TITANS (13-3) host the No. 6-seeded BALTIMORE RAVENS (12-5) on Saturday, while the AFC North champions and No. 2-seeded PITTSBURGH STEELERS (12-4) host the AFC West champions and No. 4-seeded SAN DIEGO CHARGERS (9-8).
CBS Sports' lead announce team of Jim Nantz and Phil Simms call the Chargers-Steelers action live from Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pa. Lance Barrow is the coordinating producer of THE NFL ON CBS and lead game producer and Mike Arnold is the lead game director. Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf call the Ravens-Titans action live from the LP Field in Nashville, Tenn. Mark Wolff is the producer and Bob Fishman is the director. CBS Sports' coverage of THE NFL ON CBS begins with THE NFL TODAY, the Network's pre-game studio show on Saturday (3:30-4:30 p.m., ET) and on Sunday (4-4:30 p.m., ET), with host James Brown and analysts Dan Marino, Boomer Esiason, Shannon Sharpe and Bill Cowher, along with NFL TODAY "General Manager" Charley Casserly, as well as reporters Lesley Visser and Sam Ryan, live from THE NFL TODAY studio at the CBS Broadcast Center in New York City.
Eric Mann is senior producer and Bob Matina is director of THE NFL TODAY.
CBS Sports' coverage of the AFC Playoff games is in HDTV, the highest definition television format - 1080i lines of picture resolution - along with 5.1 digital audio.
Sean McManus is President, CBS News & Sports and serves as executive producer of CBS Sports' coverage of THE NFL ON CBS. Harold Bryant is Vice President, Production, CBS Sports.
* * * * *
Following are excerpts from THE NFL ON CBS conference call on Tuesday regarding the NFL Divisional Playoff games this weekend:
Opening comment from SEAN McMANUS, President, CBS News and Sports:
If you are an NFL fan it doesn't get a whole lot better than this weekend. I love Championship weekend and I love the Super Bowl, but this weekend when you have two games on Saturday and two games on Sunday with the kind of match-ups we have, it's about as good as it gets.
PHIL SIMMS
(On possibility of Baltimore-San Diego AFC Championship game): Nothing surprises me…The four (teams) in the AFC all have tremendous components to their football team that give them a chance to be great. For the San Diego Chargers, their defense was borderline terrific against the Indianapolis Colts. But when I look at the San Diego Chargers, to go to the Super Bowl and win it, I just think that their offense has to be terrific. It was not a great day for them against the Indianapolis Colts. They're not going to face 'edge rushers' like they did there. I don't think it's the same when you play the Pittsburgh Steelers, so that might help them a little bit.
(On Chargers this year): The Chargers didn't really catch my eye until they went down and pushed around, and beat, easily I thought, a Tampa Bay Buccaneers team which I thought at one time was one of the better teams in all of football.
(On legacy of Kerry Collins if he should lead Tennessee to Super Bowl victory): If I hadn't won I would've been in the NFL coaching. I'd have been fired a couple of times. And I'd be bitter. I'm not even being funny. That is probably the truth…When people write and categorize him (Collins) 'journeyman quarterback' - I know he's been with a few teams - but he's thrown for a tremendous amount of yards. And when you look at what he has done this year…it's hard for the national media to give him credit because the pizzazz is not there…Kerry Collins is extremely capable and has been terrific this year. He just happens to play for a team that has a lot of good components and we're just undervaluing what he has done.
(More on Chargers): I probably wrote the Chargers off, no exaggeration, at least five times. I'll never forget when they were playing Kansas City that day and losing I said, wow what a disaster. I just can't believe how they fell apart. Then they came back and win. I've fallen into that trap many times…That's the great thing - you win your division. They were fortunate that the division wasn't that strong. They took advantage of that…I believe in the NFL, first and foremost, that you better have good coaches…You better have the coaches first who know how to put them in a position to at least have a chance to show their physical abilities. That is what the Chargers have done here and it's really been the difference in what they do.
(On San Diego Head Coach Norv Turner): Norv Turner, we only talk about him as the head coach, but as a play-caller and a play-designer, it's there. You look at his career all the way back with the Los Angeles Rams, when he was there with Ernie Zampese through Dallas, and everywhere - he knows how to do it. I'm not taking anything away from Philip Rivers, but he is making Philip Rivers a star.
(On Pittsburgh QB Ben Roethlisberger): It was after the Indianapolis game where I thought he changed and turned his whole year around. All of a sudden, he became much more careful with the football. He stuck to the offense and didn't try to make plays. What I've watched and learned this year in the NFL, quarterbacks who get into that rhythm of thinking, hey I'll move around because I've really made a few plays here of late and I'm going to make some more, it just gets them in trouble…Roethlisberger has turned into a leader. He sees the big picture of his team much better than he did earlier in the year. He understands he has a great defense and he plays and makes decisions according to that. It's always important for a quarterback to know the make-up of your whole team and what your role is on the team.
DAN DIERDORF
(On Baltimore-Tennessee): The adjustment here (in this game) will be whether to punch the guy with the right hand or punch him with the left hand. These are two teams that will do nothing more than try to impose their physicality on the other. This will be a bloodbath. If you like old-fashioned, rock'em, sock'em football, this is a game that will appeal to you.
(On what makes Baltimore's and Tennessee's defenses so good): These teams are mirror images of one another. They're built on strong defense. They're built on running the football. They both play really, really good special teams…They both rely on pressure, defensively. They both get after the quarterback. They've got great skill upfront…Defensively they both have a great deal in common. They've got skill at all three levels and they are certainly the backbones of their respective teams. I'm not looking for this to be a 41-39 shootout.
(On what Chargers have to do to win): Philip Rivers has to have a three touchdown-passing day. If they're going to do it, they're going to have to do it through the air.
(On legacy of Kerry Collins if he should lead Tennessee to Super Bowl victory): It's a legacy maker. Certainly Kerry Collins, and the way that he is viewed 20, 30, 40 years from now, if he were to lead Tennessee to a Super Bowl win, will be viewed in an entirely different light.
(On Baltimore's Ed Reed): I don't know how he can have a bigger impact than what he is doing right now. I think Ed Reed is in exactly the right place (playing on defense as a safety)…Ed Reed is making a case that he is one of the great safeties that has ever have played the game of football. There's always a trend to go towards the most recent guy and say, he's the best safety I've ever seen. He certainly, in defending the pass, is reaching a level where not many guys have been there before. To me, the best safety I ever saw in my generation was Ronnie Lott, in terms of the way he played the run and a pure hitter back there. But in terms of playing the ball when it is in the air, Ed Reed is as good as anybody I've ever seen.
* * * * *
Following are the NFL assignments for the AFC Playoffs (subject to change).
AFC DIVISIONAL PLAYOFF GAME #1 - Saturday, Jan. 10
GAME ----------------------------------------------------- PLAY-BY-PLAY/ANALYST ---------------------------------------- PRODUCER/DIRECTOR
4:30 p.m., ET starts:
Baltimore @ Tennessee -------------------------- Greg Gumbel/Dan Dierdorf ------------------------------------------- Mark Wolff/Bob Fishman
AFC DIVISIONAL PLAYOFF GAME #2 - Sunday, Jan. 11
GAME ----------------------------------------------------- PLAY-BY-PLAY/ANALYST ---------------------------------------- PRODUCER/DIRECTOR
4:30 p.m., ET start:
San Diego @ Pittsburgh -------------------------- Jim Nantz/Phil Simms ------------------------------------------------- Lance Barrow/Mike Arnold
AFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME - Sunday, Jan. 18
GAME -------------------------------------------------------------- PLAY-BY-PLAY/ANALYST ------------------------------- PRODUCER/DIRECTOR
6:30 p.m., ET start:
Baltimore/Tennessee vs. San Diego/Pittsburgh ----- Jim Nantz/Phil Simms ------------------------------------------- Lance Barrow/Mike Arnold
