THE NFL ON CBS: WEEK 9 (SUNDAY, NOV. 5) AUDIBLES WITH “NFL ON CBS” LEAD ANALYST PHIL SIMMS AND “NFL TODAY” ANALYST SHANNON SHARPE
The CBS Television Network, home of Super Bowl XLI, continues its 47th year broadcasting the NFL with coverage of THE NFL ON CBS on Sunday, Nov. 5 (1:00-7:00 PM, ET) beginning with THE NFL TODAY, the Network’s one-hour studio show (12 NOON-1:00 PM, ET), live from THE NFL TODAY studio in New York City.
THE NFL ON CBS lead announce team of Jim Nantz and Phil Simms call the action from the Denver Broncos-Pittsburgh Steelers game. Lance Barrow is the producer and Mike Arnold is the director.
THE NFL ON CBS will broadcast three games this week in HDTV, the highest definition television format – 1080i lines of picture resolution – along with 5.1 digital audio. The unified productions for both the standard definition and HD telecasts will feature the same announcers, camera angles and graphics. *Games in HDTV are noted on the schedule pages.
Sean McManus is President, CBS News and Sports. Tony Petitti is Executive Vice President and Executive Producer, CBS Sports. McManus and Petitti serve as executive producers of CBS Sports’ coverage of THE NFL ON CBS.
PHIL SIMMS
(On Indianapolis and Denver): So what did we learn from the Indianapolis Colts’ 34-31 victory in Denver this week? For starters, we learned that the Denver Broncos’ style of defense is not going to work against the Colts. It is still extremely effective against maybe 28 or 30 of the 32 teams in the National Football League. After all, they had allowed a total of 44 points in six previous games. They have obviously been doing something right…But it’s not going to work against the Colts for a few reasons. Quarterback Peyton Manning is reason number one. On top of that, the Colts have the talent surrounding their quarterback, and they have the good schemes and good protection. The Colts are able to execute on offense at such a higher level than everyone else, it gives the appearance of bringing out weaknesses in the opposition…The Broncos have succeeded with a bend-but-don’t-break philosophy, and it’s just going to be very hard to stop the Colts with that philosophy. People will look at the final score and think it didn’t work at all. But the truth is that it did work well in the first half. But Indianapolis is one of the few teams that dictate to you, and that’s the problem…It doesn’t hurt that the Colts have the greatest clutch kicker in the history of professional football. We already knew that about Adam Vinatieri before his game-winning field goal. But what we learned – especially from listening to the Colts players after the Denver game – is that they know they have the greatest clutch kicker on their team. This is important, because it’s changed their mindset and what they do down the stretch in close games…
(On Ben Roethlisberger): I hate to comment after the fact, and I bristle at those who do, but let me just say this about the Ben Roethlisberger situation. Second-guessing is one thing, but it’s completely wrong to think that the Steelers’ quarterback was still suffering from the effects of a head injury when he had a poor outing this week against the Raiders...Bill Cowher is a compassionate man and a tremendous football coach. Do you think he would ever put his franchise quarterback on the field, after all he’s been through in the last four months, if he had a lingering head injury?...Would a qualified medical professional, who has worked to get to this level, jeopardize what he does to put Roethlisberger on the field a week earlier than he should? I’m not being a Polyanna about this. I just don’t think they would do this…I didn’t hear the outcry before he threw four interceptions in Oakland, but I sure heard it after. And I understand there are situations in the NFL where both player and coach feel the pressure to get back on the field before it’s time. But they don’t do it with head injuries – I don’t think anybody messes with that...I watched the Steelers-Raiders game, and Roethlisberger was not showing any negative physical effects. In fact, he threw the ball really well. It was just that he made a few bad decisions. Against the Chiefs two weeks ago, he looked as crisp as ever. And before he got hurt against the Falcons two weeks ago, he was playing as good as I’ve seen him look in a long, long time…So no more second-guessing. He just had a bad game…For more, log on to NFL.com.
SHANNON SHARPE
(On Michael Vick’s past two weeks): You have to tip your hat to Vick. We've seen teams taking away Warrick Dunn. The Falcons don't run the ball as much as they used to and teams are trying to take away the pass. But Vick has shown me he is capable of throwing the ball from the pocket and on the move. His play has been unbelievable. This might be Vick's best two-week stretch in his NFL career…
(On Denver): The Broncos had given up only two touchdowns all season heading into this game and ended up giving up four to the Colts. The Broncos felt they could try to make the Colts nickel and dime, like the Patriots do. You can do that when the weather is 25 degrees, but you can't do that when it's 65 degrees and sunny. They simply couldn't get the Colts off the field. Peyton Manning also didn't need to prove he could beat Champ Bailey deep. He had a good match-up of Reggie Wayne against Darrent Williams, and he took advantage of it. But Indy does scare me because of its lack of run defense. If you get a team that can pound the ball and keep Manning on the sidelines, that is how to beat them. Denver's Mike Bell came in and rushed for almost 200 yards. That can't happen if the Colts want to get to a Super Bowl. To beat the Colts, you have to be flawless…
(On Arizona): Arizona lost again. That Monday night loss two weeks ago was such an emotional game that it is impossible for the Cardinals to recover now. Everybody was supposed to see what the Cardinals were about that night, and it got turned around on them. Now they are starting to settle for field goals instead of touchdowns. I thought the Oakland game was a hangover. But now you realize their offensive line is just weak. Edgerrin James gets tackled in the backfield. Matt Leinart doesn't have time to get the ball off. The offensive line is killing them, and it won't get better this year…
(On Pittsburgh’s season): It's still early, but I don't see how the Steelers can come back. They almost would have to run the table. The problem with that is that they have Baltimore twice and Cleveland twice in a big rivalry series, as well as Cincinnati, Tampa Bay and New Orleans. The Raiders had only 98 total yards, but Ben Roethlisberger had two pick sixes and the Steelers lost…When you turn the ball over, you lose. It's as simple as that…For more, log on to NFL.com.
Following are the NFL assignments for Week 9 and Week 10 (subject to change).
WEEK 9 – Nov. 5 – DOUBLEHEADER
GAME | PLAY-BY-PLAY/ANALYST | PRODUCER/DIRECTOR
1:00 PM, ET starts:
·Cincinnati @ Baltimore | Dick Enberg/Randy Cross | Bob Mansbach/Suzanne Smith
·Miami @ Chicago | Greg Gumbel/Dan Dierdorf | Mark Wolff/Bob Fishman
·Tennessee @ Jacksonville | Ian Eagle/Solomon Wilcots | Bob Dekas/Cathy Barreto
·Kansas City @ St. Louis | Don Criqui/Steve Beuerlein | Ross Schneiderman/Andy Goldberg
·Houston @ N.Y. Giants | Kevin Harlan/Rich Gannon | Jim Rikhoff/Brian Lilley
4:15 PM, ET starts:
·Denver @ Pittsburgh | Jim Nantz/Phil Simms | Lance Barrow/Mike Arnold
·Cleveland @ San Diego | Gus Johnson/Steve Tasker | Victor Frank/Mark Grant
WEEK 10 – Nov. 12
GAME | PLAY-BY-PLAY/ANALYST | PRODUCER/DIRECTOR
1:00 PM, ET starts:
·Cleveland @ Atlanta | Kevin Harlan/Rich Gannon | Ken Mack/Bryan Lilley
·San Diego @ Cincinnati* | Greg Gumbel/Dan Dierdorf | Mark Wolff/Bob Fishman
·Buffalo @ Indianapolis* | Dick Enberg/Randy Cross | Bob Mansbach/Suzanne Smith
·Houston @ Jacksonville | Craig Bolerjack/Rich Baldinger | Steve Scheer/Jim Cornell
·Kansas City @ Miami | Gus Johnson/Steve Tasker | Victor Frank/Mark Grant
·Baltimore @ Tennessee | Don Criqui/Steve Beuerlein | Ross Schneiderman/Andy Goldberg
·N.Y. Jets @ New England* | Jim Nantz/Phil Simms | Lance Barrow/Mike Arnold
4:00 PM, ET starts
·Denver @ Oakland | Ian Eagle/Solomon Wilcots | Bob Dekas/Cathy Barreto
* Games in HDTV
