December 16, 2004

THE NFL ON CBS: WEEK 15 (SUNDAY, DEC. 18 AND 19) AUDIBLES WITH LEAD GAME ANALYST PHIL SIMMS AND RANDY CROSS

PHIL SIMMS
(On New York Jets loss at Pittsburgh Sunday and New England in October): In both cases, on the road against the best teams in their conference, the Jets hung in there until the end and basically showed they can play with anyone....But there is no such thing as a moral victory, and you have to wonder: If the Jets enter the postseason as a wild card, can they go on the road and win three games in a row to get to the Super Bowl?....That would be hard for any team to do, and even harder for a team that hasn't really done that yet during the football season....And the Jets are in a very tough spot as they head down the stretch. They play the Seattle Seahawks, a team that needs to win to get into the playoffs, this week. Then they have the 12-1 Patriots, then they finish the season on the road against the St. Louis Rams, who also could be playing for a playoff spot in that game....I'm not saying it's time to panic if you're a Jets fan. But it's a scary time....The one thing the Jets have proven is that they are very physical -- capable of beating anybody on the defensive side. But the one area where there is reason for concern is that they don't have an explosive offense. They just don't win games by blowing you out on the offensive side...(On NFC Playoffs Race): As wide open as the NFC playoff race is, most people think it's a foregone conclusion the Philadelphia Eagles will finally win the conference title and reach the Super Bowl. However, I'm not sure the Eagles are unbeatable in the NFC. They got beat by Pittsburgh. The Washington Redskins, with a tremendous defense, took them down to the wire Sunday night. The Baltimore Ravens took them down to the wire earlier this season, as did the Cleveland Browns....I just think there are some opportunities for an upset...I don't see those opportunities when I look at the AFC picture. I think the Steelers and the Patriots have definitely separated themselves from the pack. The other teams are very good - you won't see an 8-8 team from the AFC in the postseason -- but who's going to win back-to-back road games against the Steelers and Patriots? That's a much, much tougher scenario than the NFC side....Right now, I have to think for a moment to figure out who the number two seed is in the NFC. Oh, that's right - the Atlanta Falcons. Would they scare me as a playoff team? Absolutely....The Atlanta defense can make plays, and the offense can run the football. Quarterback Michael Vick may not be a great numbers guy, but he's capable of making a big play. When you need it in the playoffs, he's got as good a chance as anyone, if not better, of making a big play because he's got an explosive arm and explosive legs....The Falcons kind of remind me of an NHL team - built to be more of a problem in the playoffs than the regular season. I think they can be scary in the postseason...(On New York Jets' assistant coach Donnie Henderson): Meanwhile, the assistant coach that has made the greatest impression on me this year - and I can't even think of anybody who's close - is Donnie Henderson of the New York Jets. He completely turned that defense around. I know they got some improved players at some positions, but they are so organized and they play with great energy every single week. They can almost single-handedly go out and win football games for the Jets...(FOR MORE SIMMS ANALYSIS LOG ON TO NFL.COM)

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CBS Television Network...2

RANDY CROSS
(On Cleveland and Jeff Garcia): It's very fashionable to rip Jeff Garcia these days and lay the demise of the 2004 Browns at his feet but that is way off base. Was it his fault Butch Davis & Company offered him a ridiculous amount of money to play for them? Is it his fault that they didn't run the offense he had flourished in? Was it his fault they had botched most attempts to put an offensive line together? For the past few years there hasn't been anyone connected to the Browns that would know a winner if they stepped on one. And so, Garcia got ripped for speaking his mind on a team of lemmings for an organization without a clue. Have a nice off-season Jeff. And I hope the parole out of Cleveland comes through...(On New York Giants and Eli Manning): NEWSFLASH! The NFL is not a living Fantasy Football or a video game, so just flipping a switch and changing things isn't how it's done. You make the commitment to Eli Manning and he's your starter, period. Who's to say you can't put Kurt Warner in as a reliever on a regular basis if needed? Who's at fault then? If Tiki Barber and Ron Dayne ran like Duce Staley and the Bus (Jerome Bettis) things would be easier. If the Giants offensive line blocked like the Steelers line, things would be better. If the receiving corps of New York ran routes and caught the ball like Hines Ward, Plaxico Burress and Antwaan Randle El they could help their young quarterback out also...(On Indianapolis): The way the defense of the Indianapolis Colts has been improving of late, if I was an AFC playoff team, the last place I'd want to see them is in their dome...The biggest difference now though is that I think their game travels well. Before, the Colts were a "hot house" team built to function inside, but now it seems going to New England or Pittsburgh after a first round win is nothing to fear. With all the hype between the Patriots and Steelers and anticipation of a New England-Pittsburgh AFC Championship game, the Colts may spoil a few parties come late January and early February...(On Peyton Manning): What you are watching is something that comes along once every generation or two, an athlete that combines the skills of a coach, quarterback, leader, teacher and drill sergeant while remaining grounded as a person. How different is Peyton Manning? I could see him becoming an official Player/Coach at one point of his career in this league and who was the last "Star" you could say that about?...(On Atlanta): Keep an eye on the Atlanta Falcons the next week or so and how they adjust to losing FB Justin Griffith to a broken ankle. That style of offense relies heavily on a multi-skilled fullback and Griffith was having a Pro Bowl season. On top of that you have the scoping of RB T.J. Duckett's knee Tuesday which will keep him out a week or so. Chemistry is a funny thing and Atlanta's chemistry is changing at the worst possible time.

To follow the progress of the teams of THE NFL ON CBS's Jim Nantz, Phil Simms, Dan Marino, Boomer Esiason, Randy Cross, Brent Jones, Steve Tasker and Gus Johnson in CBS SportsLine's Gridiron Guru League, log on to http://www.sportsline.com/nfl/fantasy/gridiron for all the standings and statistics.

Following are the NFL assignments for Week 15, Week 16 and Week 17 (subject to change).

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CBS Television Network...3

WEEK 15 - Saturday, Dec. 18** & Sunday, Dec. 19

GAME PLAY-BY-PLAY/ANALYST PRODUCER/DIRECTOR 1:30 PM, ET start:**
·Pittsburgh @ N.Y. Giants* Jim Nantz/Phil Simms// Lance Barrow/Mike Arnold Bonnie Bernstein

Dec. 19 - DOUBLEHEADER

GAME PLAY-BY-PLAY/ANALYST PRODUCER/DIRECTOR 1:00 PM, ET starts:

·Houston @ Chicago              Don Criqui/Steve Tasker         Ross Schneiderman /Cathy Barreto
·Buffalo @ Cincinnati           Ian Eagle/Solomon Wilcots               Victor Frank/Larry Cavolina
·San Diego @ Cleveland  Gus Johnson/Brent Jones         Jim Rikhoff/Mark Grant
·Denver @ Kansas City*  Kevin Harlan/Randy Cross                Bob Mansbach/Suzanne Smith

4:15 PM, ET starts:
·Jacksonville @ Green Bay* Dick Enberg/Dan Dierdorf// Mark Wolff/Bob Fishman Armen Keteyian
·Tennessee @ Oakland Bill Macatee/Steve Beuerlein Ken Mack/Andy Goldberg

WEEK 16 - Saturday, Dec. 25 (CHRISTMAS DAY)** & Sunday, Dec. 26

GAME PLAY-BY-PLAY/ANALYST PRODUCER/DIRECTOR 5:00 PM, ET start:**
·Oakland @ Kansas City* Dick Enberg/Dan Dierdorf// Mark Wolff/Bob Fishman Armen Keteyian

Dec. 26

GAME PLAY-BY-PLAY/ANALYST PRODUCER/DIRECTOR 1:00 PM, ET starts:

·San Diego @ Indianapolis*      Kevin Harlan/Randy Cross                Bob Mansbach/Suzanne Smith
·Baltimore @ Pittsburgh Gus Johnson/Brent Jones         Jim Rikhoff/Mark Grant
·Houston @ Jacksonville Ian Eagle/Solomon Wilcots               Victor Frank/Larry Cavolina

4:00 PM, ET starts:
·New England @ N.Y. Jets* Jim Nantz/Phil Simms// Lance Barrow/Mike Arnold Bonnie Bernstein

·Buffalo @ San Francisco        Don Criqui/Steve Tasker//               Ross Schneiderman/Cathy Barreto
                                Joe Castellano

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CBS Television Network...4

WEEK 17 - Jan. 2, 2005 - DOUBLEHEADER

GAME PLAY-BY-PLAY/ANALYST PRODUCER/DIRECTOR 1:00 PM, ET starts:

·Pittsburgh @ Buffalo           TBD                                     TBD
·Miami @ Baltimore              TBD                                     TBD
·Cleveland @ Houston    Craig Bolerjack/Rich Baldinger  Steve Scheer/Brian Lilley
·Cincinnati @ Philadelphia      Don Criqui/Steve Tasker         Ross Schneiderman /Cathy Barreto
·N.Y. Jets @ St. Louis          TBD                                     TBD

4:15 PM, ET starts:

·Indianapolis @ Denver  TBD                                     TBD
·Kansas City @ San Diego        TBD                                     TBD
·Jacksonville @ Oakland Bill Macatee/Steve Beuerlein                    Ken Mack/Andy Goldberg

Sean McManus is President, CBS Sports. Tony Petitti is Executive Producer, CBS Sports. McManus and Petitti serve as executive producers of CBS Sports' coverage of THE NFL ON CBS.

• THE NFL ON CBS games this week in HDTV, the highest definition television format - 1080i lines of picture resolution - along with 5.1 channel digital surround sound. The unified productions for both the standard definition and HD telecasts will feature the same announcers, camera angles and graphics.

CBS Sports Contacts:    LeslieAnne Wade 212/975-5171            lwade@cbs.com
Robin Brendle           212/975-1533            rlbrendle@cbs.com
                        Jerry Caraccioli        212/975-7466            gwcaraccioli@cbs.com