Release

THE NFL ON CBS: WEEK 2 (SUNDAY, SEPT. 16) AUDIBLES WITH “NFL ON CBS’s” DAN DIERDORF AND “THE NFL TODAY’s” BILL COWHER

      The CBS Television Network, home of Super Bowl XLVII, continues its 53rd year broadcasting the NFL with coverage of THE NFL ON CBS on Sunday, Sept. 16 (1:00-7:00 PM, ET) beginning with THE NFL TODAY, the Network’s one-hour studio show (12:00 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 New York Jets-Pittsburgh Steelers game live from Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pa.  Lance Barrow is the coordinating producer and lead game producer and Mike Arnold is the lead game director.

      Sean McManus is Chairman, CBS Sports, and serves as Executive Producer of CBS Sports’ coverage of THE NFL ON CBS.  Harold Bryant is Executive Producer and Vice President, Production, CBS Sports.

 

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DAN DIERDORF

(On Philadelphia QB Michael Vick): Last week Cleveland had a very good game plan of blitzing him.  It was a very natural thing to do to somebody that had very few snaps in the preseason, nursing the ribs.  He’s going to be rusty.  I don’t care that he is an 11-year veteran.  I know there was an emphasis on getting off to a fast start, and what a disappointment for him to throw four interceptions in the opener.  But if there was any good news, somehow the Eagles won the game.  From a confidence standpoint, Michael Vick is probably not in a great place.  When you start a season like that, I don’t care how grizzled a veteran you are, how mentally tough, that kind of game leaves a mark.  Michael Vick is going to have to play some good football for a while before that game is completely out of his mind. 

And Baltimore has never been known as a “rebound defense.”  This is not the team you are looking for coming off a bad game to “right the ship.”  If Jeremy Maclin and DeSean Jackson, Vick’s two most explosive outside threats, can’t play or are less than full speed on Sunday, Michael Vick will be going into a gun fight with only a knife.    

 

(On Baltimore): Baltimore looked so good on Monday night.  Cincinnati is not a bottom-tier team in the NFL that gets pushed around every week.  And they were just destroyed by Baltimore.  Joe Flacco looked fantastic.  He’s running the no-huddle offense.  He’s in his fifth year, so he’s seen everything to make the right decisions at the line of scrimmage.  He’s in a perfect place and looks so comfortable running that offense.  And it’s still just fun to cover a football game where Ray Lewis and Ed Reed are still playing.  They are a good solid, defensive football team.

 

BILL COWHER

(On Pittsburgh): Without a question, Pittsburgh coming off a loss and being at home, they have something to prove.  Nobody wants to go down 0-2.  But, this is going to be another tough defense that Pittsburgh is going to face.  That will be a big challenge for the offense.  And the defense, Peyton Manning pretty much went through them at will the other night.  So it’s a chance for Pittsburgh to re-establish itself as one of the top defenses and rebound from last week.

 

(On N.Y. Jets): The big challenge for the N.Y. Jets will be to see if their offense was an aberration last week, or will they be able to continue to be productive week-in and week-out.  This is a big challenge on the road.  For the N.Y. Jets defense, the challenge comes with the speed at receiver, and will they be able to put pressure on Ben Roethlisberger.  Those are the big factors for the Jets.

 

(On N.Y. Jets quarterback situation): The thing we all have to look for, are the Jets going to elaborate on their package with Tebow?  Last week we didn’t see any passes.  This week the defense may have to anticipate a little bit more elaboration with that package.      

 

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Following are THE NFL ON CBS assignments for Week 2, Week 3 Week 4 (subject to change).

 

WEEK 2 – Sept. 16 – CBS DOUBLEHEADER

 

GAME                                   PLAY-BY-PLAY/ANALYST                 PRODUCER/DIRECTOR

1:00 PM, ET starts:              

·Baltimore @ Philadelphia       Greg Gumbel/Dan Dierdorf                  Mark Wolff/Bob Fishman

·Kansas City @ Buffalo           Spero Dedes/Steve Beuerlein              Ken Mack/Jim Cornell

·Cleveland @ Cincinnati           Bill Macatee/Steve Tasker                  Victor Frank/Chris Svendsen

·Houston @ Jacksonville          Marv Albert/Rich Gannon                    Ross Schneiderman/Andy Goldberg

·Oakland @ Miami                   Kevin Harlan/Solomon Wilcots            Jim Rikhoff/Mark Grant

 

4:25 PM, ET starts:

·N.Y. Jets @ Pittsburgh            Jim Nantz/Phil Simms                       Lance Barrow/Mike Arnold

·Tennessee @ San Diego          Ian Eagle/Dan Fouts                         Steve Scheer/Suzanne Smith

 

WEEK 3 – Sept. 23 – CBS DOUBLEHEADER

 

GAME                                      PLAY-BY-PLAY/ANALYST               PRODUCER/DIRECTOR

1:00 PM, ET starts:              

·Cincinnati @ Washington         Kevin Harlan/Solomon Wilcots           Jim Rikhoff/Mark Grant

·Kansas City @ New Orleans    Greg Gumbel/Dan Dierdorf                 Mark Wolff/Bob Fishman

·N.Y. Jets @ Miami                   Marv Albert/Rich Gannon                  Ross Schneiderman/Andy Goldberg

·Buffalo @ Cleveland                  Spero Dedes/Steve Beuerlein            Ken Mack/Jim Cornell

·Jacksonville @ Indianapolis       Bill Macatee/Steve Tasker                 Victor Frank/Chris Svendsen

 

4:25 PM, ET starts:

·Houston @ Denver                    Jim Nantz/Phil Simms                      Lance Barrow/Mike Arnold

·Pittsburgh @ Oakland               Ian Eagle/Dan Fouts                         Bob Mansbach/Suzanne Smith

 

WEEK 4 – Sept. 30

 

GAME                                      PLAY-BY-PLAY/ANALYST               PRODUCER/DIRECTOR

1:00 PM, ET starts:              

·New England @ Buffalo            Greg Gumbel/Dan Dierdorf                 Mark Wolff/Bob Fishman

·Tennessee @ Houston              Ian Eagle/Dan Fouts                         Bob Mansbach/Suzanne Smith

·San Diego @ Kansas City         Kevin Harlan/Solomon Wilcots           Jim Rikhoff/Mark Grant

 

4:00 PM, ET starts:

·Miami @ Arizona                      Bill Macatee/Steve Tasker                  Victor Frank/Chris Svendsen

·Oakland @ Denver                    Jim Nantz/Phil Simms                        Lance Barrow/Mike Arnold

·Cincinnati @ Jacksonville          Marv Albert/Rich Gannon                     Ross Schneiderman/Andy Goldberg

 

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Follow CBS Sports on Twitter: @CBSSportsGang and @NFLonCBS

 

CBS Sports Contacts:

Jen Sabatelle              212-975-4120              jsabatelle@cbs.com

Robin Brendle             212-975-1533              rlbrendle@cbs.com

Jerry Caraccioli           212-975-7466              gwcaraccioli@cbs.com