Again, bad job by CBS, Fox and NFL Network for not sending over quotage from their pregame shows today. I waited late to see if anything came through and only ESPN sent over quotage today. So they get this post all to themselves. I hope quotage will be readily available for Conference Championship Sunday.
“SUNDAY NFL COUNTOWN” NEWS AND NOTES
ESPN’s “Sunday NFL Countdown’s” Chris Berman, Mike Ditka, Keyshawn Johnson, Cris Carter and Tom Jackson, were joined by Vikings Pro Bowl defensive end Jared Allen to review yesterday’s and preview today’s NFL Divisional Playoff games. Some excerpts:
Key quotes of the day:
· “Cris (Carter), don’t you dare ever mention Jake’s (Delhomme) name in the same line with (Joe) Montana and (Bart) Starr” – Johnson on the performance of the Carolina quarterback vs. Arizona
· “This is a 10-6 football without Chris Johnson and that’s what they looked like yesterday. It’s not a No. 1 seed without that explosive player in that offense.” – Carter on Tennessee’s loss to Baltimore
· “Cheez Whiz, off of cheese steaks. When it gets in there, it takes forever to get out” – Philadelphia head coach Andy Reid on the most annoying thing about growing playoff beards
Knowing blitzes are coming, which quarterback will handle pass rush better: McNabb or Manning?
Keyshawn Johnson: “In this football game, it will be Donovan McNabb. Donovan has played against this team before. You’re looking at a quarterback in Eli Manning, without Plaxico Burress, who will rely on the running game. He’s not a mobile quarterback. That can create some problems and he’s prone to make more mistakes than Donovan … They have three guys in that secondary, the Eagles, I don’t know that the New York Giants have three capable receivers to match up with them.”
Tom Jackson: “Donovan McNabb is healthy, and when he’s healthy, he’s close to superman. You look at his ability to extend plays along with Brian Westbrook and his ability to bring a big play. And that’s the thing you want from your quarterback this time of the year.”
Cris Carter: “One thing you guys have failed to mention is the running back of the Giants, Brandon Jacobs, and he’s going to help Eli out. It’s not a matter of which quarterback is better. The Eagles blitz 40% of the time. So Eli is used to this, but being assisted by that running game … I believe Eli handles the situation better.”
Mike Ditka: “McNabb must be doing something right. Last 66 attempts, the Giants have not sacked him. What I see him doing, I see him buying time, I see him making good decisions … This guy is really playing his best football right now.”
Can big Ben (Roethlisberger) continue to absorb big hits?
Tom Jackson: “Big Ben is a big tough kid. He’s used to getting sacked 40-plus times a year. When it comes time to play, he’s always playing. You’ve heard Ed (Werder) talk about Philip Rivers and statistics. Well, statistically right now, Ben Roethlisberger is about the worst quarterback left in this playoffs – getting sacked more than anybody else, throwing more interceptions than anybody else, quarterback completion percentage, a little bit worse than (Ravens) Joe Flacco. But his strength is winning games at the end. He really knows how to do that. And that’s the main thing I want from my quarterback. I want him to be able to win games. I’m not worried necessarily about whether he can take the beating, I’m worried about the fact that statistically he has a problem on the field right now.”
Cris Carter: “People think football is a contact sport. But on the offensive side of the ball, sometimes, it is ‘avoid the contact.’ It is hard to continue playing football that way. One excuse for Ben: Why does he hold it? Because, his best receiver Hines Ward is not the fastest and not the best route runner, but it takes him a little more time sometimes on that muddy field to get open. So, I understand why he’s holding it.”
Keyshawn Johnson: “Ben holds on the football because he likes the drama. He likes the attention that he gets. He’s a great football player, he’s a solid football player, like you said Tom, he’s a tough guy, but he’s a bit of a drama queen. I like that about him. He gives the crowd thumbs up, a little bit of a wink, goes off the field, comes back, boom! Touchdown, late game heroics and the whole time, we’re sitting in our room watching the game saying ‘he’s hurting, something is wrong with Ben.’ Next thing you know, he’s back in the game, he’s fine for the next week, he loves that attention.”
Mike Ditka: “He’s going to last four quarters. Can he last four years? I don’t know playing the way he is … It is who he is. It is Big Ben, he’s the leader of this football team.”
Tom Jackson: “The reason that he does that, he is not great at his second and third read. He’s better at extending plays with his legs. His college coach told me that he’s the guy who extends plays and makes plays by getting out of the pocket.”
Vikings Pro Bowl defensive end Jared Allen
On being satisfied with the Vikings’ performance: “Our very first step was to win the division. We were able to do that. Me personally, it took a little while getting used to adjusting to new stadium, new bunch of teammates. The biggest adjustment was learning how to play with two beasts in the defensive tackles inside. I was just trying to stay out of the way for the first few weeks. Then we got on the same page and things took off.
“Overall, successful season. We would love to still be playing. I thought we played well enough, except for one play, to win that Philadelphia game.”
On Philip Rivers: “He has the tendency to hold the ball just a little bit too long to make those big plays down the field. I really like the way he plays the ball. His ‘moxie,’ if you will – just don’t ask me to spell that guys. But again, sometimes that works against him because he tries to make that big play down the field and you can get to him as a pass rusher.”
Biggest reason for the Titans loss vs. the Ravens
Keyshawn Johnson: “When Chris Johnson went out, you cannot get to the second wave of defenders, which is the secondary – the corners and safety of the Baltimore Ravens are poor tacklers. If you get there, they miss tackles, then they can score touchdowns. That did not happen. It changed the entire scope of the football team.”
Cris Carter: “When Chris Johnson got hurt, this team reverted back to last year’s team without a scrambling quarterback … This is a 10-6 football without Chris Johnson and that’s what they looked like yesterday. It’s not a No. 1 seed without that explosive player in that offense.”
Tom Jackson: “Those fumbles are not happenstance. The physicality that Ray Lewis and that front seven bring, the reason they get the turnover is because they hit harder than the other football team. You look at the hit on (Alge) Crumpler, you look at the hit on LenDale White, that ball is coming out. And they are depending on it coming out two or three times a football game, you tell (Joe) Flacco, ‘protect the football, we’ll take you to Tampa Bay.’”
Mike Ditka: “You’ve got to give Baltimore all the credit, and you
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