**News and Sound Bites From Wild Card Sunday Edition of
NFL GAMEDAY MORNING**
NFL Network's Marshall Faulk, Deion Sanders and NFL Films Founder Ed Sabol Among 15 Finalists for 2011 Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement
"Rex Ryan had been trying to get after Peyton Manning, blitzing him, beating him up. This time, he beat him with mental jousting." - Marshall Faulk on the Jets 17-16 Playoff Win vs. Colts
"Let's put it this way - they're still looking for Marino in Miami and they're still looking for Elway in Denver." - Warren Sapp on Packers QB Aaron Rodgers
NFL GameDay Morning, the FIRST pregame show on Sunday morning is in its third season on the air at 9 a.m. ET, taking viewers straight up to kickoff. New host Rich Eisen joins analysts Warren Sapp, Marshall Faulk, Michael Irvin and Steve Mariucci to bring fans the latest news, injury reports, pregame analysis and game previews.
15 Finalists Revealed for 2011 Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement:
Tim Brown, WR
Cris Carter, WR
Andre Reed, WR
Shannon Sharpe, TE
Dermontti Dawson, C
Richard Dent, DE
Chris Dolman, DE
Charles Haley, DE
Cortez Kennedy, DT
Ed Sabol, NFL Films Founder
Jerome Bettis, RB
Marshall Faulk, RB
Curtis Martin, RB
Willie Roaf, T
Deion Sanders, CB
Chris Hanburger, LB**
Les Richter, LB**
*senior candidates*
The Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2011 will be announced exclusively on NFL Network Saturday, Feb. 5 at 7 p.m. during a one-hour NFL Network special, live from the Super Bowl XLV Media Center in North Texas.
To view the unveiling of the 15 Pro Football Hall of Fame finalists, please visit: Hall of Fame finalists
Quotes from NFL GameDay Morning:
"Rex Ryan had been trying to get after Peyton Manning, blitzing him, beating him up. This time, he beat him with mental jousting…If Peyton is throwing the ball, they're great. If they're running the ball, [they're] not so good. Rex had a great game plan and he stuck to his game plan, which made Peyton stick to the running game."- Marshall Faulk on the Jets' game plan in 17-16 Wild Card win vs. Indianapolis
"I'm a little shocked at the Saints defense because they did not show up, in pass coverage [or] run defense. They were just not the same Saints team, giving up 41 points. They haven't done that in four years and they wait for a playoff game to do that." - Steve Mariucci on the Saints defensive performance in 41-36 loss to Seattle Saturday
"No, he hasn't…he hasn't won a playoff game yet. You've got Mark Sanchez, [Joe] Flacco, [Matt] Ryan, all these young quarterbacks that are second- and third-year quarterbacks playing in the playoffs and winning games. Aaron Rodgers has got to do that. I believe he can and I believe he will, but in his third year, he must start doing that."- Steve Mariucci on if Packers QB Aaron Rodgers has met expectations this year
"The returns have been great on Aaron Rodgers. When you talk about those other young, talented quarterbacks, they had solid running games and they were not asked to win games right off the top. They were asked to manage games while the team won the games running the football. Aaron Rodgers has won games throwing the football."- Michael Irvin on if Packers QB Aaron Rodgers has met expectations this year
"Let's put it this way - they're still looking for Marino in Miami and they're still looking for Elway in Denver."- Warren Sapp on Packers QB Aaron Rodgers meeting expectations and replacing former Packer QB Brett Favre
"The Baltimore Ravens have the advantage on defense. This front seven may be the best in football."- Sapp on who has the advantage on defense in Ravens vs. Chiefs
"He can escape the pressure. He gives [the Eagles] another option to run their offense if they're not throwing the ball well or [the Packers] take the receivers away; Michael Vick can now run the football and get them in a better place or out of a bad place."- Faulk on who has the edge, Michael Vick or Aaron Rodgers
"It's rare that you depend on your quarterback and a receiver like Dwayne Bowe to open up holes for your offense and offensive line, but this is what we're going to have to see if they want to run the ball early in the game. Matt Cassel must complete passes." - Faulk on if the Chiefs will be able to run the ball against the Ravens defense
"The Chiefs coaching staff has a lot of Super Bowl rings…but last I checked, the guys with the rings haven't thrown a pass or made a tackle in this league ever. The advantage goes to the team with the most players that have done this before."- Mariucci on if playoff experience matters in Ravens vs. Chiefs matchups
*NFL GameDay Morning*Analysts Picks for the Most Dangerous Player:**
Michael Irvin: Eagles WR DeSean Jackson
"DeSean Jackson gives me everything. He gives me the ability to take a short pass deep, he gives me the ability to get deep and if you want to, put him back there and let him return a punt and he can take that to the house."
Steve Mariucci: Bears WR Devin Hester
"Everytime that he gets the football, he can go the distance."
Marshall Faulk: Chiefs WR Dexter McCluster
"This kid is exciting. He helps the Kansas City Chiefs in the run game and the passing game, not to mention he returns kicks and punts. He will be explosive."
Warren Sapp: Eagles QB Michael Vick
"We're talking about a guy that had 94 yards rushing, 151 yards passing, three touchdowns and this all in less than eight minutes."
Michael Lombardi's News Reports:
On the head coaching search in Denver…
Starting in Denver, a lot of people that I've talked to around the league are concerned about John Elway's inexperience. It's going to limit the guys that he can bring in. The hot name that I am hearing right now is former Carolina Panthers head coach John Fox. Many people thought he would have his chance at several jobs around the National Football League, but that's not the case. Fox has narrowed his choices down now to Denver. Rick Dennison is still involved in Denver and Dirk Koetter, the former Boise State, Arizona State [head coach], now offensive coordinator in Jacksonville; those are the three names and [in Denver's head coaching search] that's going to be the decision it comes down to.
On John Elway's recent comments regarding Broncos QB Tim Tebow and his future in Denver…
The conductor of the "Tebow Train," Josh McDaniels is not longer [in Denver], so obviously John Elway inherited Tim Tebow and he understands the concerns that it's going to take to make Tebow a great player. Is a trade a viable possibility? I wouldn't rule anything out at this time. I believe Elway is learning about the job that he has and he's also learning about the Denver Broncos. Experience is not in the building in Denver right now and that could pay a price as they move forward.
On the Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos draft decisions with the No. 1 and No. 2 picks, respectively…
The Panthers have talked about not drafting a quarterback. They are going to put their hope on Jimmy Clausen and then take the best player available, whoever that will be. The Denver Broncos are in the same position. This is the key for John Elway - he's got to make the right decision about Tim Tebow and move forward because if he passes a quarterback, he may regret that at the No. 2 [position]. They need much help all over the board in Denver. They need [help] defensively, offensively; they could go in a lot of different directions, so I think the Tebow decision really compounds the No. 2 [draft] decision as well.
On NFL.com, the following video clips from Sunday's Wild Card edition of NFL GameDay Morning are available for viewing:
Victory is Waiting for You: Wild Card Sunday - Vince Lombardi opens Wild Card weekend with words of encouragement for the teams involved in Sunday's playoff games.
What Drives Terrell Suggs? - Ravens LB Terrell Suggs plays behind Ray Lewis' shadow, but hopes to emerge alongside him raising the Lombardi Trophy.
Has Rodgers Met Expectations? - Packers QB Aaron Rodgers has excelled year after year since taking over for Brett Favre. But there is one member of the NFL GameDay Morning crew who thinks the best has yet to come.
Who Must Step Up - The NFL GameDay Morning crew make their picks on who needs to come away with a big game for a Wild Card Sunday victory.
On NFL.com, the following video clips from Saturday's Wild Card action, as well as NFL GameDay Final analysis are available for viewing:
Victory is Waiting for You: Wild Card Saturday - Vince Lombardi opens Wild Card weekend with words of encouragement for the teams involved in Saturday's playoff games.
Seahawks Stunner - Deion Sanders and Rod Woodson react to the Seahawks' stunning upset over the defending Super Bowl champions.
Matt Hasselbeck Interview - The Seahawks QB talks about his team's stunning 41-36 upset over the defending Super Bowl champions.
Let's Go Primetime - Deion Sanders counts down the top 5 plays from Saturday's wild-card showdowns.
EXTRA POINTS:
» Special Divisional Playoff Saturday Edition of NFL GameDay next week: NFL Network has the Divisional Playoffs covered with more than eight hours of live coverage Saturday, Jan. 15 beginning at noon with NFL GameDay Morning.Rich Eisen, Marshall Faulk, Steve Mariucci, Warren Sapp and Michael Irvin provide viewers with four and a half hours of coverage taking viewers straight up to kickoff of the Steelers home playoff game. Immediately following the game, Paul Burmeister, Jamie Dukes and Tom Waddle provide postgame coverage on NFL GameDay Scoreboard, while NFL GameDay Final puts a bow on all Saturday's action at midnight with Fran Charles, Deion Sanders and Jim Mora.
» "The Coaches Show" is Back: NFL Network's The NFL Head Coaches is back for its second season airing Mondays at 5 p.m. The weekly half-hour show features former head coaches Brian Billick and Jim Mora who have been on the sidelines and experienced the ups and downs associated with being at the helm of a team in the National Football League. Billick and Mora candidly break down the biggest storylines and decisions behind the final scores of Sunday's matchups from a head coach's perspective.
NFL GameDay Morning begins the NFL Network schedule on Sundays called "NFL GameDay." Following NFL GameDay Morning will be NFL GameDay Scoreboard at 4 p.m.and NFL GameDay Final at 11:30 p.m.
NFL Network airs seven days a week, 24 hours a day on a year-round basis and is the only television network fully dedicated to the NFL and the sport of football. For more information, log on to NFL Network. NFL.com is the exclusive Internet home of NFL videos and NFL Network.
