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THE NFL ON CBS: WEEK 13 (SUNDAY, DEC. 2) AUDIBLES WITH "NFL ON CBS" LEAD ANALYST PHIL SIMMS AND "THE NFL TODAY'S" BILL COWHER

The CBS Television Network continues its 48th year broadcasting the NFL with singleheader coverage of THE NFL ON CBS on Sunday, Dec. 2 (1:00-7:00 PM, ET) beginning with THE NFL TODAY, the Network's 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 Jacksonville Jaguars-Indianapolis Colts game, live from the RCA Dome in Indianapolis, Ind.  Lance Barrow is the coordinating producer and lead game producer and Mike Arnold is the lead game director.

 

Throughout the 2007 season, THE NFL ON CBS will broadcast five-to-six games each week in HDTV, the highest definition television format - 1080i lines of picture resolution - along with 5.1 digital audio.

 

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.

 

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PHIL SIMMS

(On Indianapolis): The Colts played through an awfully tough time. They held it together and they have learned to play with a short deck. They have learned to play with tremendous adversity and still were able to win. That just says a lot about everybody there.  There are many things about the Jacksonville-Indianapolis game including the Colts getting healthy enough to get back to what we saw four weeks ago, or maybe even longer than that because they played the New England Patriots short-handed...(On Peyton Manning and NFL Quarterbacks): TV people, radio people, writers - they never take the environment or circumstances into play when they judge players, especially quarterbacks. I'm watching TV and hear commentators say, 'Peyton's not having the year we are accustomed to.  He's just not playing the same.  I know our standards are high, but he is just not playing up to the way we expected.'  I always hate to talk about the quarterbacks but it seems like that is all anyone can focus on anymore.  Every game and all the wins and losses are strictly about the quarterback and it has nothing to do with anything else.  It's not absurd.  It's off-the-charts stupid.   But that is what we have come to.  Fire the coach, get another quarterback. Oh, the quarterback, he is holding us back. I watch all these quarterbacks and I put myself in an ex-quarterback position. We all played on bad teams. We didn't think we were bad then.  And we knew we weren't losing just because of us.  So there's a lot of ways to look at it.  How come Tom Brady hasn't been putting these numbers up his whole career?  Oh, but now he finally has a supporting cast.  He had a pretty good one before that too, and he played for a pretty good coach.  And Brett Favre - 'Brett should retire.  He is hurting the Green Bay Packers franchise.'  I have heard that one for years. How do you feel about him now?  Of course, Brett, the coach, the players they put around him and the system they are running has a lot to do with it.  So that's my little spiel on Peyton Manning or any other quarterback you want to put in this league...(On Jacksonville):  Jacksonville was one of my three surprise teams of the year before the season started. My other two were the St. Louis Rams and the Cleveland BrownsJack Del Rio was a defensive player and he was part of the staff that won with the Baltimore Ravens. He saw that you could win a Super Bowl managing the game the way they did there and he continued that in Jacksonville.  If you ask me if it worked or not, yes it worked because they are an organized, tough and very competent team. Unfortunately your only judge to be a success is that you must win playoff games and Super Bowls.  They have not done that yet but they are getting closer and closer.  The biggest obstacle of course is that they are playing in the same division as the Colts. Can they find a way to finally break through the big bad bullies of the AFC South?  Probably.  Jacksonville has David Garrard who is capable and well suited to play the position how Jack Del Rio wants.  He is big, strong, mobile, good thrower of the football and doesn't have to throw it 40 times a game to be in rhythm.  He can throw and get it done when put a lot of tough situations, which they do.  They have asked him to pick up a lot of third downs and he has done it. 

  

BILL COWHER

(On San Diego-Kansas City): It's a critical game for Kansas City because of their loss last week to Oakland and the fact that they've lost four straight.  They are on the brink of playoff elimination.  I can't remember the last time that Kansas City has lost five consecutive games.  If they're looking at any chance of playoffs, it has to start with a win in this game.  This would classify as a must-win for Kansas City...(On Jacksonville-Indianapolis): This is a defining game for Jacksonville.  It's game defining from the standpoint of can they make the jump to the next level.  They've proven with their win last week that they are not playing down to their competition anymore.  Now they have to be able to win the 'big match-up' games.  This is a 'big match-up' game...(On Washington preparing for their game against Buffalo after their tragedy this week): The most important element of this game is to live in the present.  They have to have a short-term focus to get through what they're doing.  You can't look at the big picture.  You can't look ahead.  They have to have short-term focus.  They're looking at playing two games in five days with an emotional funeral in between.  The most important thing for them is to have a very detailed schedule, live in the moment and live day-to-day.

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            Following are THE NFL ON CBS assignments for Week 13 and Week 14 (subject to change).

  

WEEK 13 - Dec. 2

 

GAME                                    PLAY-BY-PLAY/ANALYST PRODUCER/DIRECTOR

1:00 PM, ET starts:

·Jacksonville @ Indianapolis*   Jim Nantz/Phil Simms                Lance Barrow/Mike Arnold     

·San Diego @ Kansas City*     Dick Enberg/Randy Cross                    Bob Mansbach/Suzanne Smith

·N.Y. Jets @ Miami*               Gus Johnson/Steve Tasker                    Victor Frank/Chris Svendsen

·Houston @ Tennessee*           Kevin Harlan/Rich Gannon                    Jim Rikhoff/Bryan Lilley

·Buffalo @ Washington*           Ian Eagle/Solomon Wilcots                   Ken Mack/Andy Goldberg

 

4:15 PM, ET starts:

·Cleveland @ Arizona* Greg Gumbel/Dan Dierdorf                   Mark Wolff/Bob Fishman

·Denver @ Oakland                 Bill Macatee/Steve Beuerlein                 Ross Schneiderman/Jim Cornell

 

WEEK 14 - Dec. 9 - DOUBLEHEADER

 

GAME                                    PLAY-BY-PLAY/ANALYST PRODUCER/DIRECTOR

1:00 PM, ET starts:

·Miami @ Buffalo                     Ian Eagle/Solomon Wilcots                   Ken Mack/Andy Goldberg

·Oakland @ Green Bay*          Kevin Harlan/Rich Gannon                    Jim Rikhoff/Bryan Lilley

·San Diego @ Tennessee*        Greg Gumbel/Dan Dierdorf                   Mark Wolff/Bob Fishman

 

4:15 PM, ET starts:

·Pittsburgh @ New England*    Jim Nantz/Phil Simms                Lance Barrow/Mike Arnold     

·Kansas City @ Denver*          Gus Johnson/Steve Tasker                    Victor Frank/Mark Grant         

·Cleveland @ N.Y. Jets*          Dick Enberg/Randy Cross                    Bob Mansbach/Jim Cornell

 

 

* Games broadcast in HDTV