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CNN Live At Daybreak

"Talking Sports" with Chris Cotter

Aired September 23, 2002 - 06:41   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: In sports it's down to the magnificent seven in professional football, only seven teams left undefeated and one of them had a biweek.
Joining us to talk all about that, Chris Cotter of 790 The Zone here in Atlanta.

What's that about, The Zone? Does that mean like the sports zone?

CHRIS COTTER, 790 THE ZONE: When you're in the zone, everything's going well for you, right.

CALLAWAY: Yes, and at...

COTTER: That's exactly right. When you listen to The Zone, it's all good.

CALLAWAY: Yes, well you're in the CNN zone today.

COTTER: And it is all good.

CALLAWAY: All right.

Let's talk about Miami beat the Jets.

COTTER: Ricky Williams,...

CALLAWAY: Yes.

COTTER: ... 151 yards rushing. This guy, you know I thought he was pretty good when he played for the Saints last year, the last few years,...

CALLAWAY: Right.

COTTER: ... but for a guy that's a Heisman Trophy winner and the second all-time leading rusher in NFL history, I mean in the NCAA history, rather,...

CALLAWAY: Right.

COTTER: ... I thought he played pretty well in New Orleans, but he has changed this Miami team. Watch him hit this hole here and just burst down the sideline. A ton of speed for a guy his size. And he's changed the dynamic of that entire team. I mean they have a great defense, but now they have an offense with a ton of weapons to compliment it. Miami really is a favorite now in the AFC.

CALLAWAY: Favorite, yes. What was the score, 30 to 7 or 30 to 3?

COTTER: Thirty to three in this one.

CALLAWAY: Wow, amazing!

All right, I want to talk about the Saints in a minute, let's get to the Patriots. Another win in overtime.

COTTER: Adam Vinatieri, he did it in the Super Bowl, he's doing it again in the regular season, 11 for his last 11 in field goal attempts. And this was an exciting game. New England has pretty much had their way of things the first couple of weeks of the season. This one, as you'll see right here, last play of the fourth quarter, the Chiefs get the touchdown to tie it.

CALLAWAY: Oh man!

COTTER: The last play, if you don't get it there, the game is over, so they send it into overtime. But the Patriots, here's Adam Vinatieri, and he has been automatic. The best kicker in the NFL hits it again. Patriots win. Defending Super Bowl champions, they're still undefeated.

CALLAWAY: And another lesson in the game's not over until it's over,...

COTTER: Absolutely not.

CALLAWAY: ... is Saints and the Bears. Twenty to zero was the score, and then what happened?

COTTER: And then Dante Stallworth and company got it going. And the Saints -- the Saints with Aaron Brooks at quarterback, they're very, very dangerous in the NFC. And the Bears looked like they were going to be the No. 1 team in the conference, undefeated at home, and they allow New Orleans to come back and win the game. Another close exciting game, but New Orleans gets the win. And they -- they're looking sharp right now, undefeated 3-0.

CALLAWAY: A lot of good football stuff going on. But I love this story, the Carolina and the Vikings. What was going on with Minnesota, they can't seem to get along?

COTTER: Look at this, already three games into the year. There's Mike Tice in the middle, he's the new head coach. Dante Culpepper and Randy Moss, the biggest malcontent in the entire league, already upsetting the balance of things in Minnesota.

CALLAWAY: He gets...

COTTER: And they're 0-3 as opposed to this Carolina, which was 1-15 last year. They won one game all last year. They won three games already this year. How they're doing it, I don't know. They got a pretty good defense. Coach John Fox has done a remarkable job there, but they're 3-0. Granted, the teams they've beaten are a combined 0-9 on the year, so they'll face some tougher competition.

CALLAWAY: Turning on themselves, though, this early in the season?

COTTER: Oh it's really disastrous for the people in Minnesota.

CALLAWAY: I feel bad for them.

COTTER: I mean they've got some big time work to do ahead of them.

CALLAWAY: Yes.

All right, let's talk about Denver, Buffalo and Clinton Portis. This kid is really showing what he can do.

COTTER: Terrell Davis has to retire. It's a big blow to Denver because he's one of the great running backs, really, over the last 10 years in this league. And Clinton Portis, the rookie out of Miami, comes in, rushes for 100 yards yesterday.

CALLAWAY: Go, Clinton.

COTTER: They just seem to keep plugging in new backs, whether it's Mike Anderson, whether it's Olandis Gary or Clinton Portis, somebody else gets the call and gets the job done. So Denver gets the win. They're undefeated as well. And they're playing in a really, really tough division because San Diego is in that division too, and they're undefeated.

And here they go, Marty Schottenheimer, the old wizard, getting it done with defense. Look at that big guy rumbling, bumbling, stumbling down the field giving San Diego good field position. They're getting it done defensively. Here you'll see another interception. San Diego, Oakland, Denver, all in the same division, all undefeated this early on in the season.

CALLAWAY: Hey, Chris, it's been a busy weekend, are you sick of football already...

COTTER: No, I'm sick of it is -- when is Sunday coming up again?

CALLAWAY: You can't wait, right?

COTTER: I mean it's Monday and I got to wait six days for college football, seven days again for the NFL.

CALLAWAY: A lot of people...

COTTER: I'll take it everyday (ph).

CALLAWAY: ... were waiting on that NFL season to begin, you know, with all the baseball hoo-ha, so it sounds like it's getting off to a good start, right? COTTER: Oh wonderful! It's fantastic stuff.

CALLAWAY: All right. Go back to The Zone now, would you?

COTTER: I will. I'm going to get in The Zone.

CALLAWAY: All right. Thanks, Chris, for being with us.

COTTER: You're welcome.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired September 23, 2002 - 06:41   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: In sports it's down to the magnificent seven in professional football, only seven teams left undefeated and one of them had a biweek.
Joining us to talk all about that, Chris Cotter of 790 The Zone here in Atlanta.

What's that about, The Zone? Does that mean like the sports zone?

CHRIS COTTER, 790 THE ZONE: When you're in the zone, everything's going well for you, right.

CALLAWAY: Yes, and at...

COTTER: That's exactly right. When you listen to The Zone, it's all good.

CALLAWAY: Yes, well you're in the CNN zone today.

COTTER: And it is all good.

CALLAWAY: All right.

Let's talk about Miami beat the Jets.

COTTER: Ricky Williams,...

CALLAWAY: Yes.

COTTER: ... 151 yards rushing. This guy, you know I thought he was pretty good when he played for the Saints last year, the last few years,...

CALLAWAY: Right.

COTTER: ... but for a guy that's a Heisman Trophy winner and the second all-time leading rusher in NFL history, I mean in the NCAA history, rather,...

CALLAWAY: Right.

COTTER: ... I thought he played pretty well in New Orleans, but he has changed this Miami team. Watch him hit this hole here and just burst down the sideline. A ton of speed for a guy his size. And he's changed the dynamic of that entire team. I mean they have a great defense, but now they have an offense with a ton of weapons to compliment it. Miami really is a favorite now in the AFC.

CALLAWAY: Favorite, yes. What was the score, 30 to 7 or 30 to 3?

COTTER: Thirty to three in this one.

CALLAWAY: Wow, amazing!

All right, I want to talk about the Saints in a minute, let's get to the Patriots. Another win in overtime.

COTTER: Adam Vinatieri, he did it in the Super Bowl, he's doing it again in the regular season, 11 for his last 11 in field goal attempts. And this was an exciting game. New England has pretty much had their way of things the first couple of weeks of the season. This one, as you'll see right here, last play of the fourth quarter, the Chiefs get the touchdown to tie it.

CALLAWAY: Oh man!

COTTER: The last play, if you don't get it there, the game is over, so they send it into overtime. But the Patriots, here's Adam Vinatieri, and he has been automatic. The best kicker in the NFL hits it again. Patriots win. Defending Super Bowl champions, they're still undefeated.

CALLAWAY: And another lesson in the game's not over until it's over,...

COTTER: Absolutely not.

CALLAWAY: ... is Saints and the Bears. Twenty to zero was the score, and then what happened?

COTTER: And then Dante Stallworth and company got it going. And the Saints -- the Saints with Aaron Brooks at quarterback, they're very, very dangerous in the NFC. And the Bears looked like they were going to be the No. 1 team in the conference, undefeated at home, and they allow New Orleans to come back and win the game. Another close exciting game, but New Orleans gets the win. And they -- they're looking sharp right now, undefeated 3-0.

CALLAWAY: A lot of good football stuff going on. But I love this story, the Carolina and the Vikings. What was going on with Minnesota, they can't seem to get along?

COTTER: Look at this, already three games into the year. There's Mike Tice in the middle, he's the new head coach. Dante Culpepper and Randy Moss, the biggest malcontent in the entire league, already upsetting the balance of things in Minnesota.

CALLAWAY: He gets...

COTTER: And they're 0-3 as opposed to this Carolina, which was 1-15 last year. They won one game all last year. They won three games already this year. How they're doing it, I don't know. They got a pretty good defense. Coach John Fox has done a remarkable job there, but they're 3-0. Granted, the teams they've beaten are a combined 0-9 on the year, so they'll face some tougher competition.

CALLAWAY: Turning on themselves, though, this early in the season?

COTTER: Oh it's really disastrous for the people in Minnesota.

CALLAWAY: I feel bad for them.

COTTER: I mean they've got some big time work to do ahead of them.

CALLAWAY: Yes.

All right, let's talk about Denver, Buffalo and Clinton Portis. This kid is really showing what he can do.

COTTER: Terrell Davis has to retire. It's a big blow to Denver because he's one of the great running backs, really, over the last 10 years in this league. And Clinton Portis, the rookie out of Miami, comes in, rushes for 100 yards yesterday.

CALLAWAY: Go, Clinton.

COTTER: They just seem to keep plugging in new backs, whether it's Mike Anderson, whether it's Olandis Gary or Clinton Portis, somebody else gets the call and gets the job done. So Denver gets the win. They're undefeated as well. And they're playing in a really, really tough division because San Diego is in that division too, and they're undefeated.

And here they go, Marty Schottenheimer, the old wizard, getting it done with defense. Look at that big guy rumbling, bumbling, stumbling down the field giving San Diego good field position. They're getting it done defensively. Here you'll see another interception. San Diego, Oakland, Denver, all in the same division, all undefeated this early on in the season.

CALLAWAY: Hey, Chris, it's been a busy weekend, are you sick of football already...

COTTER: No, I'm sick of it is -- when is Sunday coming up again?

CALLAWAY: You can't wait, right?

COTTER: I mean it's Monday and I got to wait six days for college football, seven days again for the NFL.

CALLAWAY: A lot of people...

COTTER: I'll take it everyday (ph).

CALLAWAY: ... were waiting on that NFL season to begin, you know, with all the baseball hoo-ha, so it sounds like it's getting off to a good start, right? COTTER: Oh wonderful! It's fantastic stuff.

CALLAWAY: All right. Go back to The Zone now, would you?

COTTER: I will. I'm going to get in The Zone.

CALLAWAY: All right. Thanks, Chris, for being with us.

COTTER: You're welcome.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com