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CNN Live At Daybreak

Talking Sports, Pigskin Report Card

Aired November 08, 2002 - 06:38   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.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Are you ready for some football? The weekend is upon us, so we turn our attention to sports.
Chris Cotter of 790 The Zone here in Atlanta joins us with his pigskin report card. I like that, don't you?

CHRIS COTTER, 790 THE ZONE, ATLANTA: That's nice.

COSTELLO: Pigskin report card, yes.

COTTER: It's a nice little touch.

COSTELLO: Hey, let's start with the biggest disappointments.

COTTER: The biggest disappointment so far in the first half of the year -- we start the second half on Sunday, so we've kind of gotten the eight games in, and got a chance to see some things. And certainly, I think when you talk about the biggest disappointments in teams, you have to say the Rams from St. Louis, because before the year, I had Pittsburgh and St. Louis going to the Super Bowl.

COSTELLO: Yes, I remember that.

COTTER: It really has not worked out all that well.

COSTELLO: Yes.

COTTER: But Pittsburgh is coming back. St. Louis is coming back, too. They lost their first five, but they're three -- now, they've won three in a row. So, they're kind of getting back into it. And the NFC -- I mean, they're right in the thick of the playoff picture right now, even at 3 and 5.

Oakland meanwhile, though, has lost four in a row after starting 4 and 0. So, they may be the most disappointing right now, because I think they have a lot of talent. Certainly, they're a good enough team to play in the Super Bowl.

COSTELLO: Definitely. So, it's been a fascinating season, though, hasn't it?

Let's move on to the pleasant surprises of this football season.

COTTER: You know, I like Atlanta. I like what the Atlanta Falcons have done. I thought they might be a 500-type of a football team. Certainly, they would struggle with Mike Vick as the quarterback in his first year as a starter, but he's really been a pleasant surprise, and if nothing else, they are fun to watch. I mean, the people in Atlanta in the Georgia Dome, boy, that was like a morgue for years in terms of people watching football quiet, dead, no atmosphere. Now, they're selling the place out, and they're going crazy for football in Atlanta.

COSTELLO: Well, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Michael Vick, he is certainly exciting to watch.

Coach of the year.

COTTER: I like Marty Schottenheimer in San Diego.

COSTELLO: Whoa!

COTTER: First year starting quarterback, and there's so many young players playing, and yet he still has them at 6 and 2 in a very, very competitive AFC West. They're still in the hunt. I mean, they've bested Kansas City, Oakland right now. So, they're right in the thick of things. I like what he has done so far this year.

Although, I will say Bill Cowher for as bad as that team started in Pittsburgh, has also done a great job in, you know, his quarterback wasn't getting it done. He has now Tommy Maddox as his quarterback.

COSTELLO: Oh, he is such a rally (ph) monkey unto himself, isn't he?

COTTER: The XFL MVP -- you remember the XFL, do you?

COSTELLO: Yes.

COTTER: I mean, in so many years in the NFL and not making it with Denver, he even played with Atlanta for a while, the Giants, never being able to make it stick. And now, he finally got his chance at Pittsburgh, and he's making the most of it.

COSTELLO: Oh, that's so awesome to hear stories like that.

COTTER: Oh, yes.

COSTELLO: OK, let's move on to your Super Bowl picks. You're really putting it on the line now.

COTTER: I get to completely reverse my field, and I get a mid- season reprieve. I get to try this again.

COSTELLO: Yes, and we're going to hold you to it. We're going to replay it at the end of the season.

COTTER: And I'm really going out on a limb on this one, folks.

COSTELLO: Uh-oh!

COTTER: The Eagles and the Broncos. Now, I think the Broncos...

COSTELLO: The Broncos? COTTER: I like the Broncos as a team, both offensively and defensively, and Clinton Portis is one of the best rookies in the league. He's the running back from Miami, really having a great year, and they needed it with the, you know, Terrell Davis retiring and this and that.

And then the Eagles, I think they can go to the Super Bowl, because they play great defense, but they rely so heavily on Donavan McNabb as their quarterback. If McNabb stays healthy, he'll win the MVP this year, and he could take Philadelphia to the Super Bowl. He has to stay healthy, though. If he goes down, they've got no shot.

COSTELLO: Well, I hope Philadelphia goes, because what an awesome football talent in itself. That's cool.

And Detroit, three games, they've won three games.

COTTER: You know what? I like their rookie, too, Joey Arrington.

COSTELLO: He's good.

COTTER: His numbers are not that good, about 50 percent passing...

COSTELLO: Yes, but he's coming up. He's coming up!

COTTER: For a first year quarterback to have to start to be throwing into the fire like that, he's really, really doing well. So, it's going to bode well for Detroit in coming years.

COSTELLO: Yes, well, let's keep our fingers crossed.

COTTER: We will.

COSTELLO: Chris Cotter, thank you very much.

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 November 8, 2002 - 06:38   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Are you ready for some football? The weekend is upon us, so we turn our attention to sports.
Chris Cotter of 790 The Zone here in Atlanta joins us with his pigskin report card. I like that, don't you?

CHRIS COTTER, 790 THE ZONE, ATLANTA: That's nice.

COSTELLO: Pigskin report card, yes.

COTTER: It's a nice little touch.

COSTELLO: Hey, let's start with the biggest disappointments.

COTTER: The biggest disappointment so far in the first half of the year -- we start the second half on Sunday, so we've kind of gotten the eight games in, and got a chance to see some things. And certainly, I think when you talk about the biggest disappointments in teams, you have to say the Rams from St. Louis, because before the year, I had Pittsburgh and St. Louis going to the Super Bowl.

COSTELLO: Yes, I remember that.

COTTER: It really has not worked out all that well.

COSTELLO: Yes.

COTTER: But Pittsburgh is coming back. St. Louis is coming back, too. They lost their first five, but they're three -- now, they've won three in a row. So, they're kind of getting back into it. And the NFC -- I mean, they're right in the thick of the playoff picture right now, even at 3 and 5.

Oakland meanwhile, though, has lost four in a row after starting 4 and 0. So, they may be the most disappointing right now, because I think they have a lot of talent. Certainly, they're a good enough team to play in the Super Bowl.

COSTELLO: Definitely. So, it's been a fascinating season, though, hasn't it?

Let's move on to the pleasant surprises of this football season.

COTTER: You know, I like Atlanta. I like what the Atlanta Falcons have done. I thought they might be a 500-type of a football team. Certainly, they would struggle with Mike Vick as the quarterback in his first year as a starter, but he's really been a pleasant surprise, and if nothing else, they are fun to watch. I mean, the people in Atlanta in the Georgia Dome, boy, that was like a morgue for years in terms of people watching football quiet, dead, no atmosphere. Now, they're selling the place out, and they're going crazy for football in Atlanta.

COSTELLO: Well, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Michael Vick, he is certainly exciting to watch.

Coach of the year.

COTTER: I like Marty Schottenheimer in San Diego.

COSTELLO: Whoa!

COTTER: First year starting quarterback, and there's so many young players playing, and yet he still has them at 6 and 2 in a very, very competitive AFC West. They're still in the hunt. I mean, they've bested Kansas City, Oakland right now. So, they're right in the thick of things. I like what he has done so far this year.

Although, I will say Bill Cowher for as bad as that team started in Pittsburgh, has also done a great job in, you know, his quarterback wasn't getting it done. He has now Tommy Maddox as his quarterback.

COSTELLO: Oh, he is such a rally (ph) monkey unto himself, isn't he?

COTTER: The XFL MVP -- you remember the XFL, do you?

COSTELLO: Yes.

COTTER: I mean, in so many years in the NFL and not making it with Denver, he even played with Atlanta for a while, the Giants, never being able to make it stick. And now, he finally got his chance at Pittsburgh, and he's making the most of it.

COSTELLO: Oh, that's so awesome to hear stories like that.

COTTER: Oh, yes.

COSTELLO: OK, let's move on to your Super Bowl picks. You're really putting it on the line now.

COTTER: I get to completely reverse my field, and I get a mid- season reprieve. I get to try this again.

COSTELLO: Yes, and we're going to hold you to it. We're going to replay it at the end of the season.

COTTER: And I'm really going out on a limb on this one, folks.

COSTELLO: Uh-oh!

COTTER: The Eagles and the Broncos. Now, I think the Broncos...

COSTELLO: The Broncos? COTTER: I like the Broncos as a team, both offensively and defensively, and Clinton Portis is one of the best rookies in the league. He's the running back from Miami, really having a great year, and they needed it with the, you know, Terrell Davis retiring and this and that.

And then the Eagles, I think they can go to the Super Bowl, because they play great defense, but they rely so heavily on Donavan McNabb as their quarterback. If McNabb stays healthy, he'll win the MVP this year, and he could take Philadelphia to the Super Bowl. He has to stay healthy, though. If he goes down, they've got no shot.

COSTELLO: Well, I hope Philadelphia goes, because what an awesome football talent in itself. That's cool.

And Detroit, three games, they've won three games.

COTTER: You know what? I like their rookie, too, Joey Arrington.

COSTELLO: He's good.

COTTER: His numbers are not that good, about 50 percent passing...

COSTELLO: Yes, but he's coming up. He's coming up!

COTTER: For a first year quarterback to have to start to be throwing into the fire like that, he's really, really doing well. So, it's going to bode well for Detroit in coming years.

COSTELLO: Yes, well, let's keep our fingers crossed.

COTTER: We will.

COSTELLO: Chris Cotter, thank you very much.

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.