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CNN Live At Daybreak
NFL Pigskin Preview
Aired September 04, 2003 - 06:51 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.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Time now for a little NFL pigskin preview.
Chris Cotter of AM 790 "The Zone" is here.
All right, so the big kickoff, the nation's capital, big extravaganza, the Jets, the Redskins. But you know what? I have a feeling that a lot of lessons were learned in those exhibition games. You got Mike Vic out.
CHRIS COTTER, AM 790 "THE ZONE": Yes.
WHITFIELD: Testaverdi in, different teams, of course. But you know what I mean.
COTTER: Well, here's, tonight with the Jets and the Redskins, you have Vinny Testaverdi, a 17 year veteran, taking over for Chad Pennington. Again, I mean Testaverdi was the guy in New York for a while then Pennington took over. Now they're going back to Testaverdi.
The difference between New York and Atlanta is you have Vinny there to back up Chad Pennington, who was hurt in the pre-season. Vinny is one of the most accurate passers in the league, so much experience. The Jets should be fine tonight against Washington. And Steve Spurrier, of course, the head coach of Washington, always makes for a story. So it's a good opening night.
Mike Vic and the Falcons playing against Dallas on Sunday is a little bit of a different story, because Doug Johnson comes in to take Mike Vic's place and he has very limited experience at the NFL level. So that's going to be a little bit of a different story. People in Atlanta are getting a little bit nervous about the beginning of the season without Mike Vic.
WHITFIELD: Yes, and speaking of Dallas, then, let's talk about, you know, the big tuna, Bill Parcells. How welcome is he? I mean he's a legendary coach.
COTTER: Yes.
WHITFIELD: But, you know, big D is a tough town.
COTTER: Oh, it is a tough town and it's all about football in Dallas. You know, the Rangers, the Mavericks, this and that. Forget about it. It's all about the Cowboys 365. And you have Bill Parcells there. Tough to play the Cowboys in the first game, because he's been working this team. There you see him in, during the training camp. He's been working them hard. And you know they're chomping at the bit to get out there and really go after somebody and they're going to have a chance at home against Atlanta on Sunday. It's going to be a tough game for the Falcons.
WHITFIELD: Yes. Hard to start a regular season without reflecting on the previous season's champs.
COTTER: Yes.
WHITFIELD: Tampa Buccaneers. How are they looking?
COTTER: They're just as good as they were last year. I mean the defense is dominating there in Tampa Bay, and that's going to carry them, as well. The offense does just enough for them to be able to win and the way I look at the NFC, which is the Conference that they play in, there really aren't that many teams that improved themselves that much more over last year. So I still think Tampa Bay is the favorite in the NFC.
Philadelphia is still there. Even though they lost some players from last year's team, with Donovan McNabb, you can't count them out, so they're there.
Watch out for New Orleans, as well.
WHITFIELD: Ah.
COTTER: That's a team that has just fallen completely apart down the stretch the last couple of years. You know, just, their seasons destroyed themselves in December. If they can hang on at the end of this year, I still think they're a pretty good team.
WHITFIELD: All right, football, everybody will be watching this evening. But you know what? Folks wish they had some U.S. Open tennis to be watching. They've had a rainout three days in a row. Is it going to happen again today?
COTTER: Oh, it has been...
WHITFIELD: I mean are we going to be able to finish this by Sunday?
COTTER: It has been a disaster for the folks at the U.S. Open. Not only having to do it without the Williams sisters, which really hurts television numbers, as well, but with all the rain that they've having, people can't figure out the television schedule. When is Andre Agassi going to be on? When is Andy Roddick going to be on? That's really hurting them.
If they get to Monday and Tuesday for the finals, I mean people will be there in mass at Flushing Meadows, but no one's going to be watching it on TV. It's going to be a disaster.
WHITFIELD: Oh, my goodness. All right, I can hear the registers, kaching, kaching. All right, thanks a lot.
COTTER: Keep your fingers crossed for good weather.
WHITFIELD: They lost a lot of money, maybe.
All right, Chris, good to see you.
COTTER: Good seeing you.
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 4, 2003 - 06:51 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Time now for a little NFL pigskin preview.
Chris Cotter of AM 790 "The Zone" is here.
All right, so the big kickoff, the nation's capital, big extravaganza, the Jets, the Redskins. But you know what? I have a feeling that a lot of lessons were learned in those exhibition games. You got Mike Vic out.
CHRIS COTTER, AM 790 "THE ZONE": Yes.
WHITFIELD: Testaverdi in, different teams, of course. But you know what I mean.
COTTER: Well, here's, tonight with the Jets and the Redskins, you have Vinny Testaverdi, a 17 year veteran, taking over for Chad Pennington. Again, I mean Testaverdi was the guy in New York for a while then Pennington took over. Now they're going back to Testaverdi.
The difference between New York and Atlanta is you have Vinny there to back up Chad Pennington, who was hurt in the pre-season. Vinny is one of the most accurate passers in the league, so much experience. The Jets should be fine tonight against Washington. And Steve Spurrier, of course, the head coach of Washington, always makes for a story. So it's a good opening night.
Mike Vic and the Falcons playing against Dallas on Sunday is a little bit of a different story, because Doug Johnson comes in to take Mike Vic's place and he has very limited experience at the NFL level. So that's going to be a little bit of a different story. People in Atlanta are getting a little bit nervous about the beginning of the season without Mike Vic.
WHITFIELD: Yes, and speaking of Dallas, then, let's talk about, you know, the big tuna, Bill Parcells. How welcome is he? I mean he's a legendary coach.
COTTER: Yes.
WHITFIELD: But, you know, big D is a tough town.
COTTER: Oh, it is a tough town and it's all about football in Dallas. You know, the Rangers, the Mavericks, this and that. Forget about it. It's all about the Cowboys 365. And you have Bill Parcells there. Tough to play the Cowboys in the first game, because he's been working this team. There you see him in, during the training camp. He's been working them hard. And you know they're chomping at the bit to get out there and really go after somebody and they're going to have a chance at home against Atlanta on Sunday. It's going to be a tough game for the Falcons.
WHITFIELD: Yes. Hard to start a regular season without reflecting on the previous season's champs.
COTTER: Yes.
WHITFIELD: Tampa Buccaneers. How are they looking?
COTTER: They're just as good as they were last year. I mean the defense is dominating there in Tampa Bay, and that's going to carry them, as well. The offense does just enough for them to be able to win and the way I look at the NFC, which is the Conference that they play in, there really aren't that many teams that improved themselves that much more over last year. So I still think Tampa Bay is the favorite in the NFC.
Philadelphia is still there. Even though they lost some players from last year's team, with Donovan McNabb, you can't count them out, so they're there.
Watch out for New Orleans, as well.
WHITFIELD: Ah.
COTTER: That's a team that has just fallen completely apart down the stretch the last couple of years. You know, just, their seasons destroyed themselves in December. If they can hang on at the end of this year, I still think they're a pretty good team.
WHITFIELD: All right, football, everybody will be watching this evening. But you know what? Folks wish they had some U.S. Open tennis to be watching. They've had a rainout three days in a row. Is it going to happen again today?
COTTER: Oh, it has been...
WHITFIELD: I mean are we going to be able to finish this by Sunday?
COTTER: It has been a disaster for the folks at the U.S. Open. Not only having to do it without the Williams sisters, which really hurts television numbers, as well, but with all the rain that they've having, people can't figure out the television schedule. When is Andre Agassi going to be on? When is Andy Roddick going to be on? That's really hurting them.
If they get to Monday and Tuesday for the finals, I mean people will be there in mass at Flushing Meadows, but no one's going to be watching it on TV. It's going to be a disaster.
WHITFIELD: Oh, my goodness. All right, I can hear the registers, kaching, kaching. All right, thanks a lot.
COTTER: Keep your fingers crossed for good weather.
WHITFIELD: They lost a lot of money, maybe.
All right, Chris, good to see you.
COTTER: Good seeing you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
