Notes & Quotes: FOX NFL Studio Analysts
LOS ANGELES – Week 2 of the 27th season of FOX NFL coverage kicked off today with a singleheader slate at 1:00 PM ET, featuring the Falcons at Cowboys, 49ers at Jets, Rams at Eagles, Panthers at Buccaneers, Lions at Packers and Vikings at Colts, and the lone 4:05 PM ET Washington at Arizona game. Today, FOX NFL KICKOFF and FOX NFL SUNDAY analysts and NFL insiders weighed in on the day’s biggest games, moments and storylines.
In addition, below is a transcription of FOX NFL insider Jay Glazer’s interview with Washington Football Team head coach Ron Rivera from FOX NFL SUNDAY:
Glazer:
What a win the other day, but this team in the past – when they got down the way you did in the first half (last week) — this team wouldn’t have come back:
Coach Ron Rivera:
“On the sideline when it was 17-0, I kind of went up and down the sideline and noticed guys weren’t bickering, guys weren’t pointing the finger at anybody. The one thing that I did say was ‘Hey guys, sustain the success. You make a good block, make another good block. Make sure everybody understands, we don’t have a 17-point play. We gotta take it one at a time.’”
Glazer:
Take me inside that halftime locker room, exactly what happened. When you went in there, you got an IV? All the way through.
Rivera:
“Yes, I did. I came in and talked to Malcolm Blacken, our director of player development, and said, ‘I don’t think I’m going to come out of the training room in time to do a halftime speech so make sure we have someone who’s ready to roll. So, all of a sudden, everybody gets up and I hear this high-pitched voice; “Let’s go out and do our thing, let’s go out and hammer away, let’s go out and get it.” I didn’t hear the whole thing, but it was pretty inspirational. So, I come walking out and as I’m walking to the bench, somebody leans over and says, ‘You know that was Dwayne (Haskins) at halftime.’ That was a heck of a speech.”
Glazer:
Did it surprise you that it was [Haskins]?
Rivera:
“A little bit; but it doesn’t surprise me now just because I started thinking of all the things he and I have talked about since January, about him stepping up, him putting himself out there. One of the things I told him was, ‘These guys are going to follow you for who you are, for the position you play. But also make them follow you because of the way you are, because of the things you do and the things you do the right way.’”
Glazer:
It’s amazing — you’re looking at both Arizona and the Washington Football Team and wow, these are 1-0 teams. I know it’s just 1-0, but for fans of both teams, that’s a big deal.
Rivera:
“It is a big deal because you know why — they’re both young football teams, too.”
Glazer:
It hasn’t been a normal year, but your team is watching you fight a different fight right now. You’re going through treatment every day for cancer. For a team a lot of people like to root against in the Washington Football Team, to see how happy everybody was that you won in that first week, that is really a sign of you, of the man who’s leading this team.
Rivera:
“I appreciate it, Jay. There are a lot of people that are working with me to try and create a positive situation here, and that’s what we want to do. We want to build a sustainable winning culture here, and hopefully we can do that.”
Glazer on Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians’ comments on quarterback Tom Brady this week:
“I talked about it this morning with coach (Arians), and he said, ‘Why is this a surprise to anybody? Everybody knows I have no filter, and that includes (Tom) Brady. Tom and I laughed about it. The one thing it actually helped us with is that Tom Brady went up there and game planned with Bruce Arians, with (offensive coordinator) Byron Leftwich this week and allowed him (Brady) to take out things they didn’t like from last week. This was the first time they had live action, but everything with me and Tom is all rosy.’”
Dave Wannstedt on Patriots quarterback Cam Newton’s Week 1 performance:
“I don’t believe they’ll (Patriots) win their division. I do think they’ll make it to the playoffs. Cam ran 15 times last week. You can’t do that every week and win in this league. I believe he’s going to have to throw it, and I don’t believe he has a good enough supporting cast.”
Michael Vick on whether he thinks Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky will start 16 games this season:
“No, I don’t. I do root for Mitchell and I like him, but I do think Nick Foles will show up at some point.”
Tony Gonzalez on whether Ravens QB Lamar Jackson will win MVP honors again this season:
“It’s a tough question. I think he’s got a shot, yes. If there’s a knock on Lamar, it’s they said he couldn’t throw the ball deep and with consistency. Last week against the Browns, he proved he could throw the ball deep. Yes, he’s on his way to another MVP, I would think. There are other guys that will have a claim to that (MVP award), but yes, I like him.”
Peter Schrager on who the most complete team is in the NFC:
“I’m going to go with the Saints as the most complete team in the NFC. I think New Orleans, who absolutely dismantled the Buccaneers last week, is the most complete team, even without wide receiver Michael Thomas this week. The Saints are the best team in the NFC coming off of Week 1.”
Jimmy Johnson on the strengths and weaknesses of the Los Angeles Rams:
“Without question, the strength has to be defensive tackle Aaron Donald. He’s the best defensive player in the entire league. Even when he’s double teamed, he can wreck an offense. On top of that, he opens up opportunities for the other defensive players. As far a weakness, I guess I would say the offensive line because they are inconsistent. I also think the weakness is they don’t have a bell cow on offense, a superstar. (Head coach) Sean McVay makes it work with that offense”.
Howie Long on Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson never winning an NFL MVP award:
“The only thing that’s more egregious than (NBA’s) Lebron (James) only getting 16 votes for the MVP this season is Russell (Wilson) having never ever received a vote for the MVP.”
Terry Bradshaw on the strengths and weaknesses of the Arizona Cardinals:
“This is a football team that, when they drafted Kyler Murray No. 1 pick in the draft from Oklahoma, I thought it was a mistake. (Head coach Kliff) Kingsbury, just an average coach in college, looks like he’s better suited for the NFL than college, and Steve Keim, the general manager, has done a great job. The negative is they (Cardinals) have to have someone else to rush the passer to go along with linebacker Chandler Jones on defense.”
Michael Strahan on the strengths and weaknesses of the San Francisco 49ers:
“Their strengths are up front. Their defensive line with Rookie Defensive Player of the Year, Nick Bosa. You have five first-round picks on that defensive line which is by far the strength of that team. The weakness would be the wide receiver position. Emmanuel Sanders is now in New Orleans playing for the Saints, Deebo Samuel is out with a foot injury and they (Cardinals) just lost George Kittle, at least for this week with a knee injury. They bring in Mohamed Sanu, and Brandon Aiyuk, the first-round pick (25th) overall for the 49ers, is going to play his first game today. In Sanu, you worry about the chemistry he’s going to have with quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo because they don’t have a lot of experience playing together.”
