New NFL Deal:
ESPN, NFL Reach Eight-Year Extension for Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football, the most successful series in sports media history, will remain on ESPN through the 2021 NFL season under a new eight-year agreement between ESPN and the National Football League, it was announced today by ESPN and ABC Sports President George Bodenheimer and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell during a media conference call (replay; transcript). The broad multiplatform agreement, which begins in 2014, includes eight full seasons of MNF telecasts, expanded NFL studio programming (beginning this week), highlight rights for TV and ESPN.com, the Pro Bowl, the NFL Draft, 3D rights, and enhanced international rights.
NFL Season Predictions:
ESPN Analysts Make Their NFL Picks
In anticipation of the 2011-12 NFL season, ESPN’s analysts predict the winners of the eight NFL divisions, the NFC and AFC Wild Cards, and the teams they believe will represent both conferences in Super Bowl XLVI. Of the 24 analysts surveyed, the defending Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers were a unanimous pick to win the NFC North. Other overwhelming favorites included the San Diego Chargers (AFC West), New England Patriots (AFC East) and New Orleans Saints (NFC South). Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers is the consensus choice to win MVP honors. Six analysts picked New England to host the Lombardi Trophy, while another six picked the Packers to win repeat as champions.
Opening NFL Sunday:
ESPN’s Season-Opening Sunday NFL Countdown – Parcells Returns, New Time at 10 a.m.
ESPN’s Sunday NFL Countdown Presented by IBM will preview the 2011 NFL season’s first weekend beginning Sunday at 10 a.m. ET with Chris Berman and analysts Cris Carter, Mike Ditka, Tom Jackson, Keyshawn Johnson and Bill Parcells. Sunday’s season opening program will mark the return of legendary NFL coach Parcells to Countdown and the debut of the show’s new 10 a.m. start time. ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter will also join senior analyst Chris Mortensen to provide the day’s headlines and league news.
The three-hour program will feature six reporters at key NFL matchups: Bob Holtzman – Indianapolis at Houston; Rachel Nichols – Pittsburg at Baltimore; Josina Anderson will make her Countdown reporting debut from Atlanta at Chicago; Sal Paolantonio – Philadelphia at St. Louis; special 9/11 10th anniversary coverage by Jeremy Schaap and former Jets coach Herm Edwards at the New Meadowlands Stadium for Dallas at New York Jets; and Mark Schwarz covering New York Giants at Washington Redskins. Edwards will reflect on his experience as the Jets head coach during the 9/11 terrorist attack.
Other highlights:
- Tom Coughlin’s Son – A 9/11 Survivor: Reporter Rachel Nichols shares the story of a 9/11 survivor, Tim Coughlin, son of New York Giants head coach Tom Coughlin, who was working as a bond trader on the 60th floor of the South Tower when the planes hit the Twin Towers.
- Steeler-Ravens Rivalry: In 18 games since 2003, the two teams are separated by 7 points – Steelers have scored 333 points, Ravens 326. Familiarity breeds contempt in this rivalry. Greg Garber delves into one of the league’s top rivalries.
- Mayne Event – Lockout: Once negotiations to end the NFL lockout turned intense, Kenny Mayne disengaged from reporting on the process. In the season-opening “Mayne Event,” the off-beat Mayne’s NFL lockout reports take him to places far removed from the negotiations – England, Ireland, Brazil and South Africa.
- Sounds of the Off-season: DJ Steve Porter returns with a unique spin on the sound-bites from the lockout, free agency, the 2011 Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, and more.
Note: Senior coordinating producer Seth Markman, who oversees all ESPN NFL studio shows, breaks down the lineup of new and expanded NFL programs on ESPNFrontRow .com
NFL Matchup – Falcons Matt Ryan, Steelers Lawrence Timmons and Rob Ryan’s Blitz-Happy Defense
NFL Matchup with host Sal Paolantonio and analysts Jaworski and Merril Hoge will preview the 2011 NFL season-opening weekend. Each NFL Sunday morning (ESPN: 3 a.m. and 7:30; ESPN2: 8:30 a.m.), the trio will bring viewers inside the film room for the Xs and Os analysis of the matchups. Highlights:
- Jaws’ Playbook – Matt Ryan’s Pre-Snap: As a seasoned quarterback, Atlanta Falcon Matt Ryan has developed the knowledge and confidence to control the pace of a game from the line of scrimmage. Jaworski shows how Ryan uses a dummy cadence to expose the intention of a defensive unit.
- Patriots Bunch vs. Dolphins Defense: Jaworski explains how the Patriots repeatedly use the bunch concept to unravel the man-coverage by the Dolphins defense.
- Game Changer – Lawrence Timmons Sack vs. the Ravens: Hoge illustrates how the Steelers designed and called blitz for Timmons that successfully led to a sack of the Ravens quarterback, a tell-tale indicator that the linebacker is a superstar in the making.
- Rob Ryan Blitz vs. the Jets: Hoge explains how past tendencies and habits of a coach are used to game-plan, showing how defensive coordinator Rob Ryan’s past blitz calls at Cleveland against the Jets will be repeated when the Cowboys play the Jets.
Monday Night Football Season-Opening Doubleheader:
MNF Doubleheader – Patriots at Dolphins and Raiders at Broncos
Monday Night Football, one of the most successful series on television, will kick off its 42nd season with a doubleheader on Monday, September 12 – New England Patriots at Miami Dolphins (7 p.m. ET) and Oakland Raiders at Denver Broncos (10:15 p.m. / 8:15 p.m. MT) – on ESPN. The first game will feature wide receiver Brandon Marshall and the Dolphins hosting divisional foe Tom Brady and the defending AFC East champion Patriots. The second game pits longtime AFC West rivals, the Denver Broncos hosting the Oakland Raiders for an NFL-record 16th time on Monday Night Football.
Play-by-play commentator Mike Tirico and analysts Jon Gruden and Ron Jaworski, returning for their third season together, will call the Patriots-Dolphins game. Brad Nessler and NFL studio analyst Trent Dilfer will call the Oakland Raiders at Denver Broncos matchup. ESPN Deportes, ESPN’s 24-hour Spanish-language domestic sports network, will offer a Spanish-language production of both MNF games. MNF “game around the game” content will be available throughout the day across ESPN’s multimedia platforms featuring reporters Wendi Nix (Miami) and Ed Werder (Denver).
Special Two-Hour Monday Night Countdown at 5 p.m. Precedes MNF Doubleheader
Leading into the season-opening MNF doubleheader, a special two-hour Monday Night Countdown Served by Applebee’s will feature Berman, Carter, Jackson, Johnson, Mortensen, Parcells and Schefter in Bristol and Stuart Scott, Tedy Bruschi and Steve Young at the Sun Life Stadium in Miami. The pre-game show will lead into the kickoff New England Patriots at Miami Dolphins (7 p.m.) and Oakland Raiders at Denver Broncos (10:15 p.m.).
ESPN’s Special Program Lineup for Monday, Sept. 12:
| Time (ET) | Show |
| 2 p.m. | NFL Primetime |
| 3 p.m. | NFL Live |
| 4 p.m. | Around the Horn |
| 4:30 p.m. | Pardon the Interruption |
| 5 p.m. | Monday Night Countdown |
| 7 p.m. | Monday Night Football – Patriots vs. Dolphins |
| 10:15 p.m. | Monday Night Football – Oakland vs. Denver |
| 1:30 a.m. | SportsCenter |
| 3 a.m. | NFL Primetime (updated) |
More NFL Programming:
Hey Rookie, Welcome to the NFL Part 1 and NFL’s Greatest Games: 2003 NFC Divisional Playoffs Green Bay at Philadelphia to Premiere on ESPN2
Following the first weekend of NFL regular-season, ESPN2 will televise two NFL Films programs on Tuesday, Sept. 13:
- Hey Rookie, Welcome to the NFL Part 1 at 8 p.m.
Starting with the 2011 NFL Draft, watch as players strive to transition from the college game to the pros. This 60-minute show features Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton (TCU), Bills defensive lineman Marcell Dareus (Alabama), Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson (LSU), running back Ryan Williams (Virginia Tech), Jets defensive lineman Muhammad Wilkerson (Temple) and Giants cornerback Prince Amukamara (Nebraska). - NFL’s Greatest Games: 2003 NFC Divisional Playoffs Green Bay at Philadelphia at 9 p.m.
Player interviews and play-by-play footage highlight the last one-minute-and-sixteen-seconds of regulation and the Eagles’ incredible drive that sent the game into overtime.
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