ESPN NFL Programming Update – Week 12

ESPN’s Monday Night Football:  Philadelphia Eagles Host Cam Newton and the Panthers

The Philadelphia Eagles host Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers on ESPN’s Monday Night Football on Nov. 26 at 8:30 p.m.  In his first MNF appearance, Newton will face an Eagles team that is 14-9 on MNF under head coach Andy Reid.  MNF’s booth team of Mike Tirico (play-by-play) and Jon Gruden (analyst) will call the game from Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia with sideline reporter Lisa Salters, who is a native of nearby King of Prussia, Pa.

MNF will be televised on ESPN and ESPN Deportes. The game is also available on computers at WatchESPN.com and on tablets via the WatchESPN app for those who receive video subscriptions from an affiliated provider.

Chris Berman will host the two-hour pre-game show Monday Night Countdown at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN.  NFL analysts Cris Carter, Mike Ditka, Tom Jackson and Keyshawn Johnson and NFL Insiders Chris Mortensen and Adam Schefter will join Berman in studio, while on-site host Stuart Scott, NFL analysts Trent Dilfer and Steve Young, columnist Rick Reilly and Salters will contribute to the program.  Highlights:

• “Gruden Extra” with Dick Vermeil:  Arguably, no one understands the pressure of coaching in Philadelphia quite like former Eagles head coach Dick Vermeil, who retired as Eagles head coach after seven seasons citing burnout.  Vermeil joins Jon Gruden in the MNF bus to discuss the Eagles and coaching in Philadelphia.
• Rick Reilly Feature – Eagles Long Snapper Magician Jon Dorendos:  Jon Dorenbos turned to magic after enduring a childhood tragedy.  He has continued his love for magic to this day as a professional magician.  Dorenbos’ main job is as Eagles long snapper, but as Rick Reilly reports, magic helped him overcome childhood trauma.
• “Soundtracks” – Cam Newton:  After a record-setting rookie season, Cam Newton’s sophomore campaign hasn’t lived up to expectations he set after a record rookie season.  In Soundtracks, Countdown relives key in-game audio from the quarterback’s first 26 career NFL games.

Sunday NFL Countdown: Adrian Peterson’s Comeback; Tom Coughlin’s Phone Calls; Peyton Manning’s Soundtrack; and More

Chris Berman, Cris Carter, Mike Ditka, Tom Jackson, Keyshawn Johnson, Suzy Kolber, Merril Hoge and Ron Jaworski will preview week 12 on ESPN Sunday NFL Countdown Presented by IBM on November 18 at 10 a.m. NFL Insider Adam Schefter and senior analyst Chris Mortensen will report the day’s news, and comedian Frank Caliendo will contribute his impressions of ESPN and NFL personalities. 

Correspondents Ed Werder (San Francisco at New Orleans), Bob Holtzman (Pittsburgh at Cleveland), Sal Paolantonio (Atlanta at Tampa Bay), Rachel Nichols (Green Bay at New York Giants) and George Smith (Minnesota at Chicago) will report from game sites.  Highlights:

• Adrian Peterson’s Comeback:  After 11 weeks, the NFL’s rushing leader is Vikings running back Adrian Peterson, who is coming off a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) where some questioned whether he had enough recovery time before returning to the field.  Countdown’s Cris Carter, a former Vikings receiver, traveled to Minnesota to get insights on a leading candidate for the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year.
• Coughlin’s Important Phone Calls:  In 1991, Tom Coughlin was the head football coach at Boston College when the team’s safety Jay McGillis was diagnosed with leukemia. He died seven months later.  Twenty years after McGillis’ passing, Tom Coughlin calls Jay’s mother, Pat, each Thanksgiving and Christmas, to tell her how great of a person her son was.  Reporter Rachel Nichols on the story of a long-standing commitment by a two-time Super Bowl-winning head coach.
• When Tight Ends Dunk:  Tight ends Vernon Davis (San Francisco) and Jimmy Graham (New Orleans) celebrate touchdown catches by dunking the ball over the crossbar.  Graham is particularly adept at this skill than Vernon Davis.  NBA Countdown’s Jalen Rose, a former NBA star, explores the mysteries behind dunking the ball in the NFL.
• “Soundtracks” – Peyton Manning:  Fans will hear the on-field sounds as the Denver Broncos quarterback, was wired for in-game audio during his team’s week 10 victory at the Panthers.
• Eric Mangini’s Film Room – Packers at Giants:  Former head coach of the New York Jets and Cleveland Browns Eric Mangini digs deep into game films to uncover keys for thes NFC playoff-bound teams.

The program will include live look-ins at quarterbacks Jay Cutler, Matt Ryan, Brandon Weeden, and running back Doug Martin and defensive end James Harrison during their pre-game routines leading into the 1 p.m. games.  Additional segments include the “Mayne Event” as Kenny Mayne examines the Packers recent success with television commercials, Cris Carter’s “Where You At?, and Jaworski and Hoge’s Xs and Os “Eye in the Sky.”

Snickers NFL Matchup – Vincent Jackson in the Slot; Giants 3^rd Down Issues; Seattle’s Offense; and More

NFL Matchup host Sal Paolantonio and analysts Ron Jaworski and Merril Hoge will preview the weekend’s key matchups by taking viewers inside the film room with X’s and O’s analysis Sunday, Nov. 25, on ESPN at 6:30 a.m. (ESPN2 at 8:30 a.m.).  Highlights:

• Hoge Breakdown – Seattle’s Offense: Hoge explains a sequence of plays which exemplify how the Seahawks offense is predicated on a sustained rushing attack and a successful passing game off of run-action plays.
• “Between the Lines” – Jimmy Graham vs. Patrick Willis:  Jaworski uses the telestrator to explain a key matchup for Sunday’s San Francisco at New Orleans game by revisiting last year’s NFC Divisional Playoff contest.  He shows how 49ers linebacker Patrick Willis was matched up one-on-one with Saints tight end Jimmy Graham, a matchup both teams want.
• The Money Down – The Giants 3^rd Down Offense: While the Giants sit atop the NFC East, they have lost two games in a row. Jaworski shows why Eli Manning has converted only 21 percent of their third-down plays in the last three games..
• “Jaws Playbook” – Andrew Luck: After setting the rookie record for most 300 passing-yard games, Colts Andrew Luck has shown his ability to make difficult intermediate to deep level throws, Jaworski explains.
• “Coaches Clicker” – Adrian Peterson’s Run:  Hoge uses the clicker to show how Adrian Peterson broke free on a 61-yard touchdown run against the Detroit Lions – an indication of what Hoge argues will be a big game vs. the Bears.
• “Let’s See it Hoge” – Vincent Jackson in the Slot:  After a dramatic overtime win in Carolina that included  a touchdown catch by wide receiver Vincent Jackson at the end of regulation, Hoge shows how the Buccaneers line Jackson up in the slot to create mismatches.
• Tell Me Something I Don’t Know – Joe Flacco’s 20+-yard Attempts:  Jaworski shows why Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco is one of the best arms in the league with a passer rating of 126.6 on pass attempts thrown 20 yards.
• Tell Me Something I Don’t Know – Chris Johnson & the “Bone” Formation: In the last three games, 37 percent of Tennessee Titan Chris Johnson’s rushes have come out of the “Full House Bone” formation.  Hoge shows the blocking schemes that helped Johnson rush for over 100 yards in his last two games.

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