ESPN NFL Programming Update – Week 5

Sunday NFL Countdown: Former New Orleans Saint Steve Gleason and Pearl Jam; Brian Cushing Soundtracks; and Richard Sherman’s Trash-Talking

Sunday NFL Countdown will preview the NFL games Sunday, Oct. 6, beginning at 10 a.m. ET on ESPN. Chris Berman will host, joined by NFL analysts Cris Carter, Mike Ditka, Tom Jackson, Keyshawn Johnson and Ray Lewis on the three-hour pregame program. Senior fantasy sports analyst Matthew Berry will provide fantasy football updates and insight, while NFL insiders Chris Mortensen and Adam Schefter will report the day’s headlines and news across the league.

Sunday NFL Countdown will also feature updates and insight from reporters at the games, including:

• Suzy Kolber and Ron Jaworski (New Orleans Saints at Chicago Bears – Sunday’s marquee 1 p.m. ET game)
• Josina Anderson (Seattle Seahawks at Indianapolis Colts)
• Sal Paolantonio (Philadelphia Eagles at New York Giants)
• Bob Holtzman (New England Patriots at Cincinnati Bengals)
• Ed Werder (Denver Broncos at Dallas Cowboys)

What to watch for:

• Steve Gleason and Pearl Jam: As Steve Gleason continues his battle with ALS, the former New Orleans Saints safety is offered an opportunity to spend time and interview the band that he says has provided the soundtrack for his life.  In a revealing piece by E:60’s Chris Connelly, Gleason discusses meeting lead singer Eddie Vedder and Pearl Jam, and the personal audio diary he has taped for his son.
• Soundtracks – Brian Cushing, the fiery Houston Texans linebacker, is wired for sound during the team’s disappointing week 4 loss to the Seahawks, will be featured.
• Richard Sherman – The Art of Trash-Talking in the NFL: Seahawks Pro Bowl cornerback Richard Sherman, the most brash player in the NFL today, sits with ESPN’s Darren Woodson, a three-time Super Bowl champion and key member of the brash and successful Dallas Cowboys of the 1990s, to discuss the art of getting in his opponents’ ears in the heat of NFL action.

Monday Night Football: Matt Ryan and the Falcons Host Geno Smith and the Jets

Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons host Geno Smith and the New York Jets on ESPN’s Monday Night Football on October 7 at 8:25 p.m. Play-by-play voice Mike Tirico and analyst Jon Gruden will call the game from the Georgia Dome with sideline reporter Lisa Salters. MNF is televised on ESPN, ESPN’s Spanish-language ESPN Deportes and WatchESPN.

Prior to MNF, ESPN’s two-hour Monday Night Countdown will preview the game at 6:30 p.m. Suzy Kolber, Trent Dilfer, Lewis and Steve Young will be on-site from Atlanta’s Georgia Dome.  Berman, Carter, Ditka, Jackson and Johnson and will be in ESPN’s Bristol, Conn., studio with NFL Insiders Chris Mortensen and Adam Schefter reporting league news and updates. MNF’s Tirico and Gruden will join the show from the MNF booth and sideline reporter Salters will report from the Georgia Dome.

• Gruden’s Extra: Jon Gruden sits down with Falcons’ Tony Gonzalez, who is in the final season of a first ballot Hall of Fame career and still performing as an elite player.
• Geno Smith Conversation: The New York Jets quarterback sits with MNF’s Salters to discuss the competition that made him the Jets starting quarterback and his rookie season.
• Rick Reilly Feature: Jets rookie wide receiver Ryan Spadola was introduced to U.S. presidents by his father, Don, who served in the Secret Service for two decades. Don also introduced Ryan to football and the New York Jets, taking him to his first NFL game. When Spadola was a high school sophomore, his father committed suicide. He never found out why, but his father’s suicide and the love of a bereaved mom and family pushed him to focus more on football. This season, Spadola – an undrafted rookie out of Lehigh – was able to call his mother and let him know he made the New York Jets roster.
• Soundtracks: New York Jets coach Rex Ryan is arguably the most outspoken coach in the NFL. He was wired for sound during the Jets’ week 3 win over conference rival Buffalo.

NFL Matchup – Frank Gore’s “Wham” Runs; Packers “Corner Cat” Zone Exchange; Tom Brady’s Play Action; 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 on Saturday, Oct. 5, at 8:30 p.m. on ESPN2 (re-air on ESPN, Sunday at 6:30 a.m.).  Highlights:

• X and O Files – Tom Brady’s Play Action:  Patriots Tom Brady leads the league with 47 play-action pass attempts. Jaworski shows how the quarterback’s success evolving the team’s young wide receivers is predicated on play action.
• Hoge Breakdown – Packers “Corner Cat” Zone Exchange: Hoge reveals the concepts behind the Packers blitz play where the defense shows a disguise of rushing seven but eventually brings four, including cornerback Davon House and linebacker Clay Matthews.
• Jaws Playbook – Chiefs Zone Exchange: Jaworski goes to the playbook to demonstrate the effectiveness of the Chiefs defense and one of their most successful plays built on the illusion of bringing pressure.
• Coaches Clicker – Frank Gore “Wham” Run: Hoge uses the Clicker to explain two similar plays where 49ers’ Frank Gore runs the ball at the middle of the defense – a “wham” concept which exploits gaps in the defense.
• Between the Lines – Peyton Manning Calls Knowshon Moreno’s Touchdown Run: Jaworski, using the telestrator on a Knowshon Moreno four-yard touchdown run, shows how quarterback Peyton Manning controls a game on the offense by calling favorable plays.
• Let’s See it Hoge – Reggie Bush Touchdown Run vs. Chicago Bears Defense: Reggie Bush’s 37-yard touchdown run last Sunday, contends Hoge, is one example the Bears defense will be susceptible to Darren Sproles and the Saints designed run plays this weekend.
• Game within the Game – Reggie Wayne in the Slot: Jaworski describes Reggie Wayne as the ‘move receiver’ in the Colts offense. In the slot, he often gets clean releases from the line, which allows the Colts wide receiver to get away from man coverage on the outside and avoid ‘bump & run’ defensive techniques.
• Drop in Jaws – Doug Baldwin 3^rd Down Receptions: Doug Baldwin is the top third-down receiver on the Seattle Seahawks with a 20-yard average per reception.  Jaworski focuses on a play where Baldwin uses the “rub” to get open on a wheel route.

Pittsburgh Steelers Safety Ryan Clark Continues Guest Appearances at ESPN on Friday

Pittsburgh Steelers safety Ryan Clark’s two-day ESPN visit continues on Friday, Oct. 4. Clark, who worked a guest analyst stint at ESPN during the offseason and continues to make appearances this season, will join First Take at 10 a.m., SportsCenter at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., and NFL Kickoff at 7 p.m. (Photos.) 

E:60 Profiles Atlanta Falcons Tight End Tony Gonzalez

ESPN’s Award-winning reporter Jeremy Schaap travelled with Atlanta Falcons tight end Tony Gonzalez to San Miguel de Allende in Mexico this summer for an in-depth profile that will air on the E:60 newsmagazine on Tuesday, Oct. 8, at 7 p.m. on ESPN. The 17-year NFL veteran discusses why he returned for one final season, and he shares his lindos suenos (sweet dreams) with Schaap – about winning a Super Bowl championship and how he hopes to reconnect with his Latino roots by learning to speak Spanish. Video preview.

“I had a lot of Latino friends growing up and everybody spoke Spanish,” said Gonzalez, in the E:60 interview. “I always felt kind of embarrassed a little bit – I was like, ‘I can’t even say anything’.”

The E:60 profile airs the night after Gonzalez and the Falcons host the New York Jets on ESPN’s Monday Night Football (Oct. 7; 8:25 p.m.).

ESPN Deportes Radio Acquires NFL Broadcast Rights

This week, ESPN Deportes Radio announced that it has reached a new multiyear agreement for media rights to the 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 National Football League seasons. Under the agreement, the network will have exclusive Spanish-language rights to Monday Night Football, the 2013-2104 NFC Playoffs, Super Bowl XLVIII, 2015 Pro Bowl and the 2014-15 AFC Playoffs. Release.

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