Eagles host Eli Manning and the Giants, Michael Vick’s status for the weekend is currently up in the air. Aaron Rodgers and the Packers travel to Chicago to meet Jay Cutler and the Bears. But the big issue of the day: faking injuries to slow down a drive.
NFC NORTH RIVALS BATTLE IN CHICAGO ON AMERICA’S GAME OF THE WEEK – FOX Sports continues its presentation of the NFL on Sunday, Sept. 25 with doubleheader coverage of six games-each presented in true HD.
While Michael Vick’s status for the weekend is currently up in the air, there is no doubt that the action will be hard-hitting when the Eagles host Eli Manning and the Giants at 1:00 PM ET. Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston and Tony Siragusa call the action from Lincoln Financial Field. Matthew Stafford has remained healthy and leads a high-scoring Lions offense as they travel to Minneapolis to take on Adrian Peterson, Donovan McNabb and the Vikings. In Cincinnati, the Bengals host the 49ers in an inter-conference matchup.
The second half of the NFL on FOX doubleheader kicks-off with America’s Game of the Week, as Aaron Rodgers and the Packers travel to Chicago to meet Jay Cutler and the Bears. Joe Buck, Troy Aikman and Pam Oliver call the action from Soldier Field. A pair of 1-1 NFC South teams meet in Tampa when Josh Freeman and the Bucs welcome Matt Ryan, Michael Turner and the Falcons to Raymond James Stadium. Also, the Cardinals are in Seattle to take on the Seahawks.
Coverage begins at 12:00 PM ET with America’s most-watched Sunday afternoon pregame show, FOX NFL SUNDAY. Terry Bradshaw and Curt Menefee co-host the Emmy Award-winning program and are joined by analysts Howie Long, Michael Strahan and Jimmy Johnson. NFL Insider Jay Glazer presents the latest league news and scoops from the FOX NFL SUNDAY studio while comedic prognosticator Frank Caliendo contributes his weekly “Frank’s Picks” segment. FOX Sports rules analyst Mike Pereira is also on hand to go over any impactful officiating issues. In this week’s show Pam Oliver sits down the Lions’ Matthew Stafford, Calvin Johnson and Kyle Vanden Bosch to discuss Detroit’s good start and how it is changing the mood in the city.
PEREIRA ADDRESSES NFL PLAYERS FAKING INJURIES – Following Monday night’s Rams vs. Giants game where a few Giants were accused of faking injuries to slow down a drive, FOX Sports rules analyst Mike Pereira commented on the subject during an appearance on Fox Sports Radio’s “The Dan Patrick Show” earlier this week. “This happens on all levels,” said Pereira. “The last time the NFL talked about this they put out a strong statement and the only thing that the NFL rule book says is that it deprecates the usage of faking an injury. There is no rule associated with it but it is unethical. One thing they did discuss was, could they take an injured player out for the entire drive. I think they’re going to go back to the drawing board on this.”
JOHNSTON: IF VICK CAN’T GO, EAGLES SHOULD START KAFKA OVER YOUNG – Philadelphia Eagles starting QB Michael Vick continues mandatory testing following a concussion suffered in Sunday night’s loss to the Atlanta Falcons. At this time it is underdetermined whether or not Vick will play Sunday vs. the New York Giants. NFL on FOX analyst Daryl Johnston says to give the ball to backup QB Mike Kafka if Vick can’t go rather than backup QB Vince Young who has had a nagging hamstring injury. “I would stay with Kafka if Vick can’t play,” said Johnston who calls Sunday’s Philly vs. NY telecast on FOX (1:00 PM ET). “Kafka knows the system which gives the Eagles more options allowing them to expand their package a lot more. Plus, Vince Young is still not 100%. If Vince was to take most of the snaps in practice this week and then suddenly re-injures his hamstring on Sunday, then the Eagles would be in bad shape. I think Kafka earned the right to have the start this week if Michael Vick cannot go.”
COWBOYS COACH JASON GARRETT & RAVENS COACH JOHN HARBAUGH JOIN BRIAN BILLICK ON COACH SPEAK – In this week’s Coach Speak, NFL on FOX analyst Brian Billick talks to Dallas Cowboys coach Jason Garrett and Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh. Billick also weighs in on San Francisco 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh’s decision to leave the points on the board and take a 24-14 lead over the Cowboys, rather than taking the penalty and having 1st and 10 inside the 20-yard-line. Many have criticized Jim Harbaugh’s decision this week. “That two score differential was huge. Jim Harbaugh did the right thing. You can’t look back and second guess that during the circumstances. Obviously now that they lost the majority of people are saying no, you should have seen if you could have gotten a touchdown. He made the right decision, even though the outcome wasn’t what he desired.”
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SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 25
GAME PLAY-BY-PLAY/ANALYST/SIDELINE COV. TIME
New York Giants at Philadelphia Eagles Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston 69% 1:00PM
& Tony Siragusa
Lincoln Financial Field – Philadelphia, PA
MARKETS INCLUDE: Albuquerque, Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Birmingham, Boston, Dallas, Denver, Greensboro, Greenville, Hartford, Houston, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Kansas City, Knoxville, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Louisville, Memphis, Miami, New York, Norfolk, Oklahoma City, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Portland, Providence, Raleigh, Richmond, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, Seattle, St. Louis, Washington, West Palm Beach
Detroit Lions at Minnesota Vikings Dick Stockton & John Lynch 16% 1:00PM
Mall of America Field – Minneapolis, MN
MARKETS INCLUDE: Chicago, Dayton, Detroit, Fort Myers, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Tulsa
San Francisco 49ers at Cincinnati Bengals Ron Pitts & Jim Mora 7% 1:00PM
Candlestick Park – San Francisco, CA
MARKETS INCLUDE: Columbus, Sacramento, San Francisco
Green Bay Packers at Chicago Bears Joe Buck, Troy Aikman 81% 4:15PM
& Pam Oliver
Soldier Field – Chicago, IL
MARKETS INCLUDE: Albuquerque, Austin, Baltimore, Birmingham, Boston, Buffalo, Charlotte, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dallas, Dayton, Denver, Detroit, Greensboro, Hartford, Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Knoxville, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Louisville, Memphis, Miami, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Nashville, New York, Norfolk, Oklahoma City, Orlando, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Providence, Raleigh, Richmond, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Diego, Tampa, Tulsa, Washington, West Palm Beach
Atlanta Falcons at Tampa Bay Bucs Thom Brennaman, Brian Billick 9% 4:15PM
& Laura Okmin
Raymond James Stadium – Tampa, FL
MARKETS INCLUDE: Atlanta, Fort Myers, Greenville, Jacksonville, New Orleans
Arizona Cardinals at Seattle Seahawks Chris Myers & Tim Ryan 6% 4:15PM
CenturyLink Field – Seattle, WA
MARKETS INCLUDE: Phoenix, Portland, Seattle
(source; FOX Sports)
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