NFL
Cheat Sheet By George Stahl NEW YORK (AQB)--Getting ready for a long Sunday in front of the television? So are we, and this is all you need. Below you'll find highlights and descriptions of each NFL studio show this weekend, a listing of each game and its announcers, as well as a comment or two from your favorite NFL media personalities. Happy viewing! Sunday, Jan. 23
Today, Vince Cellini and John Giannone report live on the Titans-Jaguars game. Giannone will examine the "Mind Game," asking who has the psychological and emotional edge after the Titans went 2-0 over the Jags this season. Cellini will have a feature on Titans coach Jeff Fisher. Josie Karp and Mark Morgan, meanwhile, report live from St. Louis on the Rams-Bucs game. Peter King also will be in St. Louis.
Sunday's features include:
On today's show, Bradshaw chats with Warren Sapp, the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year, about how he and the NFL's top defense plan to stop the Rams' seemingly unstoppable offense. Also, Pam Oliver interviews Rams head coach Dick Vermeil about turning around the Rams after two consecutive losing seasons under his reign, and his game plan to beat the Bucs and take the Rams to the Super Bowl for the first time since 1979.
Summerall and Madden are calling their 19th straight NFC Championship Game (13 on CBS and six on Fox), more than any other NFL broadcast team. In total, Summerall is calling his 29th NFC Championship Game, also more than any other NFL broadcaster. This year, the duo have broadcast two Buccaneers games and two Rams games. Madden said about the game: "The Bucs can't go into this game with the same philosophy that they used all year because it won't work. Just stopping the Rams on defense and playing ball control offense is not good enough. They are going to have to create turnovers and score on defense and open-up on offense if they have any chance to win this game. "St. Louis' defense is good enough where it can control the Bucs running game, so that means that Shaun King will be forced to win the game and I'm not sure he can do it this time." CNN/SI's Ron Meyer said St. Louis will be tough to beat at home. "The Rams are something special-especially at home. They flat out put on a clinic last weekend. The old adage about defenses winning championships, in this case, will be thrown out. The Rams offense will put up the numbers." Pitts gives Tampa Bay more of a chance. "While most folks feel Tampa has about as much chance of winning the game as the South Park movie does of winning and Oscar, it's not true. "The first thing Tampa has to do is assign a defensive back to shadow Marshall Faulk for the entire game. He's the biggest game-breaker the Rams have. "Even though Warren Sapp may be the only name that people know, he is not the only player the Rams will have to contend with. Brad Culpepper plays exceptionally well lined up next to Sapp, and Steve White and Chidi Ahanotu are two of the most underrated ends in the game. "If Tampa can learn one thing from the Vikings, it's that you have to jam the Rams' receivers at the line of scrimmage." "Another wrinkle the Bucs can try to knock the Rams off their game plan with is to constantly zone blitz. Kurt Warner is not used to seeing too many zone blitzes, so it could confuse him. "The one area that the Rams really will have in their favor is special teams. Whenever Tony Horne or Az-Zahir Hakim gets the ball on a punt or a kickoff, they can break one. The Bucs have to be wary of this, or that may be what burns them in the end."
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Edge
NFL Matchup, 8:30 a.m., ESPN. Suzy Kolber, along with analysts
Merril Hoge and Ron Jaworski, preview the Sunday games.
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