ESPN’s Weekend and Monday NFL Studio Features

Chris Berman’s Exclusive Interview with Tom Brady; Tedy Bruschi and Matt Millen make their

Monday Night Countdown debut in Foxboro; Adam Schefter makes Countdown debut; and more

ESPN’s Sunday NFL Countdown Presented by IBM will preview the first weekend of the 2009 NFL season Sunday at 11 a.m. ET with Chris Berman and analysts Cris Carter, Mike Ditka, Tom Jackson and Keyshawn Johnson.  Making his Countdown debut, ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter joins senior analyst Chris Mortensen to provide the day’s headlines and league news.

The two-hour NFL pre-game show will include reports from Ed Werder covering Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings at Cleveland Browns, Sal Paolantonio at the Philadelphia Eagles – Carolina Panthers game, and Michael Smith in Tampa for the Cowboys – Buccaneers game.  Other highlights:

Chris Berman’s Exclusive Interview With Patriots Quarterback Tom Brady

Coming off a record-setting season in 2007 with 50 touchdown passes, Tom Brady’s 2008 season lasted barely nine minutes due to a season-ending knee injury.  Following knee surgery and year-long rehab, the three-time Super Bowl winning quarterback is back at the helm of the Patriots offense.  Brady sat down with Berman for an exclusive interview, his first one-on-one television interview since his injury, to be featured on Sunday NFL Countdown (11 a.m.), SportsCenter “Sunday Conversation” at 11 p.m., Monday Night Countdown (5 p.m.), and available on ESPN.com. 

Click here to preview.

Favre: Why Come Back?

What motivates Brett Favre to keep coming back?  And why can’t he let go?  Greg Garber turns to Favre’s close friends, such as Michael Jordan, Evander Holyfield, Jerry Rice and Donald Trump, in search of answers.

Coaches Making Their Mark

Ed Werder examines how far new coaches go to put their imprint on their new teams, their motivations and how players react to a “new sheriff in town.”  Click here to preview.

Mayne Event: Philip Rivers’ Job Battle

Despite coming off a Pro Bowl season in which he threw 34 touchdown passes, San Diego’s Philip Rivers is worried about his job security.  Kenny Mayne went to Huntsville, Ala., to meet the 15-year-old quarterback who beat Rivers in a summer skills competition and is now gunning for Chargers’ starting job, in this weeks “Mayne Event.”

EA Sports Virtual Playbook: The “Wedge” Rule Change

In EA Sports Virtual Playbook, returning for the second season, Tom Jackson breaks down the effect the “Wedge” rule change will have in the NFL this season.

Soundtracks – New Coaches

Eleven new head coaches will be patrolling NFL sidelines this season. Soundtracks” will feature the coaches in their first training camp.

Start 'Em or Sit 'Em with Matthew Berry and Merril Hoge

ESPN’s fantasy football guru Matthew Berry and NFL analyst Merril Hoge return to debate which players to start or sit each week in the “Start ‘Em or Sit ‘Em” segment.

Berman, Carter, Ditka, Jackson and Johnson will pick the biggest games of the day and tell fans which players will make the biggest impact in NFL’s Week 1 action.  The list of game picks will be posted on www.espn.com/sundaycountdown after the show.

SPECIAL TWO-HOUR MONDAY NIGHT COUNTDOWN, 5 P.M. ON ESPN

Monday Night Countdown Delivered by UPS will feature a special, two-hour season-opening edition with Berman, Carter, Jackson, Johnson, Mortensen and Schefter in Bristol and Stuart Scott, new Monday Night Countdown analyst Matt Millen, Tedy Bruschi, making his first Countdown appearance after joining ESPN this week, and Trent Dilfer at the MNF game in Foxboro, Mass.  The pre-game show will lead into the kickoff of ESPN’s Monday Night Football doubleheader – Buffalo Bills at New England Patriots (7 p.m.), featuring Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworski and Jon Gruden, and San Diego Chargers at Oakland Raiders (10:15 p.m.) with Mike Greenberg, Mike Golic and Steve Young.

Reporters Suzy Kolber will cover the Bills and Wendi Nix will cover the Patriots.  Michele Tafoya and analyst Marcellus Wiley will be in Oakland covering the Chargers and Raiders.  Other highlights:

ESPN The Magazine's “For Love or the Game:” Sammy Morris

Patriots running back Sammy Morris will featured in the season-opening edition of “For Love or the Game,” a Countdown segment that pairs a player with his significant other and a teammate to find out which of them knows more about the NFL athlete.  Morris’ wife, Leslie, and his teammate Laurence Maroney battle to see who really knows Morris better.

Unmasked: LaDainian Tomlinson

“Unmasked,” the Monday Night Countdown segment that debuted last year, returns with LaDainian Tomlinson, one of NFL’s best running backs over the past decade.  In his own words, Tomlinson discussed what is driving him to return to form in 2009.

Soundtracks: Best of Terrell Owens

Countdown captures the best on-the-field sights and sounds of Terrell Owens, one of the league’s most dynamic wide receivers

EA Sports Virtual Playbook: Brady to Moss

Countdown’s Jackson takes viewers on the field to show how the return of Tom Brady will once again make him and Randy Moss the most feared passing combination in the NFL.

WEEKLY MONDAY NIGHT COUNTDOWN SEGMENTS

TEAMS AT 20 – Every 20 minutes reporters Tafoya, Nix and Kolber will update news from the teams in their preparations for the game, beginning with NFL Live at 1:30 p.m.

FIELD PASS – Countdown offers an all-access look at pre-game preparations as the players get ready for kickoff.  Analysts will also breakdown the important storylines and key players before the game.

C'MON MAN – Countdown personalities share their head-scratching plays from Week 1.

In addition, Monday Night Football's Tirico, Jaworski and Gruden will preview the night’s match-up, with Mortensen and Schefter covering breaking news from around the league, and the Countdown analysts offering their “Lead Pipe Lock” predictions for the game.

NFL MATCHUP, SUNDAY 3 A.M. AND 7:30 A.M. ON ESPN

NFL Matchup, returns with host Sal Paolantonio and analysts Ron Jaworski and Merril Hoge as they preview the 2009 NFL season-opening weekend.  Each NFL Sunday morning (3 a.m. and 7:30 a.m.), the trio will bring viewers inside the film room for the Xs and Os analysis of the matchups.  The 30-minute program – taped each week at NFL Films in Mt. Laurel, New Jersey – highlights team strategy and game planning.  Highlights: 

• Bears @ Packers – Hoge explains how quarterback Aaron Rodgers, one of the sharpest quarterbacks in the preseason, should attack the Bears defense Sunday night.
• Redskins @ Giants –  While the Giants don’t appear to have a wide receiver who can command a defense’s attention, Jaworski shows how quarterback Eli Manning and the Giants offense will run the ball no matter how many defenders the Redskins pack into the box.
• Bills @ Patriots – Jaworski reveals how New England uses formation and alignment to create mismatches in its passing game.
• Jets @ Texans – Though rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez has New Yorkers excited about Jets football, Hoge offers insight into how more disciplined footwork will help Sanchez avoid erratic plays.
• Dolphins @ Falcons – The Falcons’ acquisition of Tony Gonzalez was one the biggest off-season moves.  Hoge shows how Gonzalez’ size and athleticism create mismatches, making the Falcons offense the most versatile in the league.
• Vikings @ Browns – Adrian Peterson and Brett Favre are the premier players on the Vikings offense, but Jaworski explains how the screen game will be an explosive weapon for the Vikings all season.
• Cowboys @ Buccaneers – The Cowboys have had a pass-heavy offense the past few seasons and Hoge uses “the Coaches Clicker” to show how Dallas must use tight end Jason Witten in the running game to succeed.
• Tom Brady’s Knee – Jaworski points out how quarterback Tom Brady, though back after a season-ending injury, has looked a bit uncomfortable and protective of his knee at times this preseason.

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