Eagles, Redskins Round Out NFL’s Week 7 Schedule Live Monday Night

Courtesy: ESPN

The Eagles and Redskins close out week 7 in the NFL live Monday night on ESPN.

The NFC East divisional foes will play live on ESPN’s Monday Night Football in the final game of the week in what will be a crucial game for both teams.  The Eagles (5 – 1) currently sit atop the NFC East and the NFC standings while the Redskins (3 – 2) sit second in the division. Washington is also in a close battle for sixth place in the conference alongside Seattle, New Orleans and Atlanta.

All four teams play this week, meaning each game is pivotal for each team as the season nears its halfway point.  The host Eagles are undefeated at home so far this season going 2 – 0 so far at home, while the Redskins are winless on the road at 0 – 1 on that record.  Considering each team’s overall records, Monday’s matchup will be pivotal for each organization for a number of reasons.

Coverage of Monday’s game starts at 6 p.m. with Monday Night Countdown, hosted by Suzy Kolber.  Kolber will be joined, as she is each week, by ESPN NFL analysts Matt Hasselbeck, Randy Moss, Charles Woodson and Steve Young.  ESPN NFL Insiders Chris Mortensen Louis Riddick and Adam Schefter will also be on hand along with ESPN senior fantasy sports analyst Matthew Berry and the Monday Night Football broadcast crew of Sean McDonough, Jon Gruden and Lisa Salters.

McDonough and Gruden will have the call for Monday’s game beginning at 8:15 p.m. live from Lincoln Financial Field.  Salters will be on the sidelines with all of the latest in-game news and interviews.

More information on Monday’s Week 7 finale is available online along with all of the latest NFL headlines at:

 

 

 

Website: http://www.espn.com/nfl

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/NFLonESPN

Twitter: http://twitter.comESPNNFL

 

 

 

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Carolina, Washington Close NFL’s Week 15 Schedule Live On ESPN

Courtesy: ESPN

Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers go under the lights live Monday night on ESPN when they take on the Washington Redskins on Monday Night Football.

Last season’s runners-up in the Super Bowl, the Panthers have struggled to repeat last season’s success this season. Carolina sits last in the NFC South at 5 – 8 so far on the season. The “Cardiac Cats” are 4 – 5 in their conference, 1 – 3 in non-conference play, and 2 – 3 in their last five games.  Their last win came last week as they defeated the San Diego Chargers 28 – 16.

A win by the Panthers Monday night coupled with a loss by the New Orleans Saints on Sunday would potentially pull the Panthers out of the NFC South basement.  That’s because both teams sit at 5 – 8 on the season.

The Panthers’ playoff hopes are slim to nil win or lose Monday night.  On the other hand, Monday night’s game has even more importance for Washington, which sits 3^rd in the NFC East at 7 – 5 – 1 so far on the season with its only tie coming earlier in the season against Cincinnati.

Washington’s NFC East opponents, the Dallas Cowboys, have already punched their ticket to the postseason.  Washington comes into Monday night’s game on the heels of a 27 – 22 win over Philadelphia in Week 14.  Washington has also proven better at home on the road this season than on the road, going 4 – 2 at home and 3 – 3 – 1 on the road.

Monday’s NFC Inter-Divisional matchup can go either way.  The Panthers have nothing to lose while Washington has much more to lose.  So each team will be giving its all once the lights go on and the cameras go live.

Sean McDonough will have the call for Monday’s matchup beginning at 8:15 p.m.  He will be joined in the booth by Jon Gruden for additional commentary.  Reporter Lisa Salters will be on the sidelines for all of the latest in-game news and interviews.

Monday Night Countdown will precede Monday Night Football beginning at 6 p.m. EST.  Suzy Kolber will anchor the broadcast live.  She will be joined at the desk by analysts Trent Dilfer, Matt Hasselbeck, Randy Moss, Charles Woodson and Steve Young.

NFL features reporter Michelle Beisner-Buck, ESPN Insider Adam Schefter and the MNF broadcast team will also join the broadcast for additional commentary.  Chris Berman and special guest (and with former ESPN NFL analyst) Tom Jackson will offer additional insight and commentary during the broadcast, too.  Jackson’s appearance is part of Berman’s NFL Legends initiative.

Monday’s game will be simulcast in Spanish on ESPN Deportes for the network’s Spanish-speaking audiences.  It will also stream live online on WatchESPN and the ESPN app.

More information on ESPN’s upcoming MNF broadcast is available online now along with all of the latest NFL headlines at:

 

 

 

Website: http://espn.go.com/nfl

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/NFLonESPN

Twitter: http://twitter.com/ESPNNFL

 

 

 

To keep up with the latest sports and entertainment news and reviews, go online to http://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it.  Fans can always keep up with the latest sports and entertainment news and reviews in the Phil’s Picks blog at https://philspicks.wordpress.com.

Bengals, Giants Wrap Week 10 In The NFL Monday Night On ESPN

Courtesy: ESPN

ESPN will feature a cross-conference matchup Monday night when the Bengals and Giants go under the lights live on Monday Night Football.

Monday’s matchup between Cincinnati and New York will be equally important for both teams.  The Giants (5 – 3 – 0) currently sit second in the NFC East, second only to Dallas.  The team is riding the success of a 3-game win streak coming into Monday night.

Meanwhile, Cincinnati (3 – 4 – 1) has struggled this season in the AFC North.  The team current sits third in the division behind Baltimore and Pittsburgh, who both sit at 4 – 4 on the season so far.

Two weeks ago, Cincinnati’s game against the Washington Redskins in London ended in a 27 all tie after kicker Mike Nugent missed a kick that could have given the Bengals the win.  Nugent since took full responsibility for the missed kick.

Cincinnati had a bye week last week, so it has had time to lick its wounds and figure out how to rebound from that disappointing finish.

Kickoff for Monday’s broadcast, live from New York, is scheduled for 8:15 pm EST.  Sean McDonough will have the call for Monday’s broadcast.  He will be joined in the booth by his broadcast partner Jon Gruden for additional commentary.  Reporter Lisa Salters will be on the sidelines for all of the game’s latest news and interviews.

Monday Night Countdown will precede Monday’s live broadcast between the Bengals and Giants beginning at 6 p.m. EST.  Suzy Kolber will anchor the broadcast.  She will be joined live at the desk by analysts Trent Dilfer, Matt Hasselbeck, Randy Moss, Charles Woodson and Steve Young for additional commentary.

Chris Berman will join the broadcast live from ESPN’s studios in Bristol, CT along with NFL features reporter Michelle Beisner-Buck, ESPN Insider Adam Schefter and guest analyst (and Pro Football Hall of Famer) Warren Moon for the broadcast, too.

More information on ESPN’s NFL coverage is available online now along with all of the latest NFL headlines at:

 

 

 

Website: http://espn.go.com/nfl

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/NFLonESPN

Twitter: http://twitter.com/ESPNNFL

 

 

 

To keep up with the latest sports and entertainment news and reviews, go online to http://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it.  Fans can always keep up with the latest sports and entertainment news and reviews in the Phil’s Picks blog at https://philspicks.wordpress.com.

ESPN’s MNF Wins Monday’s Ratings Race

Courtesy: ESPN

Monday Night Football brought in some big numbers for ESPN Monday night. The matchup of the Steelers and Texans helped the worldwide leader in sports essentially run the table. The network won the night among all networks in viewers, households, and all key male and adult demographics. It came in as the top broadcast of the night across cable and broadcast among those key male demos, as well as adults 18 – 34 and 18 – 49.

Monday night’s matchup between the Steelers and Texans averaged an 8.1 household U.S. rating. That equals to 9,483,000 households and 13,275,000 viewers (P2+) according to Nielsen. The broadcast peaked from 9:45 – 10pm ET with a 9.1 rating and 15,124,000 viewers.

The battle between the AFC foes pulled in a 14.3 rating on ESPN and a 13.0 on KIAH-CW for a combined 27.3 rating for that market. Pittsburgh viewers pushed the game to a 10.8 rating on ESPN and a 27.8 on WTAE-ABC for a combined 3805 rating in the Pitttsburgh market. In Baltimore, home of the Steelers’ AFC North divisional foes the Ravens, Monday night’s broadcast pulled in a 12.1. Fellow AFC markets Indianapolis and Jacksonville brought in a 10.6 and 10.5 respectively. In the bigger picture of the nation’s top ten metered markets, Las Vegas brought in the highest ratings with a 15.1. It was followed by Sacramento and San Diego. Both pulled in a 12.2 rating. It brought in an 11.0 with San Antonio and Richmond bringing in a 10.8 and 10.7 respectively.

Monday Night Football is averaging an 8.3 household U.S. rating through the first seven weeks of the season for ESPN. That is the equivalent of 9,618,000 households and 13,355,000 viewers.

The numbers or ESPN’s digital broadcast of Monday night’s matchup between the Steelers and Texans was impressive in its own right. Monday’s game reached 313,000 unique visitors on WatchESPN. That is an increase of 87 percent compared to week 7 from last season. It logged 21.5 million minutes viewed. That is an increase of 76 percent from the same time last year. It had an average minute audience of 106,000. That, too is an increase of 76 percent. These combined numbers drove ESPN as the most social network for the seventh straight Monday. Additionally they pushed Monday Night Football to the position of the most social program for the day.

Spanish-speaking audiences helped push Monday night’s game to the top, too. Monday night’s game between the Steelers and Texans averaged a 0.4 average Hispanic household U.S. rating. That is the equivalent of 66,000 Hispanic Household impressions. This is an increase of fourteen percent over the same time last year. It brought in 86,000 Hispanic P2+ impressions. So far this season, ESPN Deportes is averaging a 0.4 Hispanic Household rating. That is a one hundred percent gain, with 59,000 Hispanic Household Impressions and 87,000 Hispanic P2+ impressions. That are increases of 73 percent and 85 percent respectively.

Next week on ESPN’s Monday Night Football, Tony Romo and the Dallas Cowboys host the Washington Redskins. Kickoff for that game is scheduled for 8:30 pm ET. It will mark the sixteenth time that the NFC East rivals will face off on Monday night. That is second only to the Raiders and Broncos, who have faced one another seventeen times in the forty-five year history of ESPN’s Monday Night Football.

More information on ESPN’s Monday Night Football, its 2014 broadcast schedule and more is available online at:

Website: http://espn.go.com/nfl/mnf

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MNF

To keep up with the latest sports and entertainment news and reviews, go online to http://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it. Fans can always keep up with the latest sports and entertainment news and reviews in the Phil’s Picks blog at https://philspicks.wordpress.com.

Jon Gruden’s Quarterback Camp Returns This Spring

Courtesy: ESPN

Jon Gruden’s “Quarterback Camp” will return this Spring.

Gruden’s series of SportsCenter specials will return this spring for its fifth season.  Gruden mentors a handful of college football’s top quarterbacks in the series, as they prepare to take the next step in their careers.  This year’s installment of Gruden’s “Quarterback Camp” will see nine of college football’s top quarterback prospects.  Those names include the likes of 2012 Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel of Texas A&M, two-time BCS National Champion A.J. McCarron of Alabama, and Teddy Bridgewater of Louisville.  The complete list of this year’s “QB Camp” participants is noted below.

2014 Gruden’s QB Camp participants:

Quarterback	School
Blake Bortles	Central Florida
Tajh Boyd	Clemson
Teddy Bridgewater	Louisville
Derek Carr	Fresno
Jimmy Garoppolo	Eastern Illinois
Jordan Lynch	Northern Illinois
A.J. McCarron	Alabama
Johnny Manziel	Texas A&M
Aaron Murray	Georgia

 

Gruden prepares a specialized lesson plan of sorts for each of the participants in his “QB Camp.”  Through his specialized plan, he points out to each prospect, a balanced look at both their strengths and weaknesses, allowing them to see where they need to improve in order to be successful NFL talent.  Over the past four seasons of his “QB Camp” Gruden has mentored no fewer than twenty-nine quarterbacks from twenty-seven schools.  Fourteen of those QBs went on to be NFL regular season starters.  Among the names that Gruden has mentored through his series are: Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III, Cam Newton and current NFL Super Bowl champion Russell Wilson, of the Seattle Seahawks.

Gruden’s “QB Camp” moves this year to the ESPN Wide World of Sports Arena at Walt Disney World Resort outside Orlando.  It replaces Gruden’s Tampa office, where the “QB Camp” was previously held.  The new set will replicate his Tampa office, playfully dubbed the “Fired Football Coaches Association.”  The 220-acre facility also includes athletic fields, which will be used for quarterback workouts.

More information on Jon Gruden’s “Quarterback Camp” and all things NFL is available online now at http://espn.go.com/nfl and http://www.facebook.com/NFLonESPN.  To keep up with the latest sports and entertainment news and reviews, go online to http://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it.  Fans can always keep up with the latest sports and entertainment news and reviews in the Phil’s Picks blog at https://philspicks.wordpress.com.