Nobody at NBC needs to remind Rodney Harrison and Tony Dungy to say exactly what they think. Both rookie commentators are displaying the type of blunt candor NBC executives hoped for.

Harrison already has provided a handful of memorable remarks:

— On Terrell Owens: "He's just a clown. More concerned about individual stats than team success."

— On Michael Vick: "The Wildcat is a joke for Vick. They're not getting anything out of it. He's lost quickness. This is not Vick's game."

— On Jason Campbell: "I don't know what the Redskins see in this guy. He's a backup quarterback elevated to a starter."

Harrison noted that the Titans' defense is playing too conservatively and that the players "are not trusting" new coordinator Chuck Cecil. He surprised viewers by admitting "a couple times, I was afraid to hit Brandon Jacobs."

Always a gentleman, Dungy has been more opinionated and assertive than some may have expected. He called for Titans coach Jeff Fisher to play Vince Young (after the team started 0-4) and took the Browns' Eric Mangini to task, asserting: "How can you say you're not changing anything and you're a new coach?" And Dungy breaks down replays as succinctly as any studio analyst we've seen.

NBC is making better use of Bob Costas this season by having him anchor "Football Night in America" from the game site. But despite preseason promises to the contrary, NBC isn't showing enough highlights. For some games, NBC shows only three-or-so plays and doesn't display a full panel with statistics and the teams' records. A recent show featured 13 minutes, 45 seconds of highlights — not enough for a 75-minute studio show.

AROUND THE DIAL

During the Week Four Giants-Chiefs game, viewers saw Eli Manning on the ground in pain, and Fox's Tony Siragusa informed us, "He got hit pretty hard. He really got rolled up." Replays showed Manning wasn't even touched, but Siragusa never corrected himself. (At least Daryl Johnston set the record straight.)

— CBS' usually sharp Rich Gannon suffered brain lock in Week Four when he wondered why the Bengals called timeout before attempting a field goal with seven seconds left in overtime. "You have to kick the ball back to Cleveland with seven seconds left!" Gannon said. Um, no. CBS' Ian Eagle quickly corrected him, noting overtime games end when one team scores. "Donovan McNabb in the booth?" Eagle cracked, referring to McNabb's confusion about overtime last year. We presume Gannon knew the rule but had a momentary lapse.

— Still waiting for Fox's Michael Strahan to say something — anything — this year that most fans don't already know. He lazily explained the Cowboys' problems as needing "to find their rhythm" — offering no further details — and said of the Saints, "Health has been the key. It hasn't been talent." Not even a little bit, Michael? We hear Drew Brees is pretty good.

— Instead of buying into the Mark Sanchez hype — which would be the easy thing to do — CBS' Bill Cowher showed he's doing his homework when he noted (a day before the Week Five Dolphins-Jets Monday-night game) that Sanchez has been an "average quarterback" who ranked 25th in QB rating and had thrown four interceptions and no touchdowns in the fourth quarter of games.

Barry Jackson covers sports media for the Miami Herald. 

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