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ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- **On Thursday afternoon, the Super Bowl XLVIII on FOX broadcast team of play-by-play announcer Joe Buck and game analyst Troy Aikman discussed the game on a conference call with members of the national media. It will mark the fourth time in the broadcasting careers of both men that Buck and Aikman will call a Super Bowl. Here are some of the highlights.
Joe Buck
On whether he views the Super Bowl, as a play-by-play broadcaster, as just another game
"I think the trap is doing just that – and not doing the game that you've done all year long, or really your entire career. I've been doing football with FOX since 1994 and I think I've put as much into every game, since the start of the 1994 season as the play-by-play guy, as I will for this game. I think that is the only way to treat this, to treat this job, not just the game. If you start changing things, you start winding your way toward trouble. I think now, this being the fourth one, I think I've gone from, 'Oh, my God, I'm doing the Super Bowl,' to let's just have fun and do our typical game."
"We're not doing the game that has been written about already, we're doing one that nobody knows what to expect. So I think the less you burden yourself with all those expectations, worry of doom, messing up and not being prepared, I think the better off you are. That is really my main focus – is to streamline what I need to know and get rid of what I don't."
Troy Aikman
On quarterback Peyton Manning
"I couldn't be more impressed with what Peyton's been able to do. Two years ago, no one was real sure whether or not he would even be able to play again – and then when it looked like he was going to play, how effective would he be? Joe and I called a preseason there in Denver before he had ever played a regular season game for them and he showed signs of lacking some arm strength. He was having some issues with the nerves at that time, his grip and the ball wasn't coming out with as much velocity as we had seen prior to the neck injuries. So, what he's done the last two years is amazing – and as a former player, and knowing how demanding that position is, especially as you get into your mid-30's and him being 37 – and here he has had arguably the best season of not only his career, but maybe ever at the position. It's pretty impressive and I don't really know what more to add to what everyone else has already said."
On Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson
"He is a pretty gifted athlete, but he's even more impressive as a guy. I think he's perfect for what (Seahawks Head Coach) Pete Carroll is doing there in Seattle and I expect him to come out and play well. I expect both of these quaterbacks to because we certainly know Peyton is accustomed to being on that stage, and although this is new to Russell, for the reasons that I said, I think he'll handle it just fine."
On the Broncos offense
"I think the first thing, before you get to all the other stuff, is that (Manning has) had protection. I'm just now digging through some of the film, today as a matter of fact, just about through the San Diego game and I saw him get hit once. So far, no one has gotten close to him. He hasn't been sacked once in the postseason. He was the least sacked quarterback in football during the regular season and so I think that's where it has to start."
On Manning's play this season
"He's had to make some adjustments because he doesn't have the arm strength that he had prior to the injuries – and I think he would be the first to tell you that. But he's able to make it up because he has great anticipation, he recognizes what defenses are trying to do against him and he's got players that can get open and catch the football. It's a great combination and you combine those things with the offense now in the league – the philosophies as far as the spread sets and attacking the defenses and getting off as many snap as you can. It's been a lot of fun to watch."
On the Seahawks defense
"This is the best secondary (Manning) is going to face. I know that. These guys are really good and they aren't going to try to fool him. When teams come in and play Peyton, they constantly talk about, 'Well we're not going to fool him, but we have to try to disguise because if he knows what we're doing, that's going to be to his advantage.' Well, Seattle lines up in what they're doing virtually every snap. They just say, 'Hey, we have good players and we're good enough to hold up and they have.' They are the best pass defense in football. So that's the matchup that everybody is going to be talking about – Peyton Manning vs. the Legion of Boom. I'm excited to see it."
On running back Knowshon Moreno
"He has come back this year and he's had himself an outstanding season. Over 1,000 yards rushing, and the same can be true for the job that Montee Ball has done. I just think the combination that they have there at tailback is overlooked because of what they're able to do in the passing game, and of course with Peyton Manning. Knowshon Moreno has been enjoyable to watch. We had him twice this year, the most times that Denver was on Fox we were there to call those games, and I enjoyed watching him play. I'm a fan of his."
On Seahawks Head Coach Pete Carroll
"I think when you watch Pete, and I've said it many times, first of all, the team is going to take on the personality of their head coach. That is certainly the case in Seattle, I think that was the case at USC, that he's a pretty fiery, energetic, enthusiastic guy. He's pretty demanding, as well – I think that gets lost in the style and demeanor that we see of him on the sideline. But his teams play like that. His teams are very tough. His USC were tough and physical. And yet they tend to play loose and nobody was having more fun than they were. Nobody looks like they're having more fun at the stadium than Pete Carroll is. And that has continued there in Seattle."
On potentially cold weather
"I just hope that, from our perspective of calling the game – and I guess regarding the participants – that the weather doesn't affect game strategy as the game unfolds."
