Hosts excited for NFC Championship rematch

“Football Night in America” hosts Tony Dungy and Rodney Harrison preview tonight’s big game between the defending Super Bowl champions the New Orleans Saints and the Minnesota Vikings.

MATT LAUER, co-host (New Orleans): All right. Thank you very much . You know, not only is tonight the start of the season for the Saints and the Vikings , also the start for " Football Night in America " here on NBC . Tony Dungy and Rodney Harrison are two of the hosts. Guys, good morning. Nice to see you both.

Mr. RODNEY HARRISON: Good morning, good morning.

Mr. TONY DUNGY: Good morning.

LAUER: Thanks for waking up early. This was the championship game in the NFC last year, the Saints and the Vikings , so starting the season, do we have the two best teams in that conference playing tonight?

Mr. DUNGY: Not necessarily. It remains to be seen. Everybody can jump on the Saints ' bandwagon, they've got a great team, but it's tough to repeat.

AL ROKER reporting: In fact, Rodney , you've been in this position where you come back as the Super Bowl defending champs. What's going through the players' heads tonight as they get ready for this game?

Mr. HARRISON: Well, I don't think for the Saints this is a sense of complacency, I think this team is very excited to get back to norm. I've been walking the streets of New Orleans and they're very excited, all the fans. I live in Atlanta but I'm from Chicago and everybody across the country, they're very excited about the Saints and the start of the NFL season.

LAUER: Tony , between now and kickoff, Brett Favre can retire and come back two or three more times probably. How big a story line is he in the NFL this year?

Mr. DUNGY: Brett Favre I think is the key to the Vikings ' season. They did a lot to talk him into coming back. They feel like he's the key to their success. And Minnesota 's one of the favorites, they've got to deal with Green Bay in their division, but Favre has to play well for them to get where they want to be, and that's the Super Bowl .

ROKER: And, Rodney , you've got a lot of, I mean, really premiere matchups coming up...

LAUER: Yeah.

ROKER: ...this season on " Football Night ."

Mr. HARRISON: You do. And I 'm very excited about the Manning matchup. You look at the two brothers, they've both won a Super Bowl , now it's time to see which Manning brother is the best, is it Peyton or is it Eli ?

LAUER: All right, guys. Good luck. New season for you as well. Gets under way tonight, 7:30, with the kickoff special right here on NBC . Tony Dungy , Rodney Harrison , thanks, guys.