Legendary broadcaster Cris Collinsworth on Peacock's first NFL game, football analytics and more

THE GAME, HALL OF FAME SPORTS BROADCASTER AND GAME ANALYST FOR NBC'S SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL, CRIS COHEN'S WORTH. HE'S ALSO THE MAJORITY OWNER OF THE FOOTBALL ANALYTICS COMPANY, BFF. WELCOME TO CLOSING BELL, GREAT TO HAVE YOU ON. >> SCOTT, THIS IS BIG TIME FOR ME RIGHT NOW, WE WILL SIT HERE. I FEEL LIKE I SHOULD TALK A LITTLE FASTER TO MAKE IT SOUND LIKE I AM BREAKING SOME NEWS, GET RIGHT INTO THE SHOW, YOU GUYS ARE LIVELY, FUN, IT'S BEEN GREAT, I'VE BEEN WATCHING FOR ABOUT A HALF HOUR NOW. >> GREAT. I MIGHT ASK YOU FOR A STOCK PICK SINCE YOU WENT THERE. I WILL SAVE THAT FOR LATER. LET THE FOOTBALL FIRST. LET'S TALK ABOUT THE SECOND GAME, THE ONE YOU ARE DOING. BILLS AND THE CHARGERS, FIRST EVER COMMERCIAL FREE FOURTH QUARTER. THE BILLS, THEY DON'T LOOK BACK THEIR RECORD SAYS THEY SHOULD. THEY STILL LOOK PRETTY GOOD. >> THEY WENT IN AND DISMANTLED THE DALLAS COWBOYS, WHO BEFORE, DISMANTLE THE PHILADELPHIA EAGLES. SO, YOU START TO FEEL PRETTY GOOD ABOUT WHERE THE BILLS ARE, THEY SWITCHED JOE BRADY AT THE OFFENSIVE CORRIDOR POSITION, THROWING IT ALL OVER, BUT THIS PAST WEEK, THEY RAN THE BALL LIKE CRAZY. SO, IT WILL BE AN EXCITING GAME FOR US, A LOT OF REASON TO BE PUMPED ABOUT THIS, ESPECIALLY THE FACT THAT MIKE AND I DO NOT KNOW WHAT WE WILL DO IN THE FOURTH QUARTER, THERE ARE NO COMMERCIALS. WE BOTH DID TALK RADIO FOR OVER TEN YEARS, MAYBE WE TAKE SOME CALLS? WE DO NOT KNOW EXACTLY HOW IT WILL BE, THERE WILL BE NO DELAY. BECAUSE IT IS ON CABLE, RIGHT? SUBSCRIPTION, YOU WILL HEAR SOME NATURAL LANGUAGE COME OUT OF THE PLAYERS. SO, IT WILL BE FINE, IT WILL BE DIFFERENT. >> HOW DO YOU THINK YOU GUYS WILL HANDLE THAT? YOU GUYS ARE USED TO BROADCASTING THESE GAMES, YOU HAVE TO FILL IN TIME OCCASIONALLY, DURING INJURIES OR OTHER THINGS. BUT THIS WILL BE AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT MUSCLE FLEX FOR YOU BOTH? >> ONE THING WE NEVER WANT TO DO IS IT SAY ANYTHING NEGATIVE ABOUT THE PEOPLE WHO PROVIDE COMMERCIALS FOR OUR FOOTBALL GAME OR FOR YOU OR SHOW, RIGHT? THEY PAY THE SALARIES OF A LOT OF GREAT ANNOUNCERS OUT THERE, WOULD YOU AGREE WITH ME, SCOTT? IT IS IMPORTANT, THEY ARE AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE GAME. BUT, WE ARE EXCITED ABOUT IT BECAUSE, DATING THAT ALL THE WAY TO MY DAYS WHEN I USED TO WORK FOR HBO, THAT IT WAS ALWAYS A CURIOSITY OF, WHAT IF THERE WERE NO COMMERCIALS AND IT WAS JUST THE GAME? IT WOULD BE OVER IN TWO HOURS, WE WE WOULD BE ABLE TO DO THIS AND THAT. A GREAT EXPERIMENT, IT WILL BE A GOOD GAME. WE ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO IT. >> LET ME ASK YOU ABOUT THE OTHER GAME WE HAVE AN NBC AND PEACOCK TOMORROW, THE BANGLES AND SEALERS. A FEW WEEKS AGO, IF I SAID TO YOU WELL, THE STEALER IS LOOK PRETTY GOOD. NOW THAT THE BENGAL LOST BOROUGH THEY ARE GOING NOWHERE, YOU WOULD HAVE SAID THAT MAKES SENSE. HERE WE ARE, A FEW WEEKS LATER THAN THAT, SUGGESTING THE OPPOSITE? >> WITH UNCERTAINTY AT THE PITTSBURGH STUDIOS QUARTERBACK POSITION, THEY DON'T KNOW WHO THEY WILL PLAY. JAKE BROWNING HAS GONE NUTS, THE CINCINNATI BANGLES, MY OLD TEAM, I USED TO PLAY FOR THEM, I'M CHEERING FOR THE BOYS A LITTLE BIT, THEY REALLY HAVE JUST BEEN ASTOUNDING THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS WITH SOME REAL SURPRISES, BEING ABLE TO GET RYAN BACK IN THE RANGE RIGHT NOW, THEY ARE IN THE PLAYOFFS. >> OVERALL, 49 YEARS HAVE SORT OF SET THEMSELVES APART IN THE AFC, LOOKS THAT WAY AT LEAST, THE AFC STILL LOOKS WIDE OPEN WITH A NUMBER OF TEAMS, I AM SURE THAT YOU WOULD SAY, WELL, THEY COULD DO IT, THEY COULD DO IT. THIS OTHER TEAM DOWN IN BALTIMORE COULD DO IS. HOW DO YOU ASSESS WHERE WE ARE NOW IN THE FINAL STRETCH? >> I AGREE WITH YOU, SAN FRANCISCO LOOKS LIKE THE TEAM TO BEAT IN THE NFC. WE JUST SAW BALTIMORE LAST WEEK. THE ONE TEAM I WOULD KEEP MY EYE ON, SORT OF, IS MIAMI. BECAUSE MIAMI HAS SO MUCH SPEED ON THAT TEAM. WHEN THAT TEAM WAS RIGHT, WHEN THEY ARE HEALTHY, SOMETIMES THEY CAN JUST BE THE MOST EXPLOSIVE THING WE HAVE SEEN SINCE THE OLD ST. LOUIS RAMS, BACK IN THE 2000S KIND OF THING. THIS WILL BE AN EXCITING PLAYOFF THIS YEAR. I HAVE NO IDEA, I THINK THE 49 IS OUR A LEGITIMATE FAVORITE AFTER THAT. HERE WE GO. THIS IS GOING TO BE A GREAT YEAR. >> LET ME ASK YOU A PRO FOOTBALL FOCUS FOR A MOMENT, THE GREATER THEME ABOUT HOW ANALYTICS HAVE REALLY INFILTRATED ALL OF SPORTS, THEY CERTAINLY PLAY A ROLE IN THE NFL. YOU HAVE TO KIND OF WORK IT INTO THE WAY THAT YOU BROADCAST GAMES AS WELL, BEFORE MAYBE A PUNT WOULD BE A PUNT, NOW IT IS A GO FOR IT ON FOURTH DOWNS. CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE PROLIFERATION OF ANALYTICS IN FOOTBALL? >> IT HAS REALLY BEEN IN THE PAST DECADE OR SO, WE NOW SELL OUR DATA TO ALL 32 NFL TEAMS, AND OVER 200 OTHER TEAMS AROUND THE COUNTRY. COLLEGE FOOTBALL, U.S. F L, CANADIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, ALL THE DIFFERENT THINGS. IT IS EXACTLY THAT, A LOT OF, DO I PUNT, KICK A FIELD GOAL, GO FOR IT ON FOURTH DOWN? WE HAVE SEEN THE GAMES FUNDAMENTALLY CHANGED SINCE THE MATHEMATICIANS HAVE TAKEN OVER THE WORLD, YOU KNOW, CLEARLY IN YOUR BUSINESS, WE HAVE SEEN THAT FOR DECADES NOW. BUT IN FOOTBALL, IT HAS REALLY BEEN IN THE LAST TEN YEARS, ESSENTIALLY, THINGS THAT EVERY COACH IN THE WORLD TOOK FOR GRANTED, THIS WAS THE TRUTH, THIS WAS HOW YOU HAD TO DO IT, NO LONGER TRUE, IT IS JUST NOT. THE MATHEMATICIANS TOLD US ALL THAT WE HAVE BEEN PLAYING FOOTBALL THE WRONG WAY FOR THE PAST EIGHT YEARS. NOW, ALMOST EVERYBODY IS ADOPTING THE NEW, MATHEMATICAL WAY OF MAKING DECISIONS. >> IT'S GOT TO BE A BIG CHANGE FOR COACHES, I WOULD THINK, WHO HAVE TO RETHINK THEIR GAME PLANS A BIT, BASED ON A THIRD AND TEN, THEY GET EIGHT YARDS, WHAT THEY HAVE TO DO NEXT? >> I THINK ALMOST PROBABLY LIKE IT DOES IN THE BUSINESS WORLD AS WELL, IT TAKES PRESSURE OFF OF DECISION-MAKERS. MOST OF THE HARD DECISIONS ARE THOSE 51%, 49% KIND OF DECISIONS. WHEN YOU GET THERE, THE THING YOU HAVE TO REMEMBER IS YOU WILL BE WRONG 49% OF THE TIME, NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO, RIGHT? THIS IS THAT 50/50 CALL. WHEN YOU GO TO A PRESS CONFERENCE AT THE ENDOF A GAME AND GO, WHY DID YOU DO THAT, COACH? YOU LOST THE GAME. WELL, THE MATH SAID THIS GAVE ME A 2% EDGE OVER DOING IT THE OTHER WAY. YOU WANT TO DO THE MATH? DO IT YOURSELF, THAT IS WHAT OUR GUYS TOLD US. SO REALLY, I THINK A CEO OR ANYTHING ELSE, ANY OTHER CEO, YOU WANT ALL THE ENDS YOU CAN GET, SOMETIMES THE MARGINS ARE REALLY