The Buccaneers visit the Rams in tonight's "Thursday Night Football" matchup on NFL Network, but the latter's potential move to L.A. "won't be a big part of the storyline" for the telecast, according to Dan Caesar of the ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH. The telecast and surrounding programming is "planned to be concentrated on the field, not the possibility that it might be the final appearance in St. Louis by the Rams as the home team -- maybe even the last NFL game ever played in town." A spokesperson for both CBS and NFLN said that there are "no plans to address the situation much during the game." An NFL Network official said that the pregame show "will center on football and the game, although the programming 'won’t be turning a blind eye' to the situation in St. Louis." Caesar notes the networks "aren’t even sending their normal announcing crew to cover the game," which features the 6-7 Bucs against the 5-8 Rams. CBS’ lead team of Jim Nantz, Phil Simms and Tracy Wolfson are "being sent to cover a rare Saturday night game (Jets at Cowboys) that will be on NFL Network." They "will be replaced" by Ian Eagle, former Rams QB Trent Green and Evan Washburn. CBS’ James Brown and Bill Cowher "usually are key cogs in the pregame show but are headed to Dallas instead of St. Louis." This is the "first time the lead crew won’t do a Thursday game in the two seasons of the CBS-NFL Network partnership" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 12/17).
