COLLINSWORTH

SERBY’S SUNDAY Q&A WITH ... Cris

NBC’s Cris Collinsworth, an Emmy-winning broadcaster and analyst, and former NFL receiver, took a timeout for some Q&A with Post columnist Steve Serby.

Q: What are your thoughts on Colin Kaepernick?

A: I get it. I’m frustrated, too. Anytime you see somebody get hurt in this country and it’s on television, and it seems unfair ... I hope every human being in the United States feels some pain with that. I have so much respect for the country, I don’t like blanket indictments. There’s a lot of really great things about this country. And when you sit down in front of the flag, that indicts a lot of people ... a lot of good police officers, a lot of great soldiers and people that have sacrificed everything for this country. But I get it. I get it — if you feel something that deeply that you’re willing to basically risk your job, which is what I think he’s doing right now.

Q: What advice would you give to Odell Beckham Jr. to avoid a repeat against Josh Norman?

A: He dropped that pass early in that game, and I think he was frustrated, and I’m sure that got Norman talking to him a little bit. It seems like it just snowballed that whole game between those two. But I’ll say this — that was probably the most entertaining game of two guys matched up that I ever saw. I don’t want to come off like I enjoyed the dirty play and the fouls. I didn’t. But the competitive nature of that battle between those two may have been the best football I’ve seen. Great cornerback, great receiver, playing beyond their physical limits and emotionally ... almost out of their minds at that stage. It was spectacular — take out the five plays, whatever — it was spectacular from beginning to end.

Q: How ticked off will Tom Brady be when he returns from his Deflategate suspension?

A: Nobody does better when they’re upset than Tom Brady. If it hadn’t been a four-game suspension, if it had been a one- or a two-game suspension, I would have said it played to the Patriots’ advantage. It tends to get them focused, it puts them back in that us-against-the-world mentality, that now even their fans have. If you live within 100 miles of downtown Boston, there’s a bitterness that surrounds the fan base and the team and the whole organization that they wear well. It’s not just them, there are a lot of organizations that play that card so well, but nobody plays it quite as well as [Bill] Belichick and Brady, so it’s gonna be fun to watch the second half.

Q: What did you think about Jimmy Garoppolo?

A: I think he better get the ball out of his hand quicker. Brady has the ability to protect that offensive line the way he gets the ball out of his hand so quickly. We’ll see if Garoppolo can do it too.

Q: Denver QB Trevor Siemian?

A: I think they got it right. It’s hard to say that the guy is gonna be the answer — he’s taken one snap, and I think he took a knee on that one snap. But his release is pretty pure, his arm strength is plenty good enough, he looks the part in the pocket, he has some mobility to him. Everything I’ve heard is that he’s well-liked, they gave him an ovation when he was announced as the quarterback. And, by the way, they can play pretty good defense on that side, too. And they have enough offensive weapons. Unless he just falls apart under the pressure, they should be able to win games with him.

Q: Dallas’ Dak Prescott?

A: I was blown away. I saw him play in college, I saw him play in All-Star games. I don’t know if it’s Jason Garrett or who it is that’s coaching him up down there, but he looks fantastic. It wasn’t quite as good in the last preseason game, but he has a lot of different things that he does well. But the way that they’re gonna be able to run the football down there, Ezekiel Elliott looks good, that offensive line is tremendous, and then you make it a play-action passing game off of that running game, he’s gonna see a lot of 1-on-1 coverage and he’s got Dez Bryant, and Jason Witten. And Ezekiel Elliott’s a heckuva receiver. He can play, and he can block, too.

Q: Can Eli Manning be in the MVP conversation?

A: Well, he’s talented enough. We’ve seen Eli at his best be able to do it. You gotta see how Victor [Cruz is] gonna be, you gotta see what this offensive line’s gonna be. It still feels unsettled to me. But if you’re unsettled and you have a quarterback, then sometimes things work out.

Q: If you were NFL commissioner, you would ...

A: Eliminate preseason. Financially, it doesn’t make any difference to me. ... I love the college game, the way it starts, when no one has any idea. The buzz in those stadiums, my son played for Notre Dame, is just incredible on Opening Day, because you have to decipher everything based on what you’re seeing for the first time. ... I probably would make pass interference calls subject to review. ... I probably would be very open to Belichick’s idea of three reviews or two reviews of anything.

Q: Has the NFL done enough to limit concussions?

A: Well, I think now there’s much closer to perfect information about it. Anybody who signs up to play football now understands the risk. People sign up to do MMA every day, people sign up to go to war, and to jump out of airplanes, and do a lot of crazy things. I don’t like the society that says, “You can’t do something.” But I think there was a time that the NFL did not do enough to let everybody fully understand the risk, and that’s the reason they paid the price with the lawsuit.

Q: A surprise player this season?

A: Ryan Tannehill. I think Adam Gase is a differencemaker. I think he learned from Peyton [Manning], think he took it to Chicago and Jay Cutler, and I’m seeing some really good things out of him in Miami. I think that no-huddle approach is gonna help that offensive line, and they’ve got some studs on the defensive front too.

Q: Super Bowl pick?

A: Every year I convince myself that I like somebody based on something I’ve seen in preseason. And every year I tell myself, “I’m never ever doing that again. Preseason means zero.” I try to convince myself, and then I still fall in love with somebody in preseason, and every year it means nothing.

Q: Have you fallen in love with anybody this preseason?

A: I think that Houston’s offense is gonna be much improved. With their defense, all that means is in their division, they just have to be pretty good. If they got to 24, 25 points a game with that defense, they could end up being something pretty special.