Romo Replacing Simms in CBS Booth: Praise All Gods!!!

[TFisNEXT]

The Gronk call was really amazing and as someone else said, almost borderline creepy.

As soon as the safety was creeping down with Gronk split out wide and not chipping inside, he said Brady is going to Gronk after he had gone to Edelman the previous two 3rd and longs.

 

[Captaincoop]

I usually can't stand Romo, but credit where it's due. He was amazing at the end of the game tonight and made the broadcast better with his analysis.

 

[SMU_Sox]

Personally I love Romo as an announcer I loved him as a quarterback and I don’t mind his enthusiasm one bit I think it’s genuine. Excited to hear him call this one.

 

[jodyreeddudley78]

He was great in the 4th/OT. I get how some of his mannerisms can get under people’s skin, but he was diagramming plays and predicting them in real time. I’ll take that over whatever else is out there.

 

[DennyDoyle'sBoil]

I don’t remember a single thing anyone said in the fourth quarter. I need to see a replay.

 

[singaporesoxfan]

Yeah. He's sometimes wrong, but he's by far the most interesting announcer in the game.

I think his willingness to be wrong is part of his appeal… everyone else tells you what happened, Romo goes out on a limb and tells you what will happen.

 

[pantsparty]

I really enjoy that Tony Romo loves football even more than I do and knows way more about it than I do.

 

[Ralphwiggum]

The Gang Green Jets forum feel rather unanimously that Nantz and Romo love the Pats. Considering most here feel the opposite, I think that is pretty good evidence that they call it down the middle.

 

[Old Fart Tree]

Romo is my favorite national commentator for any sport outside of Nick Faldo for golf. His excitement for the game is so real. I feel like he’s in the living room watching the game with me while also providing a bunch of insightful analysis. The “here we go Jim” stuff is a feature not a bug for me.

This. He’s great!

 

[reggiecleveland]

Romo does what maybe nobody but Hubie does by going deep into the sport and treating the fans like they are bright. Not only did he call Gronk he called "Edelman over the middle" on third down presnap twice. I learned a lot from him, especially about the difference between the two QBs. Brady was clalling plays at the line while Mahomes has greater [physical ability at this point.

 

[TFisNEXT]

Romo does what maybe nobody but Hubie does by going deep into the sport and treating the fans like they are bright. Not only did he call Gronk he called "Edelman over the middle" on third down presnap twice. I learned a lot from him, especially about the difference between the two QBs. Brady was clalling plays at the line while Mahomes has greater [physical ability at this point.

Yep, Romo definitely treats the audience like they have high IQ football knowledge. I start
to feel like I'm reading defenses. It's so much more enjoyable than the usual cliches. He's genuinely excited about the game. He probably throws in a few extra "rah-rahs" for the dumber crowd but I'll take it over any of the alternatives.

 

[Scott Cooper's Grand Slam]

Here is a compilation of Romo's calls in the fourth and OT tonight:
This is a Twitter link. If the embed breaks, I'll try a regular link, too. Tony had a great game. As Reggie mentions: I'm so used to seeing QBs call plays at the line, I would not have known that this wasn't in Mahomes arsenal had Tony not pulled it out. And as Singapore says above: when an analyst is willing to make informed predictions, that's extraordinary.

 

[InstaFace]

What Romo lacks in communications-school polish, or brings too much of in terms of folksiness and verbal tics, he more than makes up for with (A) genuine enthusiasm, (B) a deep understanding of the game, and (C) a rare ability to actually convey both of those to the audience without going too far.

Few former players, even former QBs, show that when they get on camera. Tim Hasselbeck had the personality of a wet 2x4. With Gannon it felt like the game was moving too fast for him, which is no surprise if you watched the 2002 SB.

I'll go further: so many NFL announcers are just so damn similar. They talk about the same damn things as each other, with the same over-used phrases and cliches, the same intonation. With Romo you actually get something different than every other announcer. Something more illuminating, as it happens, but also something a little annoying or amateurish at times. Well, so be it - give me variety.

 

[Bleedred]

Romo really is fantastic. He's my #2 announcer behind Doc Emmerich (yes, I know, one is an analyst, one is not)

 

[bosockboy]

He’s on another level. Absolutely born for it.

 

[uncannymanny]

His pump-the-brakes on Nantz tonight for looking possessions ahead in the 4th was awesome.

 

[djbayko]

Some people here are saying they can understand the hate. I simply can’t. Romo is in a league of his own, and I was at a loud bar tonight and didn’t hear a lick of his forecasts.

 

[Adrian's Dome]

I personally think it's refreshing to have someone in the booth that's 1. unbiased and 2. knows what the fuck they're talking about.

Romo's strengths FAR outweigh his faults (which are only minor annoyances, and really don't bother me one bit.)

 

[normstalls]

I don’t remember a single thing anyone said in the fourth quarter. I need to see a replay.

This. That quarter was 100% insanity. Too many game changing plays and calls. Unreal

Edit- that twitter link was great, thanks

 

[m0ckduck]

I think his willingness to be wrong is part of his appeal… everyone else tells you what happened, Romo goes out on a limb and tells you what will happen.

You're exactly right. I hadn't thought about it this way, but, yes, he's the polar opposite of a certain other former Cowboy QB-turned-announcer on this spectrum. Aikman (and to be fair, most announcers) have a natural hedging-of-bets tendency that's so deeply ingrained in them and probably so unconscious at this point that it's almost impossible for them to say anything non-obvious.

 

[Valek123]

He's miles better than Simms, and that's really the standard we need to apply here as it would have been Simms and Nantz. My only reservation is him ramping up that type of call ahead of plays more now and having it be too much.

Unreal game, one of the best I've ever seen.

 

[Jettisoned]

The Gang Green Jets forum feel rather unanimously that Nantz and Romo love the Pats. Considering most here feel the opposite, I think that is pretty good evidence that they call it down the middle.

I think for the most part they just want an exciting game, and (at the risk of sounding arrogant) usually that means the Pats need to be upset by weaker teams. For the neutral fan, watching the Pats stomp a much weaker team for 60 minutes straight isn't very compelling.

Romo said after the game last week that the Chiefs were the better team but the Pats could win if they put together a great game plan. I'm guessing they were excited to see that happen.

 

[reggiecleveland]

Ron Lancaster was a CFL legend as a player, the prototypical small scramble that worked well in the Canadian game. He used to marvel viewers by saying "intercepted" before the ball was released, and predicting run/pass. But, in the small world of the cfl he had played for or consulted many of the coaches and many suspected he was knew the signals.

Romo helps casual viewers see what Brady does when he audibles.

 

[mostman]

Here is a compilation of Romo's calls in the fourth and OT tonight:
This is a Twitter link. If the embed breaks, I'll try a regular link, too. Tony had a great game. As Reggie mentions: I'm so used to seeing QBs call plays at the line, I would not have known that this wasn't in Mahomes arsenal had Tony not pulled it out. And as Singapore says above: when an analyst is willing to make informed predictions, that's extraordinary.

This isn’t even all of them. Not included is the first pass in OT to Jules where Romo drew the blocks on the screen and called the pass over the middle.

I’ve loved Romo since the first game I watched with him on color. I hope he’s doing games for 30 years.

 

[Phil Plantier]

Here's my fear with Romo: that the suits will get to him. Simms was great his first 2-3 years as a commentator, and then you could tell that he was told to dumb it down, and then he did, and then he started to coast, and the rest is the mess that we were stuck with for 12 years or whatever.

Resist the suits Tony!

 

[Garshaparra]

You're exactly right. I hadn't thought about it this way, but, yes, he's the polar opposite of a certain other former Cowboy QB-turned-announcer on this spectrum. Aikman (and to be fair, most announcers) have a natural hedging-of-bets tendency that's so deeply ingrained in them and probably so unconscious at this point that it's almost impossible for them to say anything non-obvious.

During Rams/Saints, with the Rams deep in Saints territory in a close game, Aikman had the brilliant observation "The Rams are gonna come away with points here, if they can score a touchdown or a field goal." JFC, man.

 

[MuppetAsteriskTalk]

During Rams/Saints, with the Rams deep in Saints territory in a close game, Aikman had the brilliant observation "The Rams are gonna come away with points here, if they can score a touchdown or a field goal." JFC, man.

He didn't want anyone to think he might be talking about a safety?

 

[luckiestman]

Aikman took a lot of concussions for this sport I love to watch. I remember him sitting on the bench holding smelling salts to his face and breathing them in and not reacting. Then he would go back in the game and give it everything. I’m not interested in burying the guy because he says some overly obvious shit sometimes.

 

[TFisNEXT]

Here's my fear with Romo: that the suits will get to him. Simms was great his first 2-3 years as a commentator, and then you could tell that he was told to dumb it down, and then he did, and then he started to coast, and the rest is the mess that we were stuck with for 12 years or whatever.

Resist the suits Tony!

I have a fear of this as well. Hopefully they can remember why they made the switch in the first place and resist it.

 

[InstaFace]

Ron Lancaster was a CFL legend as a player, the prototypical small scramble that worked well in the Canadian game. He used to marvel viewers by saying "intercepted" before the ball was released, and predicting run/pass. But, in the small world of the cfl he had played for or consulted many of the coaches and many suspected he was knew the signals.

Romo helps casual viewers see what Brady does when he audibles.

Reminds me of longtime pro tennis coaches knowing that a double fault is coming, from watching the body language and ball toss, and knowing what mechanics are coming. I've seen a few gasp on the ball toss, or let out a soft "oh no" just on the windup. What they're seeing might as well be black magic to me.

 

[Mugsy's Walk-Off Bunt]

Nothing will ever turn me away from Aikman for his sincerely gushing "Oh my God!" in the wake of The Edelman Catch in the 28-3 game.