When Tony Romo became the biggest sensation in NFL broadcasting, it was because he was a gun-slinging analyst who called games in unconventional ways, eventually landing a 10-year, $180 million deal. contract, which at the time was the richest known in the history of sports media.
Now, four years after the deal, and after all the criticism Romo has received, CBS is clearly heading into its third Super Bowl as a TV analyst, looking for a game manager rather than a game-changer. But old habits die hard.
On the final play of the Super Bowl 58 overtime classic between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers, Romo and play-by-play partner Jim Nantz showed off their teamwork in the worst possible moment lack.
Initially, Romo’s performance late in overtime, leading the Chiefs down three points and finishing inside the 5-yard line, explained that it didn’t matter as the crowd watched the clock wind down to zero – the game It won’t end, it will just continue. Going into the second quarter and working overtime. But Romo kept talking for too long.
This prevented Nantz from properly setting up the final play. When the winning touchdown was scored, Nantz said, “First field goal Mahomes throws! There! Hardman! Jackpot! Kansas City!”
Chiefs win back-to-back Super Bowls! pic.twitter.com/ZzfhTyUXg9
— NFL (@NFL) February 12, 2024
Romo first muttered something in the background of Nantz’s phone call, as if he were Yahoo! on local radio. After Nantz finished, Romo started saying, “This is the Andy Reid special. …” and kept going.
When CBS reacted, Romo had 30 seconds to talk about the show, and the best analysis is silence, which allows the audience and the pictures to tell the story. If ever there was one, this should have been Nantz’s radio moment.
Nantz and Romo were once considered the next Pat Summerall and John Madden, but their production has declined to the point where CBS might be okay with it on Sunday. Leading up to the final show, the broadcast was far from perfect, but largely manageable. Maybe it wasn’t a Sports Emmy win overnight, but production-wise, it had its moments.
Nantz and Romo make big money — nearly $30 million per year between them — so, like quarterbacks, they receive the most praise and blame. Their quarterback ratings weren’t high enough and they missed the obvious big themes.
Neither man was able to explain why the defense — especially the 49ers’ defense of Travis Kelce in the first half — performed so poorly on offense. The CBS production team was also frustrated when they expertly caught Kelce yelling at his 65-year-old head coach. They rarely talk about offline games. And the overall theme of the game is often overlooked. There are no threads.
The Super Bowl broadcast is rated the highest as it is the most prestigious assignment in American sports broadcasting. Nantz has called games six times, but his co-stars, first Phil Sims and now Romo, have gone off the rails on his watch. A bad trend.
Romo, meanwhile, lacks consistency in his thinking. With 10 seconds left in regulation and the Chiefs trailing the 49ers by 11, Romo said, “If you’ve got six seconds left, you feel comfortable trying again.”
After an incomplete pass with six seconds remaining, Romo thought, “If he had seven seconds, I would have done this,” adding that Kansas City should have punted.
Well, but, Tony, you just said…
It doesn’t matter.
This inconsistency happened far too often with Romo, leading CBS Sports executives to put on a brave face and defend him both publicly and privately, but the action almost always lies where the truth lies and they end up Authentic thinking seems evident in their approach.
It was obvious early on that CBS’ game plan was to simplify the offense. In the first half, it cut down on the overuse of too many voices, mainly Nantz and Romo. Romo looked distant. That’s not bad.
The production team did a great job with season two. After a fumble by Chiefs running back Isaiah Pacheco, Kelce was found on an inbounds attempt to hook up with Reid.
Travis Kelce doesn’t look too enthusiastic pic.twitter.com/yncKhjtNl4
— NFL on CBS (@NFLonCBS) February 12, 2024
“He said, ‘Keep me in,'” Romo said, apparently lip-reading. “What happened is, on the fumble, he didn’t play. Noah Gray went in and he had to block. Tight end Noah Gray had to block (Deomodore) Lenoir. Lenoir let him swim and actually created the fumble. I thought Kelce was going to say, ‘Let me stay there even though we’re running the ball.'”
Let’s put it that we need to consult Google Translate from Romo to English to understand what “(Deomodore) Lenoir made him swim and actually created the dropped ball” might mean, this story is Kells Almost knocked down his coach.
This isn’t Latrell Sprewell in PJ Carlesimo, but Taylor Swift’s boyfriend in front of an estimated 115 million viewers. We need the former pro Cowboys quarterback to be part of the conversation, whether it makes sense or not.
The best part about Romo is his off-the-cuff, fun personality. Non-hardcore fans will probably like him because from all first-hand reports, Romo is a genuinely good guy. It would be cool to have a beer with him, great announcer quality.
Romo’s most personal performance on Sunday came when he sang Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep,” imitating another great Cowboys announcer, Don Meredith. Romo did it again in season three, trying to lure Nantz – an announcer from the Peter Jennings/Tom Brokaw anchor days – to sing Elvis Presley’s “Viva Las Vegas.” Romo even does a little Beastie Boys later on in “(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party)!”
As for Nantz, he seemed extra excited at the start of the game, perhaps overcompensating for some of the less-than-enthusiastic calls early in the postseason. Nantz did challenge him correctly on two Romo-isms in the first half. Romo said the fumble in the second quarter was probably minor, and late in the quarter the Chiefs were scoreless and down 10 points and he said they could be on their way to losing four straight. Nantz correctly threw the challenge flag to both men.
Finally, the problem with the tandem is that while they have a lot of “friends” and “partners” talking, not to mention their exaggerated “I love you”s on the radio, they don’t sound like they’re heard on TV. Same page.
When the world is watching, when everything you’ve done all season is on display, that disconnect shows up where it matters most.
Nantz and Romo should master the broadcast strategy for the final game. Romo’s appeal may be that he’s like a fan, but he’s doing Super Bowl broadcasts and getting paid handsomely for it.
He just had to step out of the way, let Nantz make the complete decision, and then wait until the sight and sound emerged to notice that Mahomes was Michael Jordan.
It’s not the Gunners’ time yet. CBS had the right plan, and Nantz and Romo executed it at times. However, in the most important game of the season, Romo went free and failed.
(Photos of Tony Romo and Jim Nantz: Rob Carr/Getty Images)
