Cowboys fans should recognize: Romo is better at TV than at QB
LLANO, Texas — Let me be the last to say that Tony Romo is the most compelling football analyst since John Madden, who with his telestrator provided a coach’s insight into play-calling and the results. Romo interprets the plays from the point of view of a quarterback.
Consider this takedown of Drew Brees following a near-interception in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s Saints-Rams game: “Too late right there. You gotta throw it very quickly, a one-step slant. . . . He got away with one there.”
Other announcers would refrain from criticizing a future Hall of Famer who’s completing 71 percent of his passes. What, Drew Brees is inaccurate? His line didn’t give him enough time!
But Romo considers it the quarterback’s job to throw quickly and accurately, even if he’s being pressured.
I like Romo’s honesty, not afraid to fault one of his fraternity bros. Yet he’s never bombastic, as Joe Theismann could be.
I was one who objected to CBS hiring Romo to replace an earlier retired QB Phil Simms, who was precise and candid in filling out the picture on the screen. I was comfortable with him and had doubts Romo could do as well.
As a player, Romo had not seemed especially incisive or witty in his post-game interviews, the way Simms had been. And for that matter, Theismann. Which was my point: you never can tell, until you plant the ex-jock into the booth, how he will thrive and grow.
Also causing me pause: Romo is no Golden Throat like those who predominate on the airways. His raspy voice is at best an acquired taste.
It took me a few weeks, but I’ve acquired it.
Now I find it fun to hear Romo anticipate, usually correctly, what the next play will be. So I prefer CBS to Fox, whose NFL games are quite capably described by yet another ex-quarterback, Troy Aikman.
The reason I feel compelled to address this topic is that, living in Cowboys country I hear many fans calling for Romo to unretire and rescue their team from the faltering young hands of Dak Prescott.
Last year, Prescott was NFL Offense Rookie of the Year. But suspend his All-Pro running and blocking back, Zeke Elliott, and dismantle his O-line, and now he’s Epic Sophomore Slumper.
Still, it’s folly to think the Cowboys should replace their quarterback of the present and future with a 37-year-old burned-out star.
Let’s not romanticize Romo. Even at his peak he was not top five at the most essential position. He was very good, but no Brady, Rodgers, Brees, Roethlisberger or Wilson. The Hall of Fame is not and likely never could have been within Romo’s reach.
As for a Super Bowl, it was and is out of the question with a defense as spotty as what the Cowboys have fielded for years. Until they understand the importance of not just quarterbacks but cornerbacks, they will always fall short.
Unlike the aforementioned Super Bowl QBs, which he was not, Romo is fragile: ribs, fingers, collarbone and vertebrae fractured, lungs punctured. He played in only five games in the last two seasons of his career. He retired because his body told him to retire.
He’s fortunate to defy F. Scott Fitzgerald as a rare American whose life has a second act. Romo would be wise to continue following the precedent of his Dallas quarterbacking forerunners, Don Meredith and Aikman. They retired before they had to and found a much easier, safer way to make millions.