There’s a lot of attention on NFL on CBS lead analyst Tony Romo this season. Romo took significant criticism in 2021 and 2022 in particular, and while he recently dismissed that with “There’s agendas. People like clicks,” Romo reportedly received “an intervention” from CBS executives last offseason (CBS said that report was a “mischaracterization” of the execs’ visits with Romo). And after a 2022 season filled with criticism, and an offseason filled with addressing that criticism, exactly how Romo did on his first broadcast (Sunday’s Philadelphia Eagles-New England Patriots game) was always going to be under the microscope.
But Romo seemed to generally do fine in that first game. And he got off at least one particularly good line, referencing Toby Keith while shouting out a potential impact from Eagles’ veteran defensive tackle Fletcher Cox . That came right before Cox recorded an important tackle:
"Fletcher Cox comes in, the old veteran. He may not be as good as he once was, but can be as good once as he's ever been." – Tony Romo.
"Well, there's your answer. Great call, Tony. As it's Cox who wraps up Zeke for no gain." – Jim Nantz. pic.twitter.com/pO9xXidGNW
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 10, 2023
The reference is to Keith’s “As Good As I Once Was,” which has exactly those lyrics at one point. And Cox wound up making another big play on the next snap:
And who other than Fletcher Cox with the stop on fourth down? https://t.co/9dt4R9dtiv pic.twitter.com/DhZswaSV9e
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 10, 2023
Beyond that, Romo drew some attention for some comments on Tom Brady:
In case you were having any trouble, Tony Romo has pointed out Tom Brady in the crowd, while going out on a limb and saying that the former Patriot "still might be the best quarterback in the building." pic.twitter.com/YyJYxYzzUp
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 10, 2023
CBS plays Tom Brady's halftime ceremony, as Tony Romo adds, "He should've been the one guy who was still in the Hall of Fame when he was still playing football." pic.twitter.com/IAQAepW9R9
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 10, 2023
His comments praising the Eagles drew some notice as well:
"Pass…Intercepted. Deflected and picked off! And running with it is Slay. He breaks a tackle and gallops to the end zone for the pick-six." – Jim Nantz.
"They reloaded this roster and I think they're gonna have a great chance to get back to the Super Bowl." – Tony Romo. pic.twitter.com/pyvrFQww0R
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 10, 2023
"It's just really hard for me to find an answer for how to defend this." – Tony Romo. pic.twitter.com/ACv3cDj7sI
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 10, 2023
And some remarks he made for the NFL on CBS’ TikTok account on the Patriots also got some discussion:
Tony Romo believes in the Patriots this year. He thinks they’ll be competitive in every game this season. More below: pic.twitter.com/T4Jx1qyxLy
— Ben Belford-Peltzman (@thepatriotsbeat) September 11, 2023
The Eagles picked up a 25-20 road win over the Patriots Sunday. And for Romo, this broadcast looked like at least a relative win. There was still some social media criticism of him, but it seemed dialed down compared to some of what we saw in 2021 and 2022. The focus on him certainly isn’t going away after one week, but it’s notable that the conversation around him seems at least a little more positive for now.
[Awful Announcing on Twitter]
