It’s understandable why Tony Romo, along with Jim Nantz, will be in Kansas City Sunday afternoon working CBS’ Browns-Chiefs telecast. If there was any justice in the Free (Football) World, they would be in Charlotte calling Jets-Panthers.
That would give Romo three-hours to defend himself from already delivering hyperbole while falling in love with the rookie slinger he deems as the next great quarterback — Zach Wilson. Recently, Romo anointed Wilson as being much more than the Jets next green-and-white hope.
Romo said: “It’s rare for me to say someone has the ability to get in the stratosphere of a [Patrick] Mahomes but I think this kid has that ability…..Wilson is going to be in the discussion as one of the top three to five quarterbacks very quickly.”
This all should sound very familiar. In the summer of 2018, here’s what Romo had to say about then-Jets quarterback Sam Darnold, who eventually was exiled to Carolina by GM Joe Douglas in favor of Wilson.
Romo: “I think Sam Darnold has a chance, at some point, to be the best quarterback in the National Football League….He’s more Peyton Manning than anyone I’ve seen coming out. I guarantee you, within the next three years Sam Darnold [will prove] he is for real.”
Would Romo’s next great NFL quarterback please standup? Romo can be rightfully accused of dishing grandiose opinions of both quarterbacks. Darnold has not come close to meeting Romo’s lofty expectations. So, how can Romo’s “analysis” of Wilson have an ounce of credibility, or be taken seriously, when his Darnold hype already crumbled before Jets’ fans eyes?
Romo does not have to answer that question because he is not held accountable for any failed predictions; at least not by the suits at CBS Sports who are paying him about $17 million per year making him the highest paid sports analyst on TV. Maybe the brainiacs figure most fans, and perhaps even Romo himself, do not remember what he said about Darnold.
The other way of looking at it? Romo should be credited for not holding back. For not shying away from going out on the Wilson limb after the Darnold branch was sawed off. That would have been easy to do. No one would have cared. Yet in this era of non-stop info and opinions, a time where it seems every former NFL player has an analyst gig, it’s essential for Romo not to simply blend in but to stand out inside the forest of NFL analysts looking to deliver hot takes on a daily basis.
That’s why it would be nice if Romo was in Charlotte on Sunday. Then, instead of throwing QB hype against a wall, Romo could spend time analyzing, comparing, and contrasting Wilson and Darnold.
And tells us which quarterback is the real deal.
VOICE OF THE FAN
The frustration in Evan Roberts’ voice was real.
This was not some concocted sports talk radio bit. The co-host of WFAN’s “Carton & Roberts” show had enough of (paid weekly guest) Luis Rojas “answers” Thursday afternoon following another one-run loss to Miami Wednesday night. The Mets manager delivered pap in response to a few of Roberts’ questions, including: “Why do you still trust [closer] Edwin Diaz?”
Not hearing the kind of answers he wanted, along with Rojas’ long pauses, Roberts followed-up to the max, asking the same questions in different ways. Rojas rocked steady. Roberts’ passion (and volume) did not rattle him. The manager did not fold under questioning. It appeared a verbal explosion was imminent. Yet both men kept their cool. Roberts waited until Rojas was off the phone before exploding.
“I’m done. I’m done,” Roberts said. “He gave the same garbage answer over and over again.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Carton replied. “We’ll be interviewing some other clown [Mets manager] next season.”
Perhaps. Nonetheless, Roberts and Rojas produced a sequence of riveting radio. The beleaguered manager of a faltering team vs the quintessential Mets fan — a Sad Sack serenade. Thumbs up!
MANNING NIGHT FOOTBALL
Will ESPN’s new “Monday Night Football” alternative telecast, featuring Eli and Peyton Manning, lead to a competition between The Brothers and the regular MNF crew?
Brian Griese, who works with Steve (Mr. Laughs) Levy and Louis Riddick on the main “MNF” broadcast, thinks some intramural jousting will take place. Griese considers Peyton a friend.
“I’ve already texted back and forth with him about this and I’m looking forward to having some fun with him going back and forth on a week in and week out basis,” Griese said. “Like, ‘hey, the Monday night guys said this, Peyton said that.’ There’s an opportunity to have an interesting and fascinating deeper dialogue that comes out of that.”
While the Bristol Faculty sees the Manning production playing second banana to the Big Boys “MNF,” they might offer a not-so-subtle reminder to viewers during the Levy-Griese-Riddick telecast.
The Manning Cast will be on ESPN2 for 10 Monday night tilts debuting with Ravens-Raiders. The Faculty already made one good decision: Eli and Peyton will not be constrained by a bloviating host. They will have an assortment of friends (When will SAS make his first appearance?) joining them on Monday nights.
FIRST, OUR TAKE
Stephen A. Smith and Michael Irvin were loud and passionate during the debut of the new “First Take” on Monday. Sorry for those who were either 1) Appalled by the bluster, 2) Annoyed by SAS/Irvin digging in on the Cowboys or 3) The live interview with Jerry Jones.
Did you really expect these gentlemen to come out in librarian mode?
Or that Irvin was suddenly going to go low-key? Or that SAS was going to allow Irvin to run his mouth uninterrupted? Like them, love them or loath them, they showed up as themselves. That’s the way it should be.
Likewise, NFL analyst Marcus Spears, who works well with SAS and moderator Molly Qerim. Spears brings his funny bone, as well as his insight to the table. Mostly, he doesn’t pontificate or talk down to viewers like, well, Dan Orlovsky.
AROUND THE DIAL
When a suit gets axed, it’s highly unusual for a personality to go on air and take the company that did the deed to task. That’s what Michael Kay did Wednesday after veteran ESPN-98.7 GM Tim McCarthy was dismissed by the Bristol Faculty as rumors of a sale of the station swirled. “The people who made the decision [to fire McCarthy] made a mistake,” Kay said on the air. “I will stand here and probably receive ramifications but it was not the right thing to do. We are a family here and the guy who built the family [McCarthy] is gone.” … Marc Malusis, in a vintage FAN rant, went off on Mets boss Steve Cohen last week. Although Malusis repeated himself (very Francesa-ish) during the spiel, he made his point. So much so that Mr. Cohen took time out of his busy schedule to respond to a man named Moose on Twitter. … Interesting that during Irvin’s Monday appearance on First Take, ESPN ran a constant crawler plugging the NFL Network Sunday pregame show, which The Playmaker appears on. Was the promo part of Irvin’s First Take deal?
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DUDE OF THE WEEK: DEREK JETER
For his consistency. It was on display once again Wednesday during his Hall of Fame induction speech. Jeter was eloquent without showing emotion. He saluted his family and those who helped on the road to Cooperstown. Much to the dismay of those looking for him to provide more of an inside look at his career, Jeter only went so far. No surprise. Jeter was just being himself.
DWEEB OF THE WEEK: HALL OF FAME WHINERS
The execs running baseball’s Hall of Fame didn’t commit a crime by holding the induction ceremony on a Wednesday afternoon rather than the traditional Sunday event. Those who took the suits to task glossed over the safety factor. And selecting a day that would limit the crowd was a key ingredient in this wise decision.
DOUBLE TALK
What Aaron Boone said: “This is a group we absolutely believe in.”
What Aaron Boone meant to say: “I have no choice but to believe in this group.”