Ever since he retired as an NFL quarterback and entered the media side of the business, Tony Romo has become a revelation in the booth, quickly ascending to one of the favorites among fans for his commentary during a game.
Part of his appeal is based on the rapport that he has with fellow commentator Jim Nance, as well as his ability to predict what is going to take place on the field before it happens. Routinely, as a quarterback is making his pre-snap reads and checking in or out of audibles, Romo is franticly talking in the booth, dissecting what the QB is doing, and seeing, and giving a prediction for what play they are going to run.
A good amount of the time, he’s usually right, which immediately grabbed fans’ attention as Romo became the default Nostradamus of the NFL. However, Washington Football coach Jay Gruden is none too impressed. In an interview on the Standig Room Only podcast, with The Athletic‘s Ben Standig, Gruden discussed his outlook on entering the commentating booth this coming season, and whether or not he could match the fortune-telling skills of Romo. Here is the interaction:
Do you have the Tony Romo predictive skills where you can see the play at the line of scrimmage and tell the audience what’s gonna happen?
I could do it every time. He’s only right like 30 percent of the time. Those are usually pretty obvious, I mean (laughs). Nobody talks about the times when he’s wrong, but when he’s right, holy cow, he’s a genius. Oh, come on, man. Sure, it’s a run. Nope, it’s a pass. Sorry, I was wrong.
Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, so it’s not a huge deal that Gruden is waving off the talents of Romo. However, we would love to see what Jay could do in the booth, if only to compare and contrast…
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