{"id":371269,"date":"2025-11-11T09:49:14","date_gmt":"2025-11-11T09:49:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/371269\/"},"modified":"2025-11-11T09:49:14","modified_gmt":"2025-11-11T09:49:14","slug":"jim-nantz-and-tony-romo-are-regressing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/371269\/","title":{"rendered":"Jim Nantz and Tony Romo are ‘regressing’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Few broadcasters have seen their reputations swing as wildly<\/a> as Tony Romo, and few\u00a0broadcasters are as revered and rocksteady<\/a> as Jim Nantz.<\/p>\n

The CBS NFL duo has been working together now for nine seasons, starting in 2017, and the discussion around their work has run the gamut.<\/p>\n

Initially, Romo was deemed a broadcasting wunderkind thanks to what seemed like a supernatural ability to predict plays (a skill he still has<\/a>). His playful energy was infectious and complemented Nantz\u2019s stoicism well.<\/p>\n

More recently, Romo regressed severely in the eyes (and ears) of many viewers. He\u2019s become known more for obsessing over certain quarterbacks<\/a>, saying odd catchphrases<\/a>, and making undecipherable noises<\/a>. Meanwhile, there have been times when Nantz seems confused or even annoyed by his broadcasting partner.<\/p>\n

While much of the criticism<\/a> against the former Dallas Cowboys quarterback has died down, his gaffes quickly become reminders that he is, for some viewers, an acquired taste, and for others, one they\u2019d rather skip.<\/p>\n

The Athletic\u2019s sports media insider, Andrew Marchand, took it one step further in the latest episode of Marchand & Meterparel: Everybody Loves Sports Media<\/a>. He gave the CBS duo his dreaded \u201cWhat\u2019s Down\u201d and explained that he feels they\u2019ve regressed as a broadcasting team.<\/p>\n

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The Jim Nantz-Tony Romo, uncle nephew, dynamic isn\u2019t working and the duo is regressing https:\/\/t.co\/5SoEq4Cu3S<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/PC0qd9Bg6k<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Andrew Marchand (@AndrewMarchand) November 10, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cThey keep regressing,\u201d said Marchand. \u201cThey do this thing where, and I tweeted about this, they lead the league in saying, \u2018They did this game a couple of years ago or earlier in the season. We were at that game.\u2019 No one cares if you\u2019re at the game. That has nothing to do with it. We get it. You guys do the big games, but that doesn\u2019t matter.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey also love to reference what they said earlier, which, again, we\u2019re listening. If you do it every once in a while, these things, it\u2019s fine, but they just do it, it\u2019s just like their thing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen lastly, this is the chemistry. Romo will make a joke, Jim will comment on it, but there\u2019s no real camaraderie there. I know they hugged and said they loved each other at the beginning of games, and maybe they do truly love each other. But in terms of the chemistry, you just don\u2019t necessarily feel it when you\u2019re watching the game.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd last thing, Nantz, late on a lot of calls, but then sometimes when he\u2019s early, he gets things wrong. So again, just want to see improvement from that Nantz and Romo combination.\u201d<\/p>\n

Later\u00a0in the podcast, Marchand, who broke the story a few years back about\u00a0CBS conducting an \u201cintervention\u201d with Romo<\/a>, dug into the uncle-nephew dynamic between Nantz and Romo and how it impacts how\u00a0they feed off one another.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like that uncle-nephew thing they got at a game,\u201d said Marchand. \u201cIt\u2019s like you\u2019re going with your uncle, and you got your nephew there, and he\u2019s making all these references, and the uncle\u2019s like, \u2018I don\u2019t know what he\u2019s talking about. Yeah, okay, little Tony, I get it.\u2019 And trying to play along. There\u2019s no real buy-play when these things happen.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always say Romo is a little like Al Maguire back in the day. At his best, he has a really good feel for football, and maybe doesn\u2019t need to know all the names of players, and it could work. But Jim is just that more old-school, looks like a news anchor, sounds like a news anchor, that Peter Jennings-type from back in the day.\u201d<\/p>\n

The truth is that when they\u2019re clicking<\/a>, Nantz-Romo are considered one of the best<\/a> NFL broadcasting booths. But Marchand is right that they\u2019ve settled into a lot of repetitive business and weird tics that distract from what is often the best game of the day. As for Romo, he\u2019s become broadcasting Marmite: you either love him or you hate him. And every time he makes a weird noise<\/a> or says something strange<\/a>, all of the other annoyances come rushing back in.<\/p>\n

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