Announcers

I totally agree with you.

Enthusiastic without being annoying (Dick Vitale), knowledgeable and personable.  

I like him

catts has called him "America's Announcer"

Like him a ton for reasons noted above.....and why does Troy always sound drunk?

Pretty sure Troy HAS to be drunk to sit next to Buck for 3 hours. 

The biggest benefit of Romo's success will be to force a 'revolution' of the role of color analyst, and the way it's approached.
Over time, network rank-and-file analysts have become far too casual , and their commentary is almost an afterthought. Cable (read: espn) analysts have been generally poor, especially over the last few years.
If they're going to up their game, they will have to be far more serious in approach, and be able to correctly predict the play before the snap. Otherwise, they will get left in the dust as the networks will be looking for the next Romo.

It's about time.

Almost seems like the others don't think fans want the insight that Romo gives. Certainly ex players (especially QBs like Aikman, Sims, Foust) could give more insight regarding adjustments, play calling, etc. but chose not to. 

Indeed, FL.
This is the result of dumbing down the broadcast for "the casual viewer" as opposed to a hard-core fan.
Folks want to see the diagrams drawn and want to watch review replays, and generally don't care about the why and how. We tend to be the polar opposite and crave all the info that can be gleaned to learn and become a better fan.
That's why Romo is so appealing.

Yes, I want to see the game beyond a fan's eyes. Would love to be on the field for practice, go through a week of meetings , game planning, etc. 

Blair Kiel posted:

catts has called him "America's Announcer"

Like him a ton for reasons noted above.....and why does Troy always sound drunk?

Too many concussions?

His pre snap analysis and post snap commentary in general is all well and good but I just don't get the fawning over him predicting what play will be run.  Is it like the parlor trick that kids like the novelty of?  I think it's annoying as hell after he does it a few times.  My favorite nfl show was nfl playbook before it was mostly swept under the rug.  Love X's & O's but telling me what play will be run next during a live game is too much.

Blair Kiel posted:

catts has called him "America's Announcer"

Like him a ton for reasons noted above.....and why does Troy always sound drunk?

Aikman? All those concussions.

I am pleasently surprised how good Romo is as an announcer.  And he has excellent taste in sweatshirts 

I know I  am probably the only person in this country who isn't that bothered by Joe Buck.

Tony Romo is my favorite announcer, too. He really is a breath of fresh air over Buck and Aikman.  I like how he predicts the plays that are coming. He knows what the teams needs to do and tells us how they will do it. I really like the guy! He even made the call that the teams have to get the overtime coin toss call correct. Once that coin was flipped, regulation time was the last time KC had the ball on offense.

Still don’t know why Emmit Smith never did commentary on a Super Bowel? 

I'd watch a bad lip reading version of Emmit Smith doing commentary on a game.

He blowd him up!

Nice sweatshirt!

DH13 posted:

I'd watch a bad lip reading version of Emmit Smith doing commentary on a game.

 

Emmit might be the only commentator who’s real analysis could outshine the Bad Lip Reading version. 

Some of Tony's predictions in the NE KC game:

I have always liked Tony Romo, even though were many times I rooted and jeered against as a Cowboy.  Last Sunday was the first time I have really watched a game and listened to him remark as the play-by-play analyst.  Several times I thought "my gosh, at last there is a guy on TV who can give us listeners some honest-to-God insight as to what/how/when to look for while watching plays unfold before us on the TV screen.  He doesn't get caught up in the BS of criticizing players, plays or coaches.  Or he doesn't chime in with his opinions until the viewers have had a few seconds to watch and figure it out for themselves.

Guys like Joe Buck and Al Michaels and Jim Nance are way too quick to pipe in and give us their opinions and tell us what to think before we have a couple moments to decide for ourselves.

Go Tony!

Tony should be a defensive coordinator somewhere.  His ability to predict what the offense will do is pretty remarkable.

Sure.  If he's allowed to sit down and candidly speak with the opposing team's HC, OC, DC and a few players.  That's what announcers do before their games.

Aside from all that it does pose an interesting question regarding his play diagnosis.  I'm sure he has a unique advantage from the pre-production meetings with the teams.  But is he also able to call the plays because of the camera views he has in his booth and because he calls the play just before the snap?  These are advantages a real DC doesn't have.  Helmet com's are cut off well before the snap, before an offense is in it's final position.  A D player can only see so much in his field of vision and at eye level.  There are very distinct advantages Romo has.

I don't find it all that surprising or impressive that he can "predict" plays.  He was a former starting QB in the NFL for a decade.  Anybody with that resume should be able to do the same.  His value is in his delivery and personable approach, essentially making X's and O's exciting for the casual viewer, the largest demographic of the product.  I'd like him more if he did everything he does BUT predict the play.

Coaching and predicting are entirely different things. You could pretty much seat every defensive coordinator in a broadcasting booth and they could tell you what’s coming the instant it’s happening. Good QBs currently playing would do the same. 

But getting that information to the players in real time seconds before it happens is another story. 

Tony is a great color guy. But that does not make him a coaching guru. 

Pakrz posted:

Pretty sure Troy HAS to be drunk to sit next to Buck for 3 hours. 

Pretty sure it's from all the head trauma he received playing football........ 

More worried about Troy and Collinsworth next year trying to become something they haven’t figured out how to do. 

It’s going to be ugly. And comical. 

Romo has become a better announcer than QB, and that's not a knock on his play, just the reality of his ability as an announcer. I like how he points things out, tells the audience what to watch for, etc. Sure, he can predict plays; anyone who watches a ton of film as well as played against a lot of those teams as he has should know their tendencies. Troy doesn't sound like the sharpest knife in the drawer, whether due to concussions or just lack of smarts I don't know. Buck's ego makes me feel like he believes everyone in the audience should know he's No. 1. Blowhard with a big voice.

He meets with both teams coaches and select players before he call their game.  Big reason why he can predict so well.  He makes X's and O's exciting for the casuals.  He's the millenial's Madden.

BOOOM!

DH13 posted:

I don't find it all that surprising or impressive that he can "predict" plays.  He was a former starting QB in the NFL for a decade.  Anybody with that resume should be able to do the same. 

 

I guess that's the point. Guys with his resume that have made the same transition ...from NFL QB to broadcaster....for the most part haven't had that same ability or appeal that Romo has. 

Phil Simms, Troy Aikman, Rich Gannon, Don Meredith, Dan Fouts, Len Dawson, ....er, help me out here... while some have been solid, majority haven't shown the ability or style that Romo has. 

At the same time, as an old fart, his constant jabbering is a bit much for me.

I'll give Romo credit in that he seems to standout from his peers.  There aren't too many great announcers these days. 

Guys I personally miss from the Pro/College football world, Pat Summerall (the younger version), Howard Cosell (he was an ass, but I thought he brought a certain something special to announcing that can't be duplicated), Keith Jackson (Whoooaaa Nellie), Charlie Jones (I liked his voice and enjoyed him on NBC in the late 70s into the '80s), and of course the recently deceased Dick Enberg.  I even miss a guy like Lindsay Nelson who maybe wasn't a great announcer but had a distinct and cool voice. 

Most guys nowadays are kind of boring and don't have the distinctive voices like the guys from the past. 

I always liked Merlin Olson for some odd reason 

I agree, I liked Merlin Olsen especially paired with Dick Enberg.  He was impressive and they were a great announcing team together. 

I also liked Merlin Olsen and Dick Enberg.  Oh MY! was always my favorite by Enberg.

OMG, I can still hear Ray Scott's classy play by play. And a very nice guy besides. 

"Starr.....Dowler.....touchdown, Green Bay"

Oh the simplicity!

The day Dennis Miller started announcing Monday Night Football is pretty much when I quit watching it

I didn't mind Dennis Miller but at the same time having him out there symbolized how desperate they were to try spruce up ratings.

Eventually, they just kind of gave up on trying to prop up Monday Night Football and turned Sunday Night Football into the big night for the NFL.  Heck even Thursday Night Football seems to be bigger now. 

Give me anybody but Dan Dierdorf, anybody.   

Pikes Peak posted:

Give me anybody but Dan Dierdorf, anybody.   

Rush Limbaugh says "hello".