Tony Romo’s analysis has never really appealed to Chris Russo. But Russo ound the CBS analyst’s recent Franco Harris blunder to be borderline criminal.
Russo was on First Take Wednesday morning, and although three days had passed since Romo and Jim Nantz were on the call for the Buffalo Bills-Kansas City Chiefs Divisional Round matchup on CBS, the statute of limitations on Romo blunders still wasn’t up.
“I know he’s making $17 million and everybody gets a kick out of him, I’ve had enough,” Russo ranted about Romo. “On Sunday, during this game, 56 million people watched it, Tony, our little pal Romo on this particular play early in the game…Tony said, ‘Boy, that’s like the play with Franco Harris.’ The play with Franco Harris is Immaculate Reception, for crying out loud!”
Romo’s Franco Harris reference occurred on a fumble by the Buffalo Bills, where tight end Dalton Kincaid batted the ball out of bounds to make sure it couldn’t be recovered by the Chiefs. The play kept the ball in Buffalo’s hands, but drew a 10-yard penalty for illegal batting.
“That’s the old Franco Harris play, Jim,” Romo said. “Where you’re going down, it’s fourth down, ‘let’s just bat it to get a first down,’ they don’t allow that.”
But the illegal batting rule has nothing to do with Franco Harris. The rule was implemented after the “Holy Roller” play in 1978, where Raiders quarterback Ken Stabler fumbled the ball and it was batted forward into the end zone before Hall-of-Fame tight end Dave Casper ultimately recovered it for a touchdown. As ESPN’s resident sports historian Russo noted, Harris is known for the Immaculate Reception, not the Holy Roller.
“That is the play that Romo referenced!” Russo yelled as the Immaculate Reception played in the background before ESPN also showed the Holy Roller play that eventually led to the illegal batting rule. “He needs a history lesson, call me! This is called the Holy Roller!”
“Romo sat there and talked about Franco when that ball is knocked out of bounds by Kincaid! That is AWFUL, AWFUL, AWFUL, AWFUL!”
Russo, a traditionalist when it comes to sports broadcasts, has long complained about Romo’s unorthodox style in the booth.
“He just never shuts up,” Russo said of Romo during a 2019 rant on his SiriusXM Radio Show. “Poor Jim Nantz, he never gets to do anything. It’s just not a conventional broadcast with him. I don’t want an education, I’m not looking for an education. A little of it, a little is not terrible, but I’m not looking for an education. I’m really not.”
Russo may not want an education from Romo, but he’d apparently love to give one to the lead NFL analyst for CBS.
About Brandon Contes
Brandon Contes is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. He previously helped carve the sports vertical for Mediaite and spent more than three years with Barrett Sports Media. Send tips/comments/complaints to bcontes@thecomeback.com