Here are excerpts from CBS Sports media conference call with CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus and former Dallas quarterback Tony Romo on Tuesday.
CBS Sports announced that Romo, who has no full-time media experience, is joining the CBS Television Network as lead NFL ON CBS game analyst.
Here's what McManus and Romo had to say:
ON PEOPLE SAYING TONY ROMO IS A RISK
SEAN McMANUS: "People have said to us, 'Boy, you're taking a guy that's coming right from the field into a position as a lead analyst, isn't that a risk?' Well, I think it's a very manageable risk, to be honest with you. I think Tony will be having all sorts of work this summer, whether it's doing practice games, whether it's doing preseason games, whether it's sitting down and looking at film and tape of other analysts and the kind of job that they do. It's going to be a full time job for Tony… But, I think when he goes to the booth, he'll be ready… If we didn't have the faith in Tony, if we didn't have the faith that he could be an outstanding analyst, we wouldn't be taking this risk."
ON DECISION TO JOIN CBS
TONY ROMO: "It's going to be a great challenge for me. I'm going to have to learn this craft, and I'm going to have to improve. And improve quickly. That's kind of exciting. The competitive aspect of that gets me excited to get up and go attack it. I hope that I'm able to make the CBS family proud of their decision."
ON MAKING TRANSITION TO LEAD ANALYST
ROMO: "I don't think it's going to be easy. I'm expecting it to be difficult and that is no different than when I came to the NFL. But, like anything in life, you go attack it. You wake up every day and give everything you've got. If you have any ability at all, you're going to at least achieve your potential. That's what we are trying to do over and over again. Figure out how to basically reach your potential in whatever field you go into in life."
ON BEING NEWEST MEMBER OF TEAM
ROMO: "It reminds me of my rookie year when you really don't know anything. You're walking into a brand‑new situation. You're trying to play the game. I can talk, but this is a completely different world. There is a lot of subtlety involved, just like playing the quarterback position. You have to figure out what the difference is, and how to succeed. I like that challenge. I think it's going to be enjoyable trying to be great at something. I've had that in football for 20 years basically now…I'm going from being the old man to all of a sudden being the young man...It's exciting. I'm pumped to get started."
ON CHALLENGES OF COMING RIGHT OFF FIELD INTO NO. 1 SEAT
ROMO: "I've got to go attack this just like football and see where I'm good and where I'm not… If there is a strength of mine, it's my ability to learn. If I'm not very good right away, my hope is it doesn't take too long. And if I'm not [good right away], I can promise you I'll be spending 20-hours a day trying to figure it out… That's the approach I'm going to take, and I think that gives me the best chance to succeed."
ON BEING A BROADCASTER
ROMO: "This is a decision that I come to because I'm excited about this craft. I'm excited about trying to be really good at this. I understand the challenges ahead. I also understand that it can be pretty fun trying to attack something and do something at a high level. If I'm not very good, I can tell you I won't be sleeping very well."
ON CHOOSING BROADCASTING OVER PLAYING
ROMO: "I'm making the decision to go to CBS because I am choosing CBS over playing football… That's the decision I want to make. Not because I'm being forced to… I'm excited about this. It's going to be great, and hopefully I'm good enough to do this for a really long time."
ON JERRY JONES
ROMO: "I've never had a better boss, owner or mentor than Jerry Jones. I'd be remiss if I went through this entire conversation and never mentioned how much he's meant to me and how much he'll mean to me going forward because he'll always be in my life, and I'll always be in his."
ON PROVIDING GAME ANALYSIS
ROMO: "There are millions of little scenarios within the game. The adjustment that took place at the Super Bowl. Bill Belichick runs a bear front defense, which means he puts three lineman right over the center in guards. Well, guess what Atlanta does? They run wide and gash (the Patriots) in the first half. Well, how smart is Belichick? He comes right out and runs a completely different front in the second half. They get one run. It's a really intelligent move. That's the kind of stuff you have a chance to communicate if you can get out there and recognize it. There are a lot of little things and it's going to be fun with the evaluation process."
ON WHAT HE IS EXCITED FOR AS AN ANALYST
ROMO: "You want to see great football. I want to see players show off their skill set. I want to see coaches separate themselves schematically. There are four or five coordinators on each side of the ball that really give their team advantages each week and I want the viewers to know why. These guys are like having an extra quarterback on the field. They (certain teams) really have some special talented guys out there, and we want to prop them up so people know this is part of the reason this team is successful."
