Traina Thoughts: After Two Weeks Of The NFL Season, Tony Romo Is The MVP
1. Is two weeks too early to make a declaration that CBS' Tony Romo is the best NFL analyst on television? Probably. But, I don't care. Romo again yesterday, during the Saints-Patriots game, showed that he's way ahead of everyone else calling games. He's also a breath of fresh air -- someone who does not fit the cookie-cutter mold of game analyst we expect to hear.
You know by now of Romo's uncanny ability to predict players. He did it repeatedly in Week 1 and was at it again yesterday, calling this New Orleans touchdown.
Amazingly, some people are not a fan of Romo calling the play before it happens.
Even FS1's Shannon Sharpe played the role of party pooper yesterday.
The "spoiler" excuse makes no sense because even if Romo calls the play, you still don't know the result. He's telling you the play, not the outcome of the play. Only in this day and age where social media gives everyone the opportunity to complain about anything and everything, would people not want an analyst to give you analysis.
But Romo does way more than just predict plays. His energy is perfect. He's excitable, but not over the top. He comes across as a fan, not a suit. This leads to him talking over his play-by-play man, Jim Nantz, but it's actually refreshing. It's a different way to hear a game called and it's entertaining as hell, as you'll see in this clip of Gronk's TD yesterday.
One more thing to show you Romo does more than analyze plays. SB Nation has a great article up about Romo exposing a Bill Belichick tactic that you should read. The former Cowboys quarterback explained how the Patriots coach will use a different defense in garbage time to throw off other teams' analytics. It's next-level stuff that I can't recall hearing from any other analyst out there.
2. Fans should never tweet players about fantasy football. Players should never respond to fans about fantasy football. This was proven by Eagles running back LeGarrette Blount, who had no carries and one reception for zero yards against the Chiefs on Sunday.
3. Having good genes is a wonderful thing.
4. Twitter is freaking out because Kevin Durant may have a secret account that he uses to reply to people who rip him. The best reaction to this very important news came from Jemele Hill.
5. If you missed it on Saturday, the highlight of the college football day was Boise State's dog who goes out to get the teek after a kickoff.
6. Astros outfielder Josh Reddick celebrated his team's AL West title in grand fashion.
7. I still remember someone on Twitter telling me recently that Julia Louis Dreyfus hadn't accomplished much in her career.
8. RANDOM WRESTLING VIDEO OF THE DAY: What can you say about Bobby "The Brain" Heenan? He was the best manager ever and one of the best announcers ever. What a career. I'd argue that Prime Time Wrestling, hosted by Heenan and Gorilla Monsoon was the best wrestling show ever. In light of Heenan's passing, I got this request on Twitter.
These were definitely the good old days of the WWF.
The best of the Internet, plus musings by SI.com writer, Jimmy Traina. Get the link to a new Traina's Thoughts each day by following on Twitter and liking on Facebook. Catch up on previous editions of Traina Thoughts. And check Jimmy Traina's weekly podcast, "Off The Board," on iTunes, SoundCloud and Stitcher.
Bonus Item: In Friday's Bonus Item, I told you to bet Purde +7 at Missour, The BoilerMakers won, 35-3. In Thursday's Bonus Item, I gave you the Texans-Bengals under 38 as a winner. Tonight, it's the Giants -3.
