Tony Romo responds to criticisms of NFL broadcasts last season

CBS lead NFL analyst Tony Romo suggested he remains a hit among a majority of viewers even though his calls of games last season were criticized by many. 

"People come to me now and say they love our crew, they love how we do it," Romo told Richard Deitsch of The Athletic. "Like anything, we’ve (the CBS crew) been at such a high level doing this for so long that it doesn’t matter who you are, people are not going to continually write the same article about how great you are. I mean, you wouldn’t do that. You’re not going to continually write, 'They are the best,' over and over again. They might still think it, but people have to find things to write. I think that’s just part of human nature." 

Romo signed a 10-year contract with CBS in 2020 that reportedly pays him $17.5M per season. This past January, he was ripped on social media and in articles for his performances during the playoffs, and it was reported in February that CBS management "tried an intervention" the previous offseason to have Romo "be better prepared" for assignments. 

Romo said during the springtime that he can now "deal with anything" thanks to serving as the starting quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys during his playing days. He echoed that take while speaking with Deitsch.

"When you play quarterback in the NFL, the criticism that you’re going to get as far as the ups and downs of that world, I mean, you throw an interception to lose a football game and back then, as I tell people, this was the opening of 'SportsCenter' the next day," Romo explained. "There was no Twitter or anything, and you feel that. I had plenty of great moments that I would never change, and I wish I could have brought a Super Bowl to the Cowboys. That’s always going to be a regret that I wasn’t able to do that. But these things harden you. They give you a turtle shell." 

Per Deitsch, Romo and broadcast partner Jim Nantz will work the Week 1 matchup between the Philadelphia Eagles and New England Patriots that will feature the return of retired signal-caller Tom Brady to Gillette Stadium. Romo insisted he's received votes of confidence from people within CBS management ahead of the upcoming campaign. 

"You don’t go by what some people might say," Romo remarked. "They love our team. They know how talented this group is. I think that they appreciate our skill set, and we do theirs." 

Millions upon millions of viewers will be watching and listening to determine for themselves just how talented Romo and company are after he received quite a bit of negative feedback for his calls last season.