Tony Romo on His First Two Months as a TV Analyst on CBS

As Sports Illustrated‘s Peter King writes, Tony Romo is off to the start of his life—as a TV analyst, that is. After years of heartbreaking red-zone near-misses as the Dallas Cowboys’ quarterback, Romo has taken his job at CBS by storm, wowing viewers with his ability to predict plays before they happen and personable demeanor.

SI‘s King interviewed Romo before last week’s Pittsburgh-Cincinnati game. RealClearLife has teased out some of the best quotes.

-Romo on how his background has played into his role on CBS: “I know how to get ready for a football game. I always knew how to prepare. Preparation for this has not been hard—I love doing it. What it comes down to is, I think about the game a lot. Even when I was playing, I was trying to figure the game out.”

-Romo on seemingly predicting plays before they happen: “I don’t think I do it that often. I know the viral sensation of the world we live in, with social media everywhere. But I only do it maybe three times a game. I’m just trying to think along with the game, to say what I see. It comes down to years of experience, knowing the defense as well as the offense. It’s been natural for me to feel what the quarterback is thinking and feeling at the moment.”

-On his on-air demeanor: “As far as what I say … I want people to feel when the game’s on the line how important the play is. It’s like, you’re at dinner or in the bar with your buddy, and you look up at the game on TV and say, ‘You gotta see this!’ That’s the way I want do the games.”

-On whether he still wants to play football: “I don’t really think about that. When I make a choice—and I bet it was the same with [Cris] Collinsworth and [Troy] Aikman—you know how much effort goes into it. You gotta give everything you got to this. You can’t fake things. You gotta be yourself. You always hope people enjoy it. The goal is to talk to the guy having a beer next to you, just explain the game. And if I can do that, I’ve done my job.”