Former NFL QB, GM propose devious Watson plot involving Dolphins. And Super Bowl TV notes
NFL and Super Bowl media notes:
▪ Former Dolphins executive Mike Tannenbaum offered the most mischievous — but probably the best — idea of what the Houston Texans should do if they ultimately conclude they must trade disgruntled quarterback Deshaun Watson:
Get the Dolphins and Jets in a bidding war.
Tannenbaum didn’t name the Dolphins specifically but said: “I’m trying to leverage two teams against each other. If I’m [Jets general manager] Joe Douglas, the worst-case scenario is let’s say he goes to Miami. That very thought would give me an ulcer of epic proportions because you’re sitting there, you’ve got [to face Buffalo’s] Josh Allen twice a year, Deshaun Watson twice a year. You won’t win the division for the next 10 years.
“If I’m Joe Douglas and I get Nick Caserio on the phone, I’m getting the deal done right now. I don’t care if it costs me an extra one or [defensive lineman] Quinnen Williams. I can go find those types of players. Deshaun Watson is a once in a decade player.”
As ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky said of the Dolphins and Jets: “Pit them against each other. You know what’s worse than not getting Watson? Watching one of your division rivals get Watson.”
And Tannenbaum said: “Every minute you lose leverage. You want to get a deal done ASAP.”
ESPN and NFL Network say the Texans have told teams they’re not trading Watson. ESPN’s Adam Schefter says Watson has no intention of joining the Texans. Watson’s recourse would be to sit out for part of a season, a full season or multiple seasons, if it comes to that, and hope the Texans relent on trading him if they don’t before the draft.
▪ CBS analyst Tony Romo, who calls Sunday’s game with Jim Nantz, surprised some of us on a Zoom call last week when he declared that this Super Bowl would be a barometer to determine who’s in the driver’s seat for the distinction of being considered the greatest quarterback of all time.
“This is the biggest game Patrick Mahomes will ever play in for the rest of his career,” Romo said. “If he loses this game, he cannot catch Tom Brady, in my opinion…
“[Mahomes] is the only kid that is going to be in the discussion [of all time greatest quarterback]. This is the matchup people will be talking about 25 to 50 years from now. ... The fact that Patrick Mahomes is somehow in this discussion shows you how amazing this guy is. There’s a chance for Patrick Mahomes playing this game, to climb the ladder. If Mahomes wins, he keeps that door open. If Brady wins, I don’t know how anyone can top him” as the greatest of all time.
If Brady wins, he would have seven Super Bowl championships, compared with Mahomes’ one.
“I think it’s a legacy game,” Romo said. “This can be one of the great matchups in sports history because it doesn’t happen very often. This matchup right here is what you talk about with your friends.
“Could you imagine if Michael Jordan got his team to the Finals in ‘98 or when he was older, against the young LeBron James who’s really the face of the league? It would be the greatest thing in the history of sports, and I’m like, I think we actually might have that game. It just has never happened.
“Jordan set the bar. LeBron has to be so amazing to get in the discussion — and he is. Somehow he’s put himself in the discussion. The fact that Patrick Mahomes is somehow even remotely in this discussion shows you how amazing this guy is. And when it’s all said and done, there’s a chance for Patrick Mahomes, if you’re playing in this game,... this game could push you over to the top when it’s all said and done.”
CBS’ Jim Nantz said: “This game is a hold your breath. And there’s going to be a big highlight coming at you every couple of minutes. We almost couldn’t write a better script for us going into this game. I feel like in some respects, we’re due.”
▪ Nantz said he won’t even see Romo until they get to the stadium on Sunday.
They’ll take different cars to the game in accordance with COVID protocols. Normally, the Super Bowl announcers would be in town all week and see each other frequently. Nantz will fly in on Friday and stay in his room until he leaves for the game.
All CBS meetings with players and coaches will take place on Zoom. CBS will have about 600 people in Tampa — about 15 percent less than would be the case for a non-COVID Super Bowl. All CBS employees in Tampa will be COVID-tested.
CBS’ pre-game cast will do a full pre-game rehearsal in person on Saturday.
▪ Nantz will be a free agent this offseason, and Front Office Sports reported he’s at an impasse with CBS in contract negotiations and ESPN would be interested if he surprisingly leaves CBS. Nantz, 61, reportedly earns about $6 million annually and wants a big raise, according to The New York Post. Romo, his NFL partner, makes $17 million a year. CBS expects to keep Nantz.
▪ After a year without one, the traditional Super Bowl pregame show interview of a President returns Sunday, with Norah O’Donnell interviewing Joe Biden in the 4 p.m. hour.
CBS’ 2 p.m. pre-game show also includes quarterback and coach interviews and features on re-integration of the NFL in the 1940s, the ascension of Black quarterbacks in the modern NFL, a look back at Whitney Houston’s rendition of the National Anthem 30 years ago, an ode to COVID front line workers and interviews with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, Tampa tight end Rob Gronkowski and defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul.
Also, Showtime late night hosts Desu Nice and The Kid Mero interview Chiefs star tight end Travis Kelce.
Of all the segments, the re-integration piece could be most compelling. Here’s how CBS described it: “Academy-Award winner Viola Davis narrates the story of Kenny Washington, the man to re-integrate the NFL in the 1940s. While the story of Jackie Robinson’s breakthrough in the sport of baseball is well-known, the integration of the NFL is more complex. The race barrier was broken in 1920 but the owners instituted an unofficial ban of Black players from 1934 until after WWII when the Los Angeles Rams signed Washington. Coincidentally, Washington had played college baseball with Robinson at UCLA. The Rams signed him in 1946, almost a year before Robinson integrated Major League Baseball.”
▪ Lead game producer Jim Rikhoff said CBS will use 120 - 120! - cameras, including a Trolley Cam, which will move back and forth on a zipline at speeds of up to 65 mph.
▪ LED message boards that will cover the first seven rows of seats at Raymond James Stadium will show advertising and promotions for CBS shows.
But CBS executive producer Harold Bryant insists the network won’t go out of its way to show them.
“It’ll be more incidental,” Bryant said. “We don’t have a plan to show those. We’ll see how that goes, if something comes up as we go through the rehearsal, maybe there’s something we can incorporate.”
▪ James Brown will set the record for hosting the most Super Bowl pre-game shows (10).
This story was originally published February 4, 2021 at 2:51 PM.
