Romo: Eagles have great chance to win Super Bowl

PHILADELPHIA » It wasn’t perfect, but Tony Romo had a solid rookie season as a color analyst for CBS Sports.

The retired Cowboys quarterback invited viewers into the huddle — heck, into the radio headset — with his calls of football games this season.

Truth be told, Romo’s insight showed he takes the job a little bit more seriously than some of his colleagues. But that’s a column for another day.

What Romo said on a conference call Tuesday should be music to the ears of Cowboys haters — uh, Eagles fans.

Romo unabashedly said the Eagles have a legitimate shot at winning the Super Bowl in a final four that pits the Jaguars against Bill Belichick and the Patriots, and the Eagles against the Vikings.

“They’re going to try and take away one of your best players up front,” Romo said of the Patriots. “But these teams have too many talented rushers and that’s going to make it more difficult than they’ve had it. To win this thing they’re going to have to go through two dynamic defenses. And that’s a lot of hits on the quarterback. That’s a lot of throws under duress. That’s a lot of bang-bang throws where the receiver is catching the ball with a guy on his shoulder over, and over, and over again. If anybody can do it, it’s Brady. But it’s definitely a challenge.

“And I would say whoever comes out of the NFC is a very formidable opponent. They’re going to be in the mix. All three of these teams — all four of these teams — can win the Super Bowl. And you can’t say that every year.”

Romo and Jim Nantz do the PatriotsJaguars game (3:05 p.m.) at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass. The top-seeded Patriots are favored by nine points.

Joe Buck and that other Cowboys quarterback, Troy Aikman, will call the Eagles game with the Vikings (6:40 p.m., FOX) at Lincoln Financial Field. The top-seeded Eagles are three-point underdogs.

••• Referee Clete Blakeman is working Sunday.

Unfortunately for the Eagles, who traditionally play well the way he calls games, Blakeman is doing the PatriotsJaguars game.

The Eagles get Ed Hochuli, the nice guy with the huge biceps and drawn-out explanations. Look for the Vikings game to last almost four hours.

••• Eagles offensive coordinator Frank Reich respectfully declined comment on reports he was a candidate for the head coaching opening with the Titans.

“You know what, right now, myself, our staff, are interested in one thing only,” Reich said. “So, that’s all. I have no time. When I tell you I have no time for anything to consider anything else other than how we’re preparing a game plan to beat the Vikings, that’s really all we’re concerned about.”

The Titans also reportedly will get together with Texans defensive coordinator Mike Vrabel and Panthers defensive coordinator Steve Wilks.

Eagles quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo likely will get a second interview for the head coaching job of the Cardinals, per reports.

Win or lose this weekend, Reich and DeFilippo would be able to speak with those teams in the coming week. Should the Eagles win, the bye week allows contact between teams seeking head coaches and working assistants.

Though Reich said he’s happy working with the Eagles, he didn’t rule out a run at being a head coach.

“I honestly have not thought much about it,” Reich said. “I want to stay focused. I learned that a long time ago. Just enjoy the people and the process that you’re in. I love it here and I love where we’re at. We’re doing a pretty special thing right here and wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”

••• NOTES » More time has elapsed since the Eagles reached the conference championship than their counterparts Sunday. The Birds last made it during the 2008 season with Donovan McNabb at quarterback. The Vikings reached the NFC title game in 2009 with Brett Favre, but lost to the eventual Super Bowl champion Saints … The Eagles’ average margin of victory is 10.2 points, the Vikings’ 8.1 … Everson Griffin leads the Vikings with 13 sacks. Brandon Graham tops the Birds with 9 ½ sacks … The Vikings are plus-5 in turnover ratio but have just 19 takeaways compared to the Eagles, who are plus-11 with 31 takeaways.