Good morning, Broncos Country!
Bo Nix and the Denver Broncos know the offense needs to get better.
That’s one of the reasons head coach Sean Payton made the decision to take back play-calling duties this week. But it’s all for naught unless the guys on the field execute better, and that includes Nix.
There were flashes in the second half against the Jacksonville Jaguars and Los Angeles Rams, but it wasn’t consistent, and it didn’t show in the first half.
The first chance to turn the offensive tide comes today against the Los Angeles Chargers.
“I think running the ball is great, playing action in the passing game, and then route protection specifically,” Payton said to the media earlier this week. “There are so many things to do to make his job easier, and then if you’re struggling with, for example, early-down efficiency, second-and-nine or third-down-and-long, those are some that come to mind right away.”
Like any quarterback at this level of the game, Nix always felt like he left plays on the field. That was true for the loss to the San Francisco 49ers. As he told the media last week:
“There’s not a game I’ve played that I don’t want to go back to. There’s some plays I wish I’d thrown, or maybe not pulled the trigger or thrown to someone else. Unfortunately, that’s what I’ve learned, is you can play in your head, and I’ll still go home thinking about one or two plays that just blew my mind.
“So it’s kind of a game that’s not satisfied, and that’s one thing you have to be careful of in this job, working hard and never being satisfied. For us, obviously, it’s all about winning. It’s all about putting our team in the best situation possible. So, for me, there are definitely a lot of things that I want to change, and I want to be better to happen. That will also end.”
What helps Nix is his fearless approach to making plays. If we see the Nix we saw in the win over Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills, which also happens to be the last time Payton gets the call to play Nix at quarterback, that will be a refreshing development.
“It’s the hardest thing, I think, about playing the position because once you make a throw and it’s picked, then you make a bad decision,” Nix said of not being afraid to take risks. “Once you make one and you tear it up, and you’re like, ‘Well, I fit in there, but it’s probably not smart.’ Then you are considered lucky, or you are a gunslinger. For me, it’s not about labels. This is not the general outcome. It’s about, ‘What is this play asking for? Did I do my job? Isn’t it?’ If there was an accumulation of plays that caused me to throw the ball 100 times in one game on the field, I would do it. But at the same time, when you always watch and if you look at the most successful guys, over and over again, they’re just getting completions. They keep the ball moving. They have fewer footballs on the ground. Once there, yes, you hit it, but at the same time, first-and-20, you’re not eager to just drop back and force something there.
“At the same time, you want to get a positive play and get to second-and-manageable so you can get to third-and-short. Now sometimes, you miss one, and you’re like, ‘Man, the first-and-20, I’m pretty safe because I don’t want to… We’re close to field-goal range. I don’t want to throw the ball in too fast.’ purpose.’ So it comes back to, ‘I should have been more aggressive. At the same time, if I’m dumb and I do something stupid, then you kill me because I didn’t take the field goal. So at the same time, ‘What does the play demand? What situation are we in the game? Are we in the fourth quarter and we’re down eight, and it doesn’t matter, I still have to do it?’ Yes, then let’s do it. At the same time, we weren’t in that situation the majority of the game to where it’s just all or nothing, let’s just be dumb.
“So at the same time, I think I want to be aggressive. I really want, when open, let’s hit. But at the same time, I’ve been gotten too many times trying to do too much. Nowadays, with our offense, I don’t have to be the hero on every play. I don’t have to do to (Harve’ll) and RJ, the ball. 20 [yards]. That’s as good as throwing it 20 yards in the air sometimes. So I’m actively looking at it and seeing where I can grow. The labels and stuff, where you can get caught up in it. If you’re not careful, turnovers can go through the roof, and that’s not all I have to do.”
The good news for the Broncos is that they are 2-2 after a brutal schedule to start the season. The hope is that moving back to Payton as play-caller will spark the offense and the team. Against a winless division rival, you know the Chargers will come out highly motivated.
“From a player’s standpoint, we can always do more,” Broncos receiver Courtland Sutton told the media. “There are things here and there that we might not have completely … I don’t want to say not dialed in, but there’s a little bit of attention to detail that we have to tighten up as players. As a collective, we have to find a way to capitalize on opportunities when they arise and minimize the lack of attention to detail that can happen throughout the game.”