Can we really call Bo Nix’s feet “happy” when they make Broncos Country so miserable?
If I’m Sean Payton, the first thing I’m doing with Nix is sitting the quarterback down in my office. The second thing is popping open my laptop. The third is showing Nix a clip of the last 45 seconds from the first half of Broncos-Chargers this past Sunday.
The fourth is congratulating the kid for finding Courtland Sutton over the top for a sumptuous 52-yard score on fourth-and-2. The fifth is asking Nix to lean in closer to the laptop. To take a long, careful look at his tootsies on that perfect rainbow to Sutton.
They’re set.
Like a mighty oak. Right foot planted. Rock back. Smooth release. Easy money.
Nix has 21 NFL starts under his belt. He still tippy-taps in the pocket like a skittish rookie.
We love Bo because he can go “off-script,” which is football shorthand for improvising when stuff hits the fan. The ability to turn nothing into something.
The problem: Nix’s feet are so fast, they’re sometimes two steps ahead of his brain.
He’s a talented young man locked in an almost constant internal struggle. His upper half is running the play while his lower half is plotting an escape route.
When the two are in tandem, you get Sutton walking, untouched, into the end zone. But those joys are rare these days. Bo’s mechanics won’t allow it.
If Nix had set his feet while hitting on just one of three more wide-open heaves against the Bolts, the Broncos are 2-1 — and the AFC West is thrown into beautiful chaos.
On a flea-flicker from 68 yards out, the closest Chargers defender to wideout Marvin Mims Jr. was stuck in El Sereno traffic. A third-quarter heave to Mims in the end zone trickled off the latter’s fingertips. Nail that second one, and the Broncos take a 20-10 lead.
Can Nix be fixed? Heck, yeah. That’s why Payton makes the big bucks. But the Broncos coach needs to do these four things in order to get the No. 10 Express back on the right track:
1. Get somebody — anybody — running routes in the middle of the field again
Nix’s passing chart so far this season resembles the back of a medieval monk’s head: Healthy business down low, a smattering of action up top, and this great, big bald spot in the middle.
Crazy, isn’t it? The Broncos offense rarely runs the stuff right now that the Broncos defense can’t defend. Namely, the middle of the field. Middle linebackers being forced to backpedal or cover sideline to sideline rather than chugging downhill. It’s the “inside triangle” that Payton vowed to fix after getting run out of the playoffs — tight ends, slot receivers, backs.
You know who’s got that “triangle” working right now? The Colts. The Chargers. The Cardinals. The Jaguars. The Steelers. Combined record: 12-3. The Chiefs Dynasty (RIP), like the Patriots one before it, was rooted in the notion of a GOAT QB1 getting repeatedly bailed out by a Hall-of-Fame tight end.
Evan Engram isn’t that. So far. Yet even something that’s 60% peak Kelce or peak Gronk would be better than what Nix has seen through three games. Yes, Engram’s been dinged up. Not his fault. But boy, are we getting Greg Dulcich vibes again.
2. Move Courtland Sutton around
Just because you lost a front-line tight end doesn’t mean you can’t get creative with big targets. Courtland Sutton is 6-foot-4. Troy Franklin is 6-3. Pat Bryant Jr. is 6-2.
Move them around. Run them up the seam. Work them inside.
Payton helped make Jimmy Graham a star. He knows. Or at least, he used to.
3. Tempo, tempo, tempo
Nix seems afraid to throw an interception. Afraid to make a mistake. Here’s an idea: Why not give No. 10 less time to overthink?
According to Pro-Football-Reference.com, Nix has thrown the ball just eight times while working in a no-huddle offense this season. He’s completed six of them for 72 yards and two first downs. He’s posted a 102.1 passer rating in a no-huddle scheme vs. 81.7 after huddling up. Last fall, Nix put up the same completion rate without a huddle (66.27%) as he did while using one (66.32%).
A lifetime 87.2 passer rating while going no-huddle is below what Payton wants — but NIx’s 2.2% interception rate is right in line. Mix it up.
4. Chill the heck out, dude
Nix grew up under a heat lamp, the son of a coach, the son of a former SEC QB. He’s used to pressure. Used to questions. Used to scrutiny.
Dude also looks as if he’s playing with all the unbridled joy of a root canal.
You gotta Bo-lieve? Nix right now appears as if he’s more scared to fail than he is embracing the biggest stage on the Front Range.
It’s as if he’s trying to live up to Bo Nix 2024, trying to live up to The Greatest Rookie QB Season In Denver History. Trying to live up to his coach’s Super Bowl target.
In short, he’s pressing.
Sunshine Sean needs to lighten the mood and brighten the room. The Broncos are never going anywhere while Nix remains trapped inside his own head, feet dancing in the darkness while he fumbles for the door.
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