That band sure does sound pretty good, doesn’t it?
On a Monday morning in Denver, Colorado, the birds are chirping, the sun is shining and the sweet, sweet music made by Broncos head coach and his rookie quarterback Bo Nix has everyone in a good mood. The Broncos appear to have found their man.
In case you missed the origin of the analogy, it was actually Payton who tried to dismiss the notion that Nix had won the starting job as early as last week. Kay Adams pressed Payton – fairly, since Nix looked solid in his preseason debut last week against the Colts – and the coach offered up a clever response: “The band is still playing.”
Last night, even the coach admitted the band sound pretty swell.
“The band sounds pretty good,” he said, just after telling the media at hand he would no longer be answering questions regarding Nix and his place on the depth chart. “I’m not dancing. Listen, there are a lot of things we did well as a team. I’m not announcing a starter, and I told you I’ll get with you when we do.”
The coach might not be dancing, but in the potholed streets of Denver, the Broncos faithful sure are.
We are sold that Nix is the one.
So is Payton; he’s just not going to say it until the lights drop and the show starts. (See how we can keep going with this?)
But man, oh man, have these opening acts been encouraging.
Last night against the Packers, Nix, who got the start and led the charge, was practically flawless. The rookie went 8-for-9 for 80 yards and a touchdown. His rating was 140.7. Once again, he took no sacks and tossed no interceptions. Furthermore, he showed ability to throw down the seam, hitting Courtland Sutton on a 23-yard strike that put the Broncos into the red zone. He capped his night by hitting Tim Patrick for a 2-yard touchdown, a score that was “bigger” than just six points given Patrick’s return from two seasons off.
In short, Nix could not have had a better night.
And if Nix is the front man, Payton is looking like a damn good lead guitarist (or, whatever band member you’d like to go with). Nix is looking good, but make no mistake, his coach is making him look good. Payton may be playing coy and downplaying the early returns on his rookie, but he’s been a rock star, too. (See? It just works).
“I came out here and was very comfortable with the first few plays that were called,” Nix said after the game. “They were kind of keeping it within my comfort level, and that’s huge, especially for someone’s who’s trying to get in there and execute. You want to run plays that you feel comfortable with, and that’s what Coach Payton was calling tonight.”
Those lyrics aren’t hard to interpret: Nix’s coach is doing right by Nix, giving his young(ish) signal caller the plays that fit him best. Both Payton and Nix are doing their thing against base, preseason defenses, but they’re still doing it very well. The real test comes against Seattle in Week 1, where the crowd will be loud and there’s no gentlemen’s agreements on how defenses are to go about their business. If Nix slays the Seahawks, perhaps his coach can dance a (little) jig.
The Sean and Bo Show has a long way to go. There’s no telling – at this point – if they’ll be making platinum albums for years or if they’ll fall onto a long list of one-hit-wonders.
But for now, they’re dancing in the streets of Denver. The Sean and Bo Show is off to rave reviews.