Bo Nix and the Denver Broncos are in serious trouble due to his inexperience.
Following the 13-6 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Broncos rookie quarterback was getting laughed at for his performance.
Sean Payton’s limited playbook, and Nix’s limited abilities, left Denver’s offense easy to defend.
Bo Nix and Denver Broncos offense were extremely limited last Sunday
Broncos fans, casual NFL observers, and opposing defenses could see how limited Denver’s offense was last week. And really, that goes for each of the first two weeks of Nix’s career.
Currently, the Broncos are 29th in points per game (13.0) and 28th in total yards (526), with a whopping one touchdown scored. Bo Nix is yet to throw a touchdown, and the offense’s only TD came in Week 1 on a rush from the QB.
Of course, given that he’s a rookie, Payton is limited in what plays he can call.
“You play to their strengths, it’s just simple coaching,” James Palmer said on the Steve Smith Sr. Experience podcast. “You’re going to play to what they know. But at the same time, when I talked to enough coaches in the league it’s, ‘But you better start teaching them the other things they need to learn to play this position in the NFL.’ You can’t just go out there with the stuff you know. Defenses will eat you alive.”
Which is exactly what we saw against both the Seahawks and the Steelers. The only difference is Pittsburgh’s defensive backs had the benefit of watching the Week 1 tape to learn some of the Broncos’ tendencies.
“I was just in the Steelers’ locker room going against a rookie in Bo Nix in his second NFL start,” Palmer continued. “And I’m talking to the Steelers’ corners and they’re sitting there laughing going, ‘We knew the playbook was this big [showed his hand with fingers close together]. We knew they weren’t going to take any shots. And we know what he likes to do. They’re going to make it easy on him to go ‘here’ and ‘here’ and that’s all we had to worry about.’”
Denver’s offense is so non-threatening, opposing players are laughing at what a joke it is.
We all knew that this was going to be a long year with a rookie QB. But there was also a lot of hope in the Mile High City that Nix could be “the guy” going forward.
So, what can Payton do to help the young gun improve over the next 15 games?
“You gotta start working–I’m not just calling Sean Payton out–but coaches gotta go with what he knows, yes, to set him up to succeed,” Palmer continued. “But you better start teaching him all the other things. And that’s why this is a process…to grow and learn.”
“Those other teams can watch it too,” Smith said of the All-22 film. “They’re paying attention. These coaches don’t really look at the deficiencies.”
Nix, Payton and the offense are in for a long Sunday in Tampa if they don’t change things up
As Steve Smith said, the more film there is on an offense and a player, the easier it is to understand his tendencies. And his deficiencies.
Now, with two games of highly conservative offense on tape, if Payton calls the same, short dump-off passes, the Buccaneers are going to eat Nix alive.
Through two games, Nix has thrown four interceptions. That’s tied for the NFL lead with Anthony Richardson of the also 0-2 Colts.
Denver’s offense has so many problems, there’s plenty of blame to go around. And Payton has doled it out, too.
He’s blamed receivers for not getting enough separation, for dropping passes, and not running the right routes. He’s said the offensive line hasn’t blocked well enough, and now Mike McGlinchey is out for at least a month. And Payton blamed the running backs for their lack of burst, too.
He’s been mostly happy with what Nix has been able to do, but also admitted the rookie’s mistakes.
“A couple of things you see on tape,” Payton said on Monday. “You see early on us struggle inside which forces him out of the pocket. Then you do see him later in the second half, a cleaner pocket and then him hurry it. It’s developing the confidence of climbing, developing the confidence within the framework of your protection.”
Everyone’s to blame for Denver’s offensive woes, including Payton himself.
“I don’t know how many attempted passes 10-yards or more down the field [he has],” Payton admitted when asked about Nix’s ineffectiveness going downfield. “We go in each week with a number of designed shots.”
Here’s hoping the Broncos go in with more designed deep shots this week, because the 5-to-10-yard dump-offs aren’t resulting in first downs. Nor are they resulting in successful drives for points.
If the Broncos are going to be one of the worst teams in the NFL this year, which they are, they might as well go down swinging.
Denver (0-2) faces the Buccaneers (2-0) at 11 a.m. MDT this Sunday in Tampa Bay.