Is there anyone in the entire world who doesn’t love Ferris Bueller?
Well, maybe Dean of Students Edward R. Rooney.
Hey. Wait a gosh darn second. So, if Bo Nix is Ferris Bueller, does that make Sean Payton Ed Rooney?
In case none of this is ringing a bell – either you missed the Broncos game on Sunday, didn’t catch Payton’s comments afterwards, weren’t born in or slept through the 1980s altogether or never once stepped foot inside a Blockbuster video rental – here’s the quick and dirty: Following a deep pass that fell through the arms of wide receiver Troy Franklin – a woulda-coulda-shoulda-been 45-yard touchdown strike – Nix and Payton were caught having a heated discussion on the sidelines. When asked about the spat following the game, Payton compared his young quarterback to Bueller, the beloved, if not mischievous, star character of the 1986 classic “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.”
“It is part of the deal,” explained a typically-annoyed Payton. “There is still a little bit of Ferris Bueller in this player that we have to get rid of.”
Do we really though, Coach?
For anyone who’s ever seen the movie, Bueller was a character that everyone wanted to be. Spontaneous and bold, Bueller did the things we all dreamt of but never had the guts or guile to do. He was exciting and funny and cool, did what he wanted, when he wanted, and got away with it every time.
Sounds like something we’d all like in a franchise quarterback, doesn’t it?
If Nix has been anything at all this season, he’s been boring. That’s not necessarily good or bad, it’s just that he’s been the opposite of Ferris Bueller. His tussle with his head coach, and the play that led up to it, might have been the most exciting sequence we’ve seen since Nix arrived in Broncos Country.
The football translation of Payton’s comparison goes something like this: The play right before the sideline conversation that will surely become the topic of conversation for the next few days, was, as we later learned, “off script.” It was 3rd and 3 from the Raiders 45-yard-line, a manageable down and distance to be sure. The original play, as Nix explained later, was designed to go to the short side of the field for an easy first down. Instead, some confusion in the huddle caused Nix to switch the play and ultimately take a deep shot to a wide-open Franklin streaking toward the endzone. Whether Nix overthrew the pass or Franklin dropped it is up for debate, but the incompletion killed the drive and resulted in a punt.
If there’s anyone who doesn’t care for “off script” it’s Sean “Ed Rooney” Payton, a football coach whose character might even be compared to Colonel Nathan R. Jessup in “A Few Good Men” … “We follow orders, or people die. It’s that simple.”
While Nix is known for being wildly intelligent – a “processor,” as Payton famously told us, who can properly carry out the orders of an offensive-minded genius – he’s also looked snoozingly robotic at times this season. He’s got all the tools that a coach like Payton would want, but– at the risk of angering all the Broncos hopeful – Nix has been underwhelming for most of the new season.
…up until the second half of Sunday’s win over the Raiders. Perhaps more specifically, he caught fire after sparks flew on the sideline. Despite another lackluster first half, Nix ultimately put together 206-yard, 2-touchodown, 117.2 rating performance – and, most importantly – a commanding 34-18 win over the Raiders.
Maybe Nix, like most of Broncos Country, finally had enough of play calling designed for dump-offs at the line of scrimmage. Maybe, Nix has a bigger arm and bolder persona than we ever imagined and wanted to let it fly for once. Maybe Nix finally had enough of his pompous head coach in general and – understandably – snapped.
Maybe, just maybe, the Broncos have finally found their quarterback.
Buzz Lightyear didn’t stick in Denver, but it feels like Ferris Bueller just might.
When it comes to quarterbacks, Ed Rooney, the crusty, grouchy, suspicious, dictating Dean of Students might have preferred more of a Trevor Siemian-type – obedient, predictable and nerdy.
Could it be that Nix is anything but that? Hey Coach, this Nix kid is a pretty righteous dude.
Buckle in Broncos Country. Five games in and sitting at an unexpected 3-2, the season is moving pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.