Keeler: Can Broncos QB Bo Nix be fixed? Yep! But Sean Payton needs to do these 4 things first
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 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 -yard count on fourth-and- 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 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 concern Nix s feet are so fast they re sometimes two actions 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 passage 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 Related Articles Broncos stock record Courtland Sutton rolls but Denver s WR distribution is a mess Renck vs Keeler Is it too early to declare Broncos early-round draft picks busts this season Sean Payton pins Broncos offensive struggles at Chargers on execution not Bo Nix Parker Gabriel s thoughts as Jim Harbaugh s early dominance of Sean Payton continues with Broncos walk-off loss to Chargers Broncos locker room defends Bo Nix after Chargers loss It s not on him If Nix had set his feet while hitting on just one of three more wide-open heaves against the Bolts the Broncos are - and the AFC West is thrown into beautiful chaos On a flea-flicker from 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 - lead Can Nix be fixed Heck yeah That s why Payton makes the big bucks But the Broncos coach necessities to do these four things in order to get the No Express back on the right track 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 - The Chiefs Dynasty RIP like the Patriots one before it was rooted in the notion of a GOAT QB getting repeatedly bailed out by a Hall-of-Fame tight end Evan Engram isn t that So far Yet even something that s 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 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 -foot- Troy Franklin is - Pat Bryant Jr is - 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 Tempo tempo tempo Nix seems afraid to throw an interception Afraid to make a mistake Here s an idea Why not give No 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 yards and two first downs He s posted a passer rating in a no-huddle scheme vs after huddling up Last fall Nix put up the same completion rate without a huddle as he did while using one A lifetime passer rating while going no-huddle is below what Payton wants but NIx s interception rate is right in line Mix it up 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 contentment 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 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 requirements 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 Want more Broncos news Sign up for the Broncos Insider to get all our NFL analysis
