ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Bo Nix is searching for answers to the Denver Broncos' offensive struggles but isn't taking any advice from quarterbacks-turned-TV-analysts like Dan Orlovsky and Hall of Famer Kurt Warner, who suggested he's risk-averse right now and too impatient to let plays develop.
“Maybe for some certain life situations you can listen to older, more mature people, but when it comes to X's and O's, it’s all about our coaches and our players,”
Nix said Wednesday.
ESPN's Orlovsky and NFL Network's Warner analyzed Denver's 24-14 loss at San Francisco on Sunday and led a chorus of critics who found several examples of Nix checking down to his running backs too quickly.
Both of the analysts suggested the solution isn't for coach Sean Payton to take back play-calling duties from offensive coordinator Davis Webb but for the Broncos (2-2) to decipher what's going on with Nix, who also has appeared reluctant to tuck the ball and run it himself, curtailing his dual-threat traits.
Nix has thrown for just 204.8 yards per game and he's rushed for a total of 25 yards.
“I think the question for him and Davis Webb — because it's not on Davis Webb this game — is: ‘Why aren’t you throwing the ball downfield when I'm creating chunk throws?'” Orlovsky asked, showing a trio of examples. “These are basic concepts that he should be seeing and for some reason he's either not seeing or he sees it and doesn't want to throw it.”
Warner broke down five first-half plays from Sunday “and there were huge opportunities on those five plays for Bo Nix to make a throw and set them up for points, set them up inside the red zone, maybe get some big-play touchdowns — and he passed on all of them.”
“It's just like I was talking about Kyler Murray being impatient when he gets to the top of his drop,” Warner said on “The Rich Eisen Show.” “This is something I've seen with Bo really throughout his career, he's a guy that when he gets to the top of his drop, he wants to move, he wants to create, he wants to throw on the run. He feels more confident there and ... so he misses opportunities that are coming to him within the structure of the play that's called because he's impatient with it.”
Late in games, as evidenced by his dozen fourth-quarter comebacks, Nix's style serves him well, creating off-schedule plays that pay off.
“What Denver has to figure out,” Warner said, “is why is he playing a little more frantic early and how do we settle him down so he can make some of these plays and give us a better chance early in the game?”
Such critiques haven't been brought up to him at Broncos headquarters by his coach, play-caller or position coach Logan Kilgore, Nix said: “I haven’t heard that from them a whole lot this season, so that’s all I’m really worried about.”
It's those voices, and those of his teammates, that Nix said he'll heed.
“I think when it comes to the X's and O's, my mom all the time, she’s like, ‘You all should’ve done this. You all should’ve done that.’ I’m like, ‘Mom, you have no idea. Don’t even start,'” Nix said with a laugh. “I think it’s just simply that. Not many people understand the plays that we’re putting into it, or the meetings. It’s just us. It’s our group that understands how we can get better and the ways in which we’re trying to attack defenses.”
One outside voice Nix does pay attention to is that of Hall of Famer Peyton Manning, whom Nix said often texts him after games, not so much with unsolicited advice but with “Keep your head up” type of messages.
Nix broke his right ankle during the playoffs last season, missed the AFC championship game and needed two operations. But he said the reason he's not running the ball as much this season is “because I'm seeing the field better and I know where my outlets are and I'm getting to them faster. I think that's just a product of being in the system for three years.”
“I love running the football,” he said. “I feel great. I’m healthy. I feel as good as I’ve felt in a long time.”
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