ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Sure, Bo Nix is tuning out the social-media chatter. But that doesn’t mean it’s going away — with some of it coming from people who’ve played the position such as Kurt Warner, Dan Orlovsky, and — perhaps most relevantly given his connection as a former backup quarterback for Sean Payton — Chase Daniel.
Warner in particular offered a pointed critique of Nix’s footwork, writing on the social-media platform formerly known as Twitter, “He told me he likes playing with his feet moving, but I’ve always felt when feet are moving fast, mind is moving fast & tougher to slow it down!? Either way, I feel he has to play slower and have more patience in pocket!”
And as ESPN’s Orlovsky noted when he joined the radio side of Denver Sports earlier this week, Nix will have to “calm his feet down and get way more consistent” with his footwork.
Small wonder that Nix feels it prudent to keep the blinders on when it comes to social media. The noise can become deafening, even if some of the analyses possess merit.
But for Nix, the answer isn’t as clear-cut as it might appear on the surface.
FOR NIX, THE FOOTWORK REQUIRED DEPENDS ON THE SITUATION
Certainly, some of Nix’s accuracy issues — particularly when he throws deep, where he’s declined from being one of the NFL’s most efficient deep-ball throwers to among its least-efficient — appear to start with his footwork, particularly when he has the opportunity to work with a clean pocket.
Off-platform throws are part and parcel of life for an NFL quarterback; every passer must make them — now more than ever, and that stares Nix and the Broncos in the eyes this week.
“I think the guy that we’re playing this week, [Patrick] Mahomes, he’s changed maybe the perception of the position where it’s — he throws so much off-platform and has so much success,” Broncos offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi said.
“And so, there’s a fine line you have to walk there. There are times where you’re like, ‘Man, I wish the quarterback would have kept his base and been in a better position to throw.’ And then the next snap, he’s off running for a 20-yard gain. And so, it’s definitely something that you have to work on.”
The threat of the run is a club that remains prominent in Nix’s bag; it allowed the Broncos to finish the Houston Texans for what was their sixth-consecutive win during their ongoing seven-game winning streak.
So, while it would be folly to compare Nix and Mahomes, that specific aspect certainly comes into play as a condition of which one should be mindful when evaluating Nix.
Lombardi continued.
“And just having that experience of like, ‘Man, I can anticipate this route’s about to come open, so, I’m going to stay in my base and climb’ versus, ‘Man, I don’t know where I’m going with this ball. I gotta start moving in a way that gives me a chance to scramble.” And then having the physical ability that, ‘Oh, something popped, I didn’t anticipate,” and being able to throw off-platform,” Lombardi said. “So, there’s a lot that goes into it.”
And while the ex-quarterbacks breaking down the tape from afar have their points, in Lombardi’s mind, they don’t have all the specific answers for Nix because the second-year quarterback’s situation is an experience unto itself — just as any individual passer’s scenario is.
“Being around Drew [Brees] for as long as I was, I appreciate what those guys [Daniel, Orlovsky and Warner] are saying, but I also understand that each player is unique,” Lombardi said. “And, dialing it in where you have the right footwork for the right situation is something that comes with experience.”
It’s experience that Nix is still collecting.
During OTAs, Nix noted that one advantage of being in his second year was that he didn’t need to think as much about aspects such as footwork and relaying the play call in the huddle as he did during his rookie season; with those off his plate, he could focus on diagnosing the defense pre-snap.
Five-and-a-half months later, he might need to lock in a bit in order to return to the accuracy he had last year — especially with his CPOE (completion percentage over expected) having dropped precipitously from 0.6 as a rookie to minus-3.1 this season, another number that has regressed a bit.
Whether this is a dip on the path to success or a decline that augurs further struggle … that’s where the noise worth ignoring comes into play. Because that’s where it goes into fortune telling and blathering to fill time — and unless the pundits have a window into the future, no one knows whether the current struggles are a speed bump or a permanent U-turn.
