Bo Nix Shines for Broncos in Preseason, Eyes Starting QB Role

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00:00Troy Rank is with the Denver Post.

00:07He does a great podcast as well on the Broncos, and there's a lot to talk about, so we thought

00:12we'd catch up with him in the thin air on C2C today.

00:16Troy, good to see you.

00:17I want to start with Bo Nix.

00:21Obviously, he's the, you know, flavor of the day in Denver.

00:25Everyone's talking about him.

00:27Everyone's excited about him.

00:29I thought, overall, what I watched last night, he looked good again, 8 of 9 through a TD,

00:39no sacks, a huge quarterback rating.

00:42Obviously, Sean Payton hasn't announced who his quarterback is.

00:47Is Bo Nix his quarterback?

00:49Yeah, thanks for having me on, Scotty.

00:52Yeah, absolutely, he will be the starter.

00:54Everybody but Bo knows.

00:55It's obvious now.

00:56He's 23 for 30, 205 yards, 2 touchdowns, no sacks in 2 preseason games, led them to

01:03points in 6 of 7 drives, so 30 points in 6 drives.

01:08And remember this about why this will work.

01:11Sean Payton picked him out specifically.

01:14It's like a college recruiter looking for someone that fits their system.

01:18That's why he wanted Bo Nix.

01:20There's some Drew Brees-Light comparisons going on, and that's why you're seeing it.

01:25Because Payton is calling plays to fit Bo Nix's strength, not the other way around.

01:31And Nix has, all he's done the last three weeks is distance himself from the competition.

01:36It's very clear he's ready to be the guy.

01:38I would expect Sean Payton to make the announcement either on Wednesday or at the latest on Friday,

01:43because I don't expect him to play in the final preseason game.

01:46Because if you do that, then you have to play the first string offensive line, and they

01:49have no interest in playing the first string O-line in the third preseason game.

01:53So Stidham and Zach Wilson, do you like that quarterback room?

01:59We saw, obviously, Zach Wilson here in New York for the last few years, and it was a disaster.

02:09Yeah, listen, I mean, I think Zach Wilson has been rejuvenated, as any quarterback would

02:14be that's not playing under Nathaniel Hackett.

02:16Pretty sure Nathaniel Hackett is the worst coach I've ever covered in 35 years of covering

02:20professional sports.

02:21Nice guy.

02:23I've never seen.

02:24He made passing a football, in his time at Denver, he made passing a kidney stone look

02:30easier than passing the football.

02:32It was easy the first 15 games I've ever seen an offensive line.

02:35I've passed a kidney stone.

02:36Have you ever done that?

02:37That's right.

02:38I've passed a kidney stone.

02:39That's no joke.

02:40I have.

02:41And it was easier than watching them try to score points under Nathaniel Hackett in 2022

02:46for 15 games.

02:47Listen, Hackett's a good dude.

02:49He's just not, he's certainly not a head coach.

02:51And the only one he's worked well with is Rodgers, maybe briefly, and Jacksonville as

02:55well.

02:56But it was a disaster in New York.

02:57He's been rejuvenated.

02:58He did not play particularly well last night.

03:00Stidham outplayed him.

03:02As we sit here today, the way it lines up, Nix would be the starter, Stidham would be

03:07the backup, and Wilson would be the third.

03:09And you're like, well, why do you keep Wilson then?

03:11I don't think he gets through waivers.

03:13As crazy as that sounds, he's put on enough good tape this summer that I'm not sure he

03:17gets, it only takes one GM.

03:19He was the second overall pick.

03:21So you could do worse than keeping him as a third quarterback.

03:24I don't like doing it.

03:26It's a luxury on a 53-man roster, especially with the new dynamic kick rule and needing

03:31extra tacklers.

03:32But as we sit here right now, I think they're going to go with three quarterbacks.

03:37Stidham is protection.

03:39He's the guy, if this thing gets bad with Nix, then it's the U.S. minnow with Stidham

03:45coming in.

03:46If it gets bad and you have to go right to Wilson, it could be the Titanic, as you saw

03:50in New York.

03:51It could be big, but the variance with Wilson is huge.

03:55He could be really good or he can be awful.

03:57Stidham is your prototypical backup quarterback.

04:01Don't turn the ball over and don't really do much offensively, but you keep your team

04:04in the game.

04:05So I think they're going to keep three, Scott.

04:07What was the, so I'm a Steeler fan and a Steeler season ticket holder.

04:14I live in New York City, but that's neither here nor there.

04:17My point is, is that what was Sean's problem with Russell Wilson?

04:23Because at the end of the day, they still won with him.

04:26It wasn't the worst Bronco team I've ever seen in my life.

04:30But it seemed to me like they didn't, it seemed like Sean Payton didn't like him.

04:35Yeah.

04:36I mean, it's, he didn't like him professionally because of the fit in the offense.

04:41It's a timing, quick scheme, get the ball out of your hand.

04:45Don't take sacks.

04:46Use the middle of the field.

04:47Get us in the right play at the line of scrimmage.

04:50Russell's strengths are coloring outside the lines, making stuff happen off script.

04:55Sean Payton sees that as basically backyard football.

04:58That's not sustainable as the core principle of your offense.

05:01So right away, they were really in, you know, in each other's crosshairs.

05:06And then personally, he just, their personalities are so different.

05:09You know, Sean is arrogant, condescending, sarcastic, you know, drives hard.

05:15Russell is corny in a lot of ways.

05:18He's just different.

05:19And I've known Russell since the Rockies drafted him in 2000, whatever it was.

05:22I can't even remember, 2010.

05:25It's just, they didn't fit.

05:27And by the end of it, when he exploded on the sideline with Russell in Detroit, he had

05:32just reached this flashpoint of Russell not running the offense he wanted him to run.

05:38They had 45 sacks of Russell last year.

05:41Internally, when I talk to sources, they probably blame Russell Wilson for probably 30 to 35

05:47of those sacks.

05:48That was at the core of it, because Payton looked up the stats.

05:52Every time a drive included a sack, your chances of scoring nosedive.

05:56And he's then in turn blaming that on Wilson for the sacks, and he just had enough.

06:01So he gave it one year.

06:02And he told ownership this when he took the job, Scott.

06:05I'll give Wilson one year to make this work.

06:07And if not, you have to be willing to move on from him.

06:10And they took the $53 million dead cap hit this year, $32 million next year.

06:15They paid Russell Wilson $124 million for 11 wins in two years.

06:22That's how badly they wanted to move on from him, and

06:24specifically how badly Sean Payton wanted to move on.

06:27I hope it works out for Russ.

06:29He's not the same quarterback.

06:31He has not been the same quarterback since he injured his finger that last year in

06:35Seattle, and all the things he did well, like a Roger Staubach type player,

06:41he can't do anymore because he doesn't have that athleticism, and

06:45he's not comfortable winning from the pocket.

06:48So I hope he figures it out, but the main thrust of this whole thing was

06:53Payton wants a quarterback who can win from the pocket and win with a dirty pocket,

06:57but not try to play off script as your core principle of offense.

07:01Is he gonna, do you think he'll stink in Pittsburgh?

07:04And what do you think the Simmons deal will be like for

07:08the Falcons that they got him from the Broncos as well?

07:12A guy that had a lot of picks, but apparently they didn't like him either.

07:16Yeah, listen, I mean, for Russell Wilson, the person, I hope it works out.

07:20The player to me, but being honest, I just think it looks like the end.

07:24I mean, I think this could be his last year in the league.

07:26It's definitely his last chance to start.

07:29No one's gonna give him another chance to start.

07:31It's just if their line is as bad and you would know the Steelers way better than I

07:35do, but if their line looks anything like it's looked in the preseason,

07:39I don't know how you wouldn't go to fields because he can at least make something

07:42happen with his athletic ability.

07:44Russell Wilson can't do that anymore, but the bar's been set low.

07:47Would you have 15 touchdowns last year from Kenny Pickett?

07:51If you have functional quarterback play, you're a playoff team.

07:54I just, I don't know that Russell can do it.

07:56If I had to guess, Russell will start, but he won't keep the job.

08:00As for Justin Simmons, the free safety, he was making 18 million.

08:04They didn't wanna pay 18 million.

08:06They won't word, but they're in a rebuild.

08:08I mean, Sean Payton could be on an HGTV program with a hard hat and

08:13a sledgehammer and not admit they're rebuilding, but they are.

08:16That's what this year is.

08:17So they got rid of Josie, they let Josie Jewel walk.

08:20They got rid of Justin Simmons.

08:22They traded Jerry Judy.

08:23They're revamping the roster under the guys.

08:25We're young and we're hungry, and we still can be decent this year.

08:29Simmons got caught up in that.

08:31He is as good a person and player as they've had in the organization

08:35the last eight years, close.

08:38Walter Payton man of the year, so great guy.

08:41He will give the Atlanta Falcons defense a ball hawk.

08:44That is what he does, 30 interceptions since 2016.

08:48He's a magnet for the football, and that's gonna help that defense.

08:52They're an intriguing team with Judon now and Simmons.

08:55If they're functional defensively, they should be a playoff team.

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