There is such a thing as over-coaching, and Sean Payton knows it.
So that's why he wants to be careful not to do it.
And even though Bo Nix has work to do with his feet and has plenty of things he can improve, Payton knows he has a QB with great potential, and he doesn't want to take away the fire.
Like lowering his shoulder into rookie DB Kool-Aid McInstry because they played against each other in high school and McInstry had been "talkin smack" to him all game.
That's probably not exactly what Payton has in mind, but he definitely has a plan for bringing his young quarterback along.
"I think you have to be careful you're not over-coaching. There are some things he does very well out of the pocket or climbing up in the pocket," Payton said, adding that his coaching begins with focusing on timing and depth of the routes. "In the gun or under center, [is it a] three, five or seven [-step drop back]? We work on the rhythm of the play so that his feet marry up to the depth of the route. The times where he's climbing the pocket or moving in the pocket, we're pretty smart about how much we say or how much we try to fix."
But while they are getting the footwork down, Payton has a QB in NIx who may be a little more athletic than he anticipated.
And that allows some freedom in play design while the rookie is getting settled into the offense.
Tim Jenkins noted this very thing in his weekly film breakdown.
"When you look at Bo Nix overall, his athleticism is what I think is helping him separate himself early," Jenkins said. "As a rookie quarterback, are you going to be able to see everything going on? No you're not, so when you have the ability to create, when you have the ability to scramble I think it's going to pay huge dividends for the Broncos ability on offense to generate plays."
In the Broncos' first series Thursday night, Nix opened with a 14-yard gain with his legs and then took off on 2nd-and-8 to get another first down. Though the series stalled with three incomplete passes, the threat of his runs kept the defense honest.
"I think that he's a little bit faster than maybe we anticipated even coming out from a running standpoint," Payton said. "So it does give you some flexibility, particularly on third down or in the red zone."
Nix was the second-leading rusher on Thursday night, and he scored his third rushing touchdown of the seven-game season so far.
"All in all, the run game was tremendous. The RPOs were really great," Jenkins said of the Broncos' offense, adding that evaluating footwork is a "nuanced, longer conversation."
"When he's climbing the pocket and there's pocket movement, [Nix] is not staying loaded on his back leg," Jenkins says, making it so Nix puts weight on the front foot early and then the pass "can take off on him or dive on him."
For Jenkins' money, Nix can take his game to the next level looking more downfield in his scramble game to see some wide-open receivers.
But it's not all on Nix.
"To take this whole offense to the next level, we also need to see these receivers make more contested catches," Jenkins added.
After the game on Thursday, Payton was asked if that had been the Broncos' ideal offense, and the head coach would not commit to that. Likely because he knows there is plenty of work to be done.
"We are building. We are figuring it out," he said, noting that the reps the Broncos' young quarterback and receivers are getting is "invaluable."
And Payton didn't hesitate on Monday to acknowledge that a team with a strong defense and a good running game are, in fact, the ideal.
"Hopefully that's the identity of any championship team."
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