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Tag: greg dulcich

  • Keeler: Can Broncos QB Bo Nix be fixed? Yep! But Sean Payton needs to do these 4 things first

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    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 45 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 52-yard score on fourth-and-2. 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 21 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 problem: Nix’s feet are so fast, they’re sometimes two steps 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 route.

    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.

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    Sean Keeler

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  • Broncos WR Lil’Jordan Humphrey takes blame after Bo Nix’s early interception caromed off his hands: “It’s a mistake on me”

    Broncos WR Lil’Jordan Humphrey takes blame after Bo Nix’s early interception caromed off his hands: “It’s a mistake on me”

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    BALTIMORE — The Broncos didn’t lose because of their second offensive snap of the day.

    They didn’t get beat by 31 points because of one single mistake.

    But when Denver got the ball first, they also couldn’t afford to turn it over against high-powered Baltimore.

    That’s just what happened, though, when rookie quarterback Bo Nix’s first pass of the day caromed off Lil’Jordan Humphrey’s hands and into the waiting arms of Ravens safety Ar’Darius Washington.

    “It was a little roll-out and I tried to go make a play,” Humphrey said afterward. “I obviously didn’t and that’s on me. I know better. I’ve got to put two hands up, you know what I mean. I’ve got to move past it and move forward and on to next week.

    “It’s a mistake on me.”

    Nix hadn’t thrown an interception since a Week 6 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. All six of his picks, now, have come in Denver’s four losses. In those games, he has two touchdown passes. In Denver’s five wins, Nix has six touchdown passes.

    It’s the second straight week that Denver’s first possession ended because of a turnover on a play to Humphrey. He fumbled last week on a catch that eventually resulted in a Carolina touchdown drive. This week the Broncos defense actually forced a Baltimore punt, but the Ravens proceeded to score on seven straight drives after that.

    Sutton’s big day. Courtland Sutton is doing it all. And then some.

    The Broncos receiver not only logged his second straight 100-yard receiving outing — the first time in his career he’s gone back-to-back in that department — but he also threw a fourth-down touchdown pass to quarterback Bo Nix on a trick play.

    “We called it at the right time,” Nix said. “We knew they were going to be in (Cover) 0 funnel and the guy actually made a good play of retreating and trailing. Courtland looked pretty good again on that play.”

    In a Week 7 win at New Orleans, Sutton had no targets for the first time in his career. In two games since, Denver’s top pass-catcher has 15 catches (21 targets) for 222 yards.

    He’s also completed a pair of passes for 30 total yards and a touchdown.

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    Parker Gabriel

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  • Broncos Mailbag: Is Bo Nix and the Denver offense’s progress vs. Tampa Bay sustainable going forward?

    Broncos Mailbag: Is Bo Nix and the Denver offense’s progress vs. Tampa Bay sustainable going forward?

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    Denver Post Broncos writer Parker Gabriel posts his Broncos Mailbag weekly during the season and periodically during the offseason. Click here to submit a question.

    What the heck happened with the Broncos on Sunday? Was it a favorable matchup against Tampa or were there other factors?

    Is having the lowest-scoring team in the AFC going to be the norm this season with the Broncos? What needs to happen to jump-start this lethargic attack?

    — Ed Helinski, Auburn, N.Y.

    Hey Ed, good questions and thanks for writing in.

    It was probably a bit of several different factors for the Broncos on Sunday against the Bucs. First is just that Denver played quite a bit better. It wasn’t perfect, but they converted twice in the red zone in the first quarter and that was enough with the way the defense played.

    Sean Payton also knows Tampa Bay head coach Todd Bowles and his system well, has a ton of experience playing against the Bucs given his 16 years in the NFC South, etc. So that certainly didn’t hurt.

    Then, don’t discount the fact that Tampa was missing Vita Vea on the defensive interior and Antoine Winfield Jr. at safety. Those are two elite middle-of-the-field players who were missing from a defense that had already surrendered a lot of yards but had been stout in the red zone early in the season.

    At the same time, though, credit the Broncos for the things they did better offensively. Bo Nix looked more comfortable. He pushed the ball down the field on the opening drive of the game and loosened up the coverage. From there, he was able to settle into a rhythm. He still dropped back 39 times overall and Denver didn’t settle into its running game until Tyler Badie got going in the fourth quarter. But 26 points is going to win a lot of games, particularly the way Vance Joseph’s defense has been playing.

    As for your last question, I don’t think we’re looking at a sustained offensive explosion here. There are still going to be rookie ups and downs for Nix. They still have to run the ball more consistently early in games. They’ve still got to be better than a 50% red zone touchdown percentage and better than 4 of 13 on third down (though two fourth-down conversions and a late-game turnover-on-downs once the game was fully decided do soften the blow). The Jets defense is much more disruptive than Tampa’s. If Denver puts together a similar outing this weekend, now you’re starting to wonder if they’ve turned a corner.

    How the heck has Jim Harbaugh completely turned around the Los Angeles Chargers run game in his first year that Sean Payton hasn’t done?

    — Gibson Hazard, Colorado Springs

    Gibson, great question and thanks for writing.

    Pretty impressive from Harbaugh, isn’t it? They look like a different team entirely already. Obviously, Justin Herbert’s injury situation could scramble the picture, but the Harbaugh effect is clear.

    If it was easy to do what he did, everybody would. They made the right call, apparently, with JK Dobbins, who looks great. They drafted blue-chip tackle Joe Alt early despite having one in Rashawn Slater already on the roster. They committed to it. Fully. And the numbers so far early in the season back it up.

    One obvious difference with Harbaugh getting to Los Angeles compared to Payton to Denver is the quarterback situation. Harbaugh had no reason to even wonder if he needed to make a move there because of Herbert. Payton tried it with Wilson for a year and decided he had to go another direction. When you’re set at that spot, you can attack every other one in the draft and free agency. When you’re not, you have to do whatever possible to fix it.

    With Harbaugh in place, the AFC West only gets more daunting.

    Hi Parker, is it just me or did Bo Nix look more like the QB that played in the preseason? The game seemed to slow down for him on Sunday. Also, seems like Tyler Badie should be the starting tailback and Lil’Jordan Humphrey should be promoted to the 53-man roster. Thanks.

    — Brandon, Rogers, Minn.

    Hey Brandon, yeah, interesting thoughts.

    Last one first: Humphrey has already been promoted to the 53-man roster. Happened Saturday when the team put OLB Baron Browning on injured reserve with the foot injury.

    Badie may not be far behind at this rate. He can be elevated one more time from the practice squad — you’d have to imagine that’ll be Sunday against the Jets — before he has to be promoted in order to continue being in uniform on game days. The way the room looks now, it’s hard to imagine the Broncos wouldn’t do that. One other thing to consider: Badie would have to be promoted next week and then Audric Estime is eligible to return off of injured reserve Week 5. So there could be movement coming one way or another at that position.

    As for Nix, yeah, it was by far the best he’s played. It’s not a coincidence that it was also by far the least he’s been pressured through three weeks. Tampa was in the low 20s in terms of pressure percentage after Seattle and Pittsburgh pushed 40%. That’s a big difference. It allowed Nix to get settled into playing from the pocket and not get jumpy when an opposing jersey flashed in front of him or on the edge. It also led to his quickest time-to-throw of the season at a shade over 2.5 seconds. That’s quick and it’s just where Payton and company want it. Get to the line early, see the defensive structure, get the ball out quickly after the snap. That’s when Nix was at his best in camp and and during the preseason and it’s what helped power an improved outing Sunday.

    What’s going on with Javonte Williams? He was such a beast last year, but it seems like he can’t get into the next gear after contact this year.

    — Mike, Denver

    Yeah, Mike, it’s been a rough start for Javonte Williams. I’ll push back on your assertion on last year. It was remarkable that he even got back on the field, especially to start the 2023 season. But he lacked juice then, too, and it got worse as the season went along. Williams has now gone 13 straight games without averaging more than 4 yards per carry. His season average is at 2.2 per carry this year.

    It’s been said many times, but the knee injury Williams had in October 2022 against Las Vegas was a devastating one. Blazing speed has never been his calling card, but it looks like when he does break a tackle now, he has a tough time getting back to pull-away speed. At one point Sunday vs. Tampa, he looked like vintage Javonte in bulling through a tackle attempt, but then he tried to bounce outside away from the pursuit and it just didn’t yield much. You hope for his sake that his legs come back and he gets back to where he was in 2021 and early in 2022 before the injury. But so far it hasn’t happened.

    Greg Dulcich didn’t get a single target last week. Is he in the doghouse after those drops the week before? And Tyler Badie has to be RB1 this week, right?

    — Miles, Parker

    Good catch, Miles (no pun intended). Dulcich did not have a single target against the Bucs and, like I wrote earlier this week, it’s been another slow start to the season for the Broncos tight ends overall.

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    Parker Gabriel

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  • Youth, competition create excitement within Broncos offense: “We have a team full of hungry dogs”

    Youth, competition create excitement within Broncos offense: “We have a team full of hungry dogs”

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    As Sean Payton embarks on his second season as the Broncos head coach, he has felt rejuvenated.

    Denver’s offense has been sprinkled with youth, sparking position battles — and not just at quarterback — as players are try to make their mark on a team that’s in the midst of a rebuild.

    “I think it’s that challenge of working with a young team,” Payton said. “I think that’s the one thing I notice at least watching. I feel the competition.”

    Courtland Sutton didn’t show up to the Broncos’ facility until mandatory minicamp, but for the two days the veteran wide receiver was on the practice field, he felt the same energy.

    He said the offense is filled with hungry players who are determined to go on the field each week to prove themselves, which is one reason there’s excitement among the players and coaches about training camp.

    Indeed, the battle between rookie Bo Nix, Jarrett Stidham and Zach Wilson for the starting quarterback job will be the highlight of the summer. But the competition at center, wide receiver and running back could be just as heated. The current state of the organization has created opportunity for first- and second-year players to step into meaningful roles this fall.

    “You have a lot of guys that are still on their rookie deal, just got drafted or (undrafted) free agents,” Sutton said. “(We have) a team full of hungry dogs.”

    Denver’s wide receivers room is filled with young players who have the potential to make an impact. After the Broncos traded wideout Jerry Jeudy to the Cleveland Browns in March, Marvin Mims Jr. has a chance to be a second option in the passing game. Denver also has rookies Troy Franklin and Devaughn Vele, both of whom could command significant playing time, depending on how they perform during training camp and preseason games.

    At running back, the one-two punch of Javonte Williams and Samaje Perine might not be guaranteed. The Broncos drafted former Notre Dame standout Audric Estime — who has been sidelined due to a knee procedure — and is viewed by Payton as a first- and second-down running back. Meanwhile, Jaleel McLaughlin and undrafted rookie Blake Watson have spent the offseason program displaying the receiving traits that Payton desires from running backs.

    With Greg Dulcich continuing to work his way back from injury, there’s an opportunity for tight end Lucas Krull to show the coaching staff that he can potentially be the pass-catching threat that the Broncos desperately need at the position.

    “It felt different this year in a good way,” Payton said of the competition level within the team.

    While there might be an emphasis on the Broncos developing their young talent, Sutton said the mid-career veterans have something to prove as well. Wide receiver Tim Patrick, who restructured the final year of his contract, is hoping to show that he can still be a reliable asset in Denver’s wide receivers room despite having back-to-back season-ending injuries — and despite the team drafting Vele, who has similar traits.

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    Ryan McFadden

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