ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — An old schooler might have responded like Russell Wilson did last year. Don’t talk back to the teacher as the teacher is scolding you. Stand there and take it.
Bo Nix, though, is from Generation Z. Sean Payton is an old schooler who nevertheless has proven he can adapt to every generation as he gets them all to play in the spirit of team before self.
Payton, the Broncos’ head coach, was asked during his day-after-game media conference call Monday whether he liked how Nix wasn’t afraid to speak up after the coach lectured him on the sidelines Sunday for “flipping” a play call.
“Absolutely. Absolutely,’’ Payton said. “All good. All good. (Laughs). It’s the heat of the moment, it’s the game, it’s competitive, he’s fiery. Look, we’re in the business of passion. We’re looking for passion and we’re looking for people with passion for the game. Not other things. And I think it’s so important to him. I loved his response and, shoot, we’re on to the next play and it’s nothing.”
A fired up Nix on the next play after he went back on the field made a terrific multi-cut scramble for 11 yards to ignite a touchdown drive he capped with a 1-yard dive over center for the score. Then, after Broncos’ cornerback Pat Surtain got the ball back in good scoring position with his second interception of the game, Nix finished a short drive with a 9-yard touchdown pass to Josh Reynolds.
Nix finished 19 of 27 for 206 yards and two touchdown passes while not throwing an interception in his third consecutive game. Plus, the two runs.
“He played well,’’ Payton said of Nix. “He used his feet, went through his progressions, threw the ball well. Got it down the field, took the underneath throws. Handled the 2-minute again. That’s happened a number of times now where we’ve been able to get some points at the end of the half. He had good command of what we were doing and I was pleased.”
Asked where Nix has improved his game over the first five weeks of the season, and where he could use continued improvement, Payton conjured up some deep football jargon to help explain.
“It’s a broad-based question just because he’s young and there’s a number of things,’’ Payton said. “We watched the tape this morning and we talked about there might be four plays he’s looking at and he was like, ‘Ah, wish I could have done this.’
“But I think overall he’s understanding the game, better relative to – the amount of personnel groupings he sees defensively – we’re in nickel, they’re in base. Then they’re in penny and then they’re in nickel. And how that impacts protections. It’s much different than in college and he might go the whole game where he sees dime defense and maybe a few changeups.
“He’s doing a real good job with his protections and understanding where he’s short.
“But I think he’s playing with confidence and every week his feet makes some plays for us that are important. And then I keep getting back to – I think there were (three) sacks yesterday but he’s hard to sack. When he plays, you’re not on the cusp of a minus play.
“He’s got real good command of what he’s doing and I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, we’ve got to keep painting a better picture around him.”
Other topics Payton addressed Monday during his media conference call:
— The job defensive coordinator Vance Joseph has done and how the Denver defense has dramatically improved from No. 32 in total defense and No. 32 in points allowed at this point last year to No. 3 in total defense and No. 2 in points allowed through five games this year.
“Vance has done a great job, he and his staff,’’ Payton said. “It’s hard to point to one thing relative to personnel because obviously there’s been a number of personnel changes. I think we’ve gotten stronger in the front. And then I would say we’re better in the secondary. And I would say that in a lot of areas.
“We’re getting really good play obviously from Surtain and then (Riley) Moss on the other side. We’re getting good safety play (from Bandon Jones and P.J. Locke). I think any time you have a turnaround that we’ve seen to date there’s probably a number of factors.”
— The substitution play of right tackle Matt Peart, who filled in for the injured Alex Palczewski, who was filling in for the injured Mike McGlinchey, and Alex Forsyth, who filled for injured center Luke Wattenberg, during the Broncos’ 34-18 win over the Las Vegas Raiders. Palczewski and Wattenberg suffered ankle injuries that prevented them from finishing the game. That means they will be highly questionable to play this Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers at Empower Field at Mile High.
“They both (Peart and Forsyth) played well and we’ll see how the week unfolds relative to our (starters),’’ Payton said. “But, man, I’m glad we have that kind of depth and experience. Certainly Matt has more experience than Alex but it’s the nature of our business and guys stepped up and right away filled in and did the job.”
And when left tackle Garett Bolles went down for four plays after he got rolled up from behind in the ankle that suffered a season-ending break a couple years ago, undrafted rookie Frank Crum came in to play right tackle while Peart moved over to left tackle.
