Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton seemingly has a limited playbook for rookie quarterback Bo Nix that hasn’t garnered much respect from defenses.
James Palmer of Underdog Fantasy revealed on Steve Smith Sr.’s podcast earlier this week that Pittsburgh Steelers defensive backs laughed about Denver’s limited playbook after a 13-6 win over the Broncos in Week 2.
“I was just in the Steelers locker room going against a rookie in Bo Nix in his second NFL start,” Palmer said. “[After the game], I’m talking to the Steelers corners and they’re sitting there laughing in the corner going, ‘We knew the playbook was this big [gestures small fingers].
“‘We know they weren’t going to take any shots, and we know what he likes to do. They’re going to make it easy on him to go here and here, and that’s all we had to worry about.’”
Nix’s own teammates have also remarked about the limited scheme.
Last week, wide receiver Marvin Mims said Denver kept the offense “a little basic” for Nix’s first start against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 1.
“We’ve got Bo, being a rookie quarterback, with the first game plan going out, we shouldn’t try to do too much,” Mims said on Sept. 12. “[We should] try to keep it a little basic, but as the season goes along, we’ll start to open it up a little bit more and see what happens.”
Judging from the reaction of Pittsburgh defensive backs, it sounds like the offense hasn’t been opened up much since Week 1.
Hat tip to Alex Kozora of Steelers Depot for the podcast link.