For Broncos QBs, passes batted at the line were an issue

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — For Broncos quarterbacks, a day pockmarked with peaks and valleys ended with a struggle to get the football past the line of scrimmage against the rising summits along the Denver defensive line.

In the final period, Jarrett Stidham had two passes knocked down at the line of scrimmage. Bo Nix had it happen to him once.

From a defensive perspective, somewhere you imagine that former Broncos defensive-line coach Bill Kollar was smiling. He coached his players to focus on getting their arms raised and in position to deflect passes if they realized they wouldn’t make it to the opposing quarterback. No one took that to heart quite like Shelby Harris, who transferred those skills to becoming one of the NFL’s most effective disruptors of field-goal attempts, too.

So, it was fair to ask Sean Payton how he felt at such moments: encouraged for the defense or discouraged for the quarterbacks?

“Sometimes it’s quarterback-driven,” Payton explained.

But Payton asserts that it’s not something necessarily caused by height, or a lack thereof.

Jarrett Stidham had two passes knocked down at the line of scrimmage in the final team period Tuesday. Bo Nix had one.

So, how did Sean Payton take it? Bad for the QBs, or good for the D?

"Sometimes it's QB-driven,” Payton said. "… But I was more encouraged, not discouraged." pic.twitter.com/ChkyFUlX8N

— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) July 31, 2024

“I don’t want to say it’s height-driven because there’s been some bigger quarterbacks that were more prone (to it) — maybe a longer release sometimes,” Payton said.

“And I heard Zach (Wilson) say it today, if you’re blocking someone and winning on a pass protection, then all of a sudden you feel his eyes now (peripheral view) through to the QB to anticipate. And so there’s some techniques you can work on to try to keep him from getting in the air.

“But I was more encouraged, not discouraged — encouraged in that there’s some savviness that’s involved there to do it defensively, and that was encouraging.”

With no seven-on-seven period, the day cranked up with full-team work. Jarrett Stidham was up first, and his day did not begin in an auspicatory nature, as running back Samaje Perine dropped Stidham’s first offering in the left flat.

But two plays later, Stidham delivered a 15-yard strike to wide receiver Lil’Jordan Humphrey, who ran a crossing route. Stidham had plenty of zip on the ball and led Humphrey well to beat a pair of defenders.

Stidham’s second sequence of plays was even better; he completed all three of his attempts — including one where Zach Allen appeared to jump, taking advantage of a free play — and some frozen teammates on both sides of the line of scrimmage — to find tight end Lucas Krull on a quick pass to the right flank.

Stidham had two passes deflected at the line in the final period, but he rebounded with a crisp pass across the middle to wide receiver Brandon Johnson.

Bo Nix absorbed a sack on his first team-period repetition, when Ronnie Perkins collapsed the pocket by pushing right tackle Alex Palczewski back into the pocket. But matters improved two snaps later, when he hit Michael Bandy on a short checkdown before scrambling on a keeper to the right flank on the final play of that period.

On his second series, Nix operated well under pressure, hitting Courtland Sutton with an edge rush from Thomas Incoom bearing down on him. On an earlier play, Nix bypassed a potential deep strike to Marvin Mims Jr., opting for a checkdown that fell incomplete.

For a second-straight day and a third-consecutive practice, Zach Wilson was the third quarterback up. He hit 2 of his 3 attempts during his first series of repetitions, but one of the completions saw him bailed out by Krull, who soared and contorted to reach out and pluck a high, off-target pass for a 25-yard gain. He settled down on the next sequence, hitting Devaughn Vele for a short gain before a 20-yard completion across the middle.

Still, it was with the threes and against the threes. Will Wilson get more repetitions with the No. 1 offense?

“We’ll see,” Payton said.

We got the sign that the Broncos would adjust their QB rotation yesterday … because Zach Wilson was the third QB up then, too. And when Sean Payton says, "We'll see" in regards to Wilson working with the ones … well, what could that mean?

A quick take on QB stuff: pic.twitter.com/FClbaKN0ub

— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) July 30, 2024

Of course, any parent — or child, really — knows that what “we’ll see” means is subject to interpretation. For some parents, it means an inevitable, “Yes.” For others, it’s a way of stalling before saying, “No.”

One will see what it means for Sean Payton in regards to Wilson and the Broncos QB derby. But the disruption of the pattern may not augur well for the quarterback who has 33 career starts in the NFL — 29 more than Stidham and Nix combined.