Broncos QB Bo Nix took a step forward in his third NFL game. J.T. O’Sullivan broke down the performance on his YouTube channel.
Bo Nix’s first win as a Denver Broncos starting quarterback showed the rookie has promise. His stats didn’t blow you away Sunday (25-36 for 213 yards without a passing touchdown), but he led scoring drives and had no turnovers, which was a great step in the right direction.
J.T. O’Sullivan, who cuts his teeth breaking down quarterbacks on his YouTube channel, The QB School, gave a 30-minute breakdown on Nix’s Week 3 play. It’s a must-watch video for Broncos fans:
Recently, Nix gave his assessment of the offense’s play, stating that they’re making gradual progress so far through three starts.
“I think it’s been gradual,” Nix said of the offense’s progression this season. “Definitely the execution and the play production was better Sunday. That’s why we moved the ball more and [we] went down and scored a few more points. I thought we caught a great rhythm. We stayed within our strengths, and we moved the ball down the field.”
Can Nix capitalize on the momentum and bring the Broncos to .500 when they face the New York Jets? We’ll find out on Sunday.
Spencer Rattler’s preseason finale was broken down by former Saints QB J.T. O’Sullivan. Coach’s film reveals some dangerous flaws in the rookie’s game:
Former New Orleans Saints quarterback J.T. O’Sullivan has launched a successful career as a media analyst with his “The QB School” YouTube channel, and he’s circled back to Spencer Rattler after reviewing the rookie’s preseason debut against the Arizona Cardinals. It was largely positive.
Rattler’s final preseeason action with the Tennessee Titans obviously excited a lot of Saints fans. He threw a beautiful touchdown pass and led several scoring drives. But it wasn’t perfect, and O’Sullivan found some dangerous flaws in this game after studying the coach’s film.
He says Rattler needs to do a better job protecting himself and his teammates. Tight end Michael Jacobson was roundly criticized for dropping an early pass from Rattler, but after reviewing the play from multiple angles O’Sullivan said that the inexperienced quarterback put his receiver in a bad spot with multiple defenders closing in.
“The arm talent, it’s an impressive throw, ripping it down the middle. But the decision is bad,” O’Sullivan explained, highlighting three Titans defenders ready to crash down on Jacobson at the catch point, “And this is how people get hurt. And I don’t love it. I don’t want to see it on film, ever. This can be an absolute death shot.”
He says Rattler should recognize the threat of the deep safety given where the route combination positions each defender. The collision jarred the ball loose for an incomplete pass, but it could’ve been worse. He added, “This is just one of those things, I’m telling you, in a locker room with perimeter players, wide receivers, tight ends and backs, they don’t want to see this stuff. Dangerous.”
It isn’t just his receivers Rattler needs to watch out for. He needs to keep his head and be aware of how he’s putting himself in danger out in the open field. Rattler has been eager to prove he has the mobility to make plays outside the pocket, and he did have some positive scrambles in the preseason. But he needs to understand when it’s time to tuck and run.
“Just run full speed out of bounds man. That’s a low football IQ, that’s an unsafe play. Protect yourself, get out of bounds. Preseason, you take an unnecessary shot,” O’Sullivan chided. “Go full speed out of bounds or slide and protect yourself, full speed. Boom. Bench press in the back, he hits him, it’s in bounds and he hits him, that’s a dumbass play by the quarterback.”
Everyone makes mistakes. O’Sullivan was clear about where this criticism was coming from. He wants to see Rattler enjoy a long, productive career and develop into a star quarterback. That isn’t going to happen if he’s getting blasted by linebackers in exhibition games because he wasn’t situationally aware. And while Rattler has the arm talent to make any throw, that doesn’t necessarily mean he should try every throw. There are times when it’s better to live another down and not put his receivers in danger. The rookie has a lot of room to grow and if he can learn from these mistakes, he’ll have time to meet that potential.
Spencer Rattler is preparing for his second preseason game with the 49ers. Get ready with former Saints quarterback J.T. O’Sullivan analyzing Rattler’s debut:
Spencer Rattler is preparing for his second preseason game with the New Orleans Saints, who will kick off against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday night. And you can take some time to get ready for his next action by checking into this film breakdown of his debut with the Arizona Cardinals.
Former Saints quarterback J.T. O’Sullivan has done great work analyzing quarterback play around the league, and he took time to review Rattler’s debut last week against the Arizona Cardinals. O’Sullivan developed a wealth of experience after being drafted by the Saints in 2002 and spending nine years in the NFL, plus a couple of years in NFL Europe and the CFL. These days he’s sharing film breakdowns for “The QB School” YouTube channel.
And for the most part he was impressed by what Rattler showed last week. The young quarterback’s arm talent and mechanics are clearly there. But he acknowledged this wasn’t a perfect game and there are things Rattler needs to improve upon. If he’s allowed time to study tape, get practice reps, and develop, he’ll have a real shot at meeting his potential.
One flaw he says Rattler needs to work on? Not bailing out of the pocket when there’s room to step up and find an open man. Another one? Throwing “muddy” balls to tightly-covered receivers with other opponents nearby than just the one trailing them. O’Sullivan points to Rattler’s lack of NFL experience as the cause for some poor decisions, and he says these are the kind of errors you expect a rookie to make — and hopefully learn from. He adds that Rattler’s arm strength gives him opportunities to make a play other quarterbacks wouldn’t try. Finding the balance between risk and reward is key.
So we’ll see what Rattler has learned over the last week of practice when he gets into Sunday night’s game with the 49ers. Expecting massive growth is unrealistic. But if Rattler can clean up his feet and get the ball out a little faster, that’s a win. We’ll be watching.
Click here to watch J.T. O’Sullivan break down film of Broncos quarterback Drew Lock.
In the above video, J. T. O’Sullivan breaks down film from quarterback Drew Lock’s rookie season. O’Sullivan spent time with 11 NFL teams, one NFL Europe team and one Canadian Football League team during his football career. He was named the NFL Europa Co-Offensive MVP in 2007.
Lock started the Broncos’ final five games of the 2019 season and led the team to a 4-1 record. He will enter 2020 as Denver’s undisputed starter.
