Bo Nix said the quiet part out loud about Sean Payton's play calling lately

Almost every Denver Broncos fan is getting frustrated with Sean Payton's play calling these days. If there's not frustration with the play calling, there's frustration with play sequencing, or at the very least, the lack of consistency from the offense in general.

Of course, the head coach and quarterback are going to take on the lion's share of blame when it comes to that. We all know that Sean Payton is one of the best offensive minds in modern NFL history, and we also know that he has a deep bag of impressive play designs to catch defenses off guard.

So then, why do the Broncos seem to have such elongated stretches of abhorrent offensive production, and then turn it on like a water faucet? Quarterback Bo Nix helped explain the way Broncos Country has been feeling.

Broncos QB Bo Nix points out the major flaw in offensive play calling

“Well, I can just control what I can control. There for a while it was just executing the plays that were called and wasn’t necessarily getting a whole lot of action, but then it just took one play. Usually in a situation like that, you’ve got to look at the players, and in that case, it was [TE] Evan [Engram]; he was playing really well, and he ran a good route, got us the first down. It literally felt like a relief after we got the first down; it was like, ‘OK, we know how to move the ball now, let’s go do it again.’ Sure enough, we went down the field, and it was a player two away from getting the touchdown, and instead of a field goal, but that was a big changing point in the game.

We needed the points, and we went down and got them. I think it’s just in that situation [it’s] how can we get a first down? How can we manage what’s going on? Yeah, it hasn’t looked pretty, but it just takes one play usually, and then you’re back moving forward. It’s all about the players. It’s all about getting those guys the ball, the guys that you know have juice and you feel comfortable about the play, and you get them the ball in space and let them do what their job is, and why they’re NFL players.”

- Broncos QB Bo Nix (via team PR; emphasis added)

These are some really interesting comments by Bo Nix, and the beginning of what he said is something that should really cause head coach (and play caller) Sean Payton to do some self-reflection.

When a quarterback says, "just executing the plays that were called", that's not a great sign that the plays being called are the plays that should be getting called.

This isn't necessarily Bo Nix calling out his head coach publicly, but it's definitely some outward frustration in a way. And how could it not be frustrating? After an outstanding first half against the Jets individually, Nix only threw three passes in the entire third quarter against the Jets. A fourth pass attempt resulted in a safety after Quinn Meinerz got bull rushed -- helmet and all -- by a Jets defensive lineman.

The other part of what Nix is talking about here that's interesting is the multiple times he called out the "players". The "guys that you know have the juice". Another frustrating part of the offensive struggles against the Jets, beyond the play calling, was the usage of Jaleel McLaughlin in the second half.

Why are the Broncos running a screen to McLaughlin when they're not getting JK Dobbins and RJ Harvey the ball enough already? Why is a fullback dive to Adam Prentice an option on 3rd-and-10, even if Nix was the one who checked into it?

Again, that goes back to executing the plays that are being called, as opposed to Nix getting into the huddle and calling Prentice's number himself. You get a certain coverage look, and you have two options at the line of scrimmage. If it's not the coverage look you want, you have to either check into your audible or burn a timeout. And in a close game, what's the young quarterback supposed to do there?

The Broncos' offense has been frustrating this year, not because they've been bad, but because they haven't been consistently good. We've seen this offense play well for stretches, but it's never for the majority of a game. There always seems to be a frustrating dry spell, missed opportunities, big plays called back because of penalties, stalled drives in the red zone, or a deliberate unwillingness to put your foot on the gas.

It's a long season, but it's clear that the play calling for Denver at this point has been sub-par, at best. The distinction has to be made between play design, play calling, play sequencing, and execution. There is a lot going on when it comes to an NFL operation.

Sean Payton's play designs are good. The rest of those four particular categories are questionable on a week-to-week basis. Everyone needs to get on the same page quickly.