Sean Payton had predictably underwhelming response to Bo Nix's Broncos debut

With all of Broncos Country seemingly very excited over the preseason debut of rookie quarterback Bo Nix, you would expect head coach Sean Payton -- who has been effusive in his praise of Nix since drafting him -- to lead the charge with a glowing review after the game.

Right?

Wrong, apparently. Payton actually had a pretty underwhelming response when asked specifically about Bo Nix's debut against the Colts:

"Yeah, pleased. All three of those guys, I thought, did a good job..."

- Sean Payton (via Broncos PR)

This response is likely by design. Payton doesn't want to come across as though he's playing favorites at this point, even though everyone can see through it to a certain extent. When Payton was asked specifically about Bo Nix, he then pivoted his answer to talking about how all three of the quarterbacks did well and that he felt the offense didn't really support Jarrett Stidham while he was out there with penalties and the tipped interception.

Later in his press conference, Payton talked about how it was nice to see Bo Nix's mobility on display in a game setting, even though it was nothing surprising based on what they had seen in practices. Perhaps his most startling comment was yet another apparent shot at Russell Wilson. I hate to put words in Payton's mouth like that because it sounds more dramatic than it really is, but Wilson was the quarterback last year, and Payton made a reference to what was bad about the quarterback position last year.

Sean Payton seemingly takes another shot at Russell Wilson

"Yeah listen, ball (is) out. I like the timing, the tempo of when we're releasing it. That was a big issue for us a year ago with the minus plays. We were towards the back, back half of the league – I think fourth. So, I was pleased with the timing of what we were doing throwing the ball. It's important."

Sean Payton

Payton noted earlier in the offseason when he was asked specifically what has to be better about the quarterback position based on last season that the team took too many sacks. He recently talked about sacks being more of a quarterback statistic than an offensive line statistic, and that's a damning statement for Russell Wilson, in particular. Wilson was sacked 45 times last season and the offensive line was only credited with allowing 16 of those.

None of the Broncos' quarterbacks were sacked in the preseason win over the Colts. They are going to face a really interesting test in the second week of the preseason against a loaded Packers defensive front which has been bringing heat all offseason at their camp.

Getting rid of the ball quickly is a hallmark of the Sean Payton offense, so even if his response to Bo Nix's debut was underwhelming, what we saw Nix execute on the field was anything but.