Back in October, I spent six weeks interacting with some of the rookie QBs that were playing at the time. Among QBs who earned the grade, Knicks had the worst performance. Coming into D+, I had a number of concerns about his early play, some of which I will outline here.
It's easy to say the game needs to slow down for the Knicks, but that's what happens. He plays with too much speed, sacrificing his footwork and messing up his mechanics. This was an issue for him in college, and it continued to haunt him when he came to Denver. He can operate when he keeps his cleats firmly planted on the ground and throwing a quick game, but that's not what you want from a first-round quarterback. I'm worried about the Knicks and Broncos, they're not doing well right now.
It's good that we play 17 games because the Knicks have played really well since then. The young signal-caller's development trajectory has been anything but linear, and the Knicks' growth in an offense that is quickly finding answers has been impressive.
The Broncos put every golf club in their bag to full blast Sunday in a 38-6 win. atlanta falconsthe Knicks were also playing well. The Knicks won, going 28-for-33 for 307 yards and four touchdowns, but what caught my eye was the emotional fusion he had with head coach Sean Payton. Payton was cooking Sunday, giving Nix well-conceived concepts to beat the Falcons every step of the way, but also asking Nix to hit some big-boy throws.
What stood out to me right from the jump was how the Broncos used motion and formation to emphasize the Falcons' second level. This is a simple diagonal take on Devaughn Vere from behind from a shotgun, but what's really exciting to me is how they get to it. Denver will line up WR Marvin Mims in the backfield (more on this later). The Broncos quickly send Mims to the flat to Nix's right, but with three receivers already, a battle with the Falcons is inevitable. Now the linebackers have to open up to the left because of the numbers on the other side. The Knicks' actions when the ball is snapped are also nice and neat. He influenced the LB with his eyes, flipped and threw to Vere for a 14-yard gain on a 2-and-15. It's clean, efficient QB play combined with the concept of making things easy.
Mims was in the backfield again on another big play, a 37-yard rail route that caught the Falcons off guard. Atlanta sends a false pressure and brings in a nickel off the edge while dropping the defensive lineman. But Denver is ready for it. With two receivers on the left side of Nix and Mims on the left side of the backfield, the Broncos can attack those dropped linemen. The two receivers clear coverage on the left side, and Knicks wastes no time on this rail route, dropping it onto the outstretched arms of this EDGE player who has no idea what he's doing outside. .
The Knicks' first passing touchdown came with Payton being particularly devilish, using Mims' eye candy to get the attention of the Falcons' second level before leaking out of the tight end. So let's break it down. Denver has 11 (1 tight end, 1 running back) and sends Mims into this return trajectory before the snap, where he breaks through the formation and runs back behind the QB just like he did the first time. . This is mostly just window dressing to catch the eye of the second level. Not only does it do that, but the center pulls and influences that backside LB as well. The passing concept has WR Courtland Sutton coming out of the corner, but what really makes this successful is RB Javonte Williams getting out of the backfield at high speed. This sends a panic alarm to the playside LB, who runs out of the backfield with Williams.
Going back to the back side, do you remember about the falsification that I talked about with Mims? Well, both the LB and Nickel on the back side fell into it, and just like Will, they hit a wall. E. Coyote. The tight end leaks out of the formation and basically walks into the end zone.
Even without the fancy clothes, Knicks had some plays that showed his growth as an NFL QB, namely his footwork. You may remember from the 6-week check-in, the thing that annoyed me the most was his footwork. I jumped too far and lost my temper. Perhaps the biggest indicator of his growth was this explosive downfield against Vere. Notice the footwork on this digging route, especially from the end zone. Look at how calm he is in the pocket and the confidence he has shooting this bad boy with a cloudy look on his face.
This is big-boy QB stuff, and the Knicks had it on display Sunday.
Many will wonder what is causing this increase in play, and I believe there are two major factors. The first is quality play by the offensive line in pass protection. Through the first six weeks of the season, the Broncos allowed a 33.8% pressure rate, but after Week 7, that number dropped to 28.7%. They held the Knicks scoreless, and while they certainly have to take into account the caveat of playing the worst pass rush in the NFL, they can only beat the teams lined up in front of them. On top of that, I think the Knicks and Payton are getting more comfortable as the season progresses. At first it seemed like they were trying to find the best mix of each other's talents, but I think they really started to come into their own at the right time.
Denver is in the thick of the AFC playoff race, so keeping the Knicks playing at a high level will help them achieve their short- and long-term goals.
