Walking the wonderful line between aggression and recklessness

Walking the wonderful line between aggression and recklessness


• Building off a rocky rookie season: Levis, the thirty third general decide within the 2023 NFL Draft, had a really turbulent first 12 months. He didn’t take the sector till Week 8 final season and completed the season with 4 PFF grades under 51.0 and 5 above 66.0.

• Working on reeling it in: Levis’ relentless aggression is a part of what makes him thrilling, and it shouldn’t be completely coached out of him. However, there’s a wonderful line between aggression and recklessness, and proper now, Levis is teetering on the sting, leaning too far into recklessness.

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Estimated studying time: 5 minutes

The 2024 NFL season was at all times going to be an enormous check for Tennessee Titans quarterback Will Levis.

The thirty third general decide within the 2023 NFL Draft, who was as soon as a contender for the highest choice, had a really turbulent first 12 months. He didn’t take the sector till Week 8 in Year 1 and completed the season with 4 PFF grades under 51.0 and 5 above 66.0.

Will Levis: PFF sport grades in 2023
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Levis’ Week 2 efficiency — which has been featured on seemingly each nationally televised sports activities present — mirrored a lot of that rookie season. There had been loads of encouraging moments, but in addition some performs that left followers (and coaches) asking a really explicit six-word query.

Here’s the factor with Levis: He merely isn’t afraid to hunt out the massive play.

Since Week 8 of final season, he ranks second in deep passing makes an attempt of 20-plus yards and leads the league with a mean goal depth of 10.9 yards. However, this aggressive type comes with danger, as he additionally ranks third in turnover-worthy performs on these deep makes an attempt.

Levis is strikingly just like Jameis Winston throughout his Buccaneers tenure, when his decision-making — each good and questionable — was jaw-dropping at instances.

From 2015 to 2019, Winston ranked fifth in deep go makes an attempt and led the league with an 11.2-yard common depth of goal. Similarly, he additionally ranked fourth in turnover-worthy performs on these deep makes an attempt.

Winston was one of the entertaining quarterbacks within the league, however his lack of ability to regulate the reckless facet of his sport in the end price him his job in Tampa Bay.

 

Levis is strolling an identical path.

By now, everybody has seen Levis’ Week 2 fumble — a baffling resolution by itself, made much more surprising by the truth that it was the second time this season he is turned the ball over whereas making an attempt to throw as he was falling.

Most coaches can settle for turnovers — they’re a part of the sport, even for the perfect quarterbacks. What they will’t tolerate are turnovers like that, the place a quarterback provides up simple factors by making an attempt to salvage a play that’s already useless. It’s a sample turning into too conversant in Levis this season, and in some unspecified time in the future, he wants to grasp that taking a sack isn’t at all times the worst end result.

That fumble didn’t cease Levis from taking dangers, both, as a result of on the following play for the Titans offense, he threw an interception.

 

The resolution and throw weren’t essentially poor, with the deep security closing his hips to the route and the receiver getting a step of separation. If the ball had been positioned farther forward, it might have resulted in an enormous completion.

However, in the intervening time Levis launched the deep shot, the crossing route beneath was broad open for a big acquire.

Levis has constantly proven an inclination to take the deeper shot, and whereas he was a bit unfortunate that this one resulted in an interception, it speaks to his mindset. Even after a pricey turnover, he refused to shrink back from attacking tight home windows downfield.

On the Titans’ subsequent drive, following a run and a display go, Levis wasted no time returning to his aggressive type, firing the ball downfield into tight home windows as soon as once more.

The Jets confirmed man protection on this play, and after the defender started to go beneath the rub routes, the Titans quarterback knew he’d have the slot wheel open and fired an ideal go into a good window.

Many younger quarterbacks may hesitate after two turnovers in the identical quarter, however not Levis. He refuses to again down, which is a superb high quality for a younger quarterback. And together with his arm power, it is encouraging to see him proceed to belief himself in these conditions.

This subsequent throw was his better of the day, regardless that it fell incomplete. And it was a throw most quarterbacks wouldn’t even dare to aim.

The above play got here on third-and-long. In this case, many signal-callers would have simply hit the beneath route, lived to battle one other day and settled for the punt. Not Levis. 

It was basically a flood idea from a bunch look, the place all three receivers break their routes out towards the sideline with a flat route, an intermediate route and a deep route. Levis was at all times going to take that deep nook, and he practically related on it, too, with the ball going proper by the receiver’s palms.

Levis’ relentless aggression is a part of what makes him thrilling, and it’s not one thing that needs to be completely coached out of him.

However, there’s a wonderful line between aggression and recklessness, and proper now, Levis is teetering on the sting, leaning too far into recklessness.

It’s harking back to how Josh Allen began his profession in Buffalo. Now, I’m not calling Levis the following Josh Allen, however early on, Allen’s reckless play led to too many turnovers to search out constant success. Over time, Allen realized to rein it in simply sufficient to turn out to be one of many NFL’s greatest quarterbacks.

If Levis desires to thrive at this stage, he’ll must be taught to strike that very same steadiness.





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