Quarterback Will Levis ' sophomore season for the Tennessee Titans (2-8) is best described as a failure to launch through 11 weeks. Levis, however, is not the only thing holding Tennessee's offense back this year.
Coach Brian Callahan and his offensive staff are not problem-solving at a sufficient rate.
Titans offense can and must simplified for Will Levis
"What you're trying to do for a quarterback is you're trying to present a route concept or concepts where it's clean," said Greg Cosell of NFL Films on The Install with Greg Cosell podcast. "So, when he drops back and he looks to number one, he can deliver the football. That's what you're trying to do...And when I watch the Titans, sometimes I feel like those kinds of completions are not there, you know?
Right now, Levis' does not excel with his timing and anticipatory throws as an NFL passer.
He tends to be a beat late when isolating and eliminating his targets withing the scheme. Plenty of quarterbacks deal with the same issue without struggles to the degree that this Titans offense has presented. It is essential to understand who Levis is, and for the coaching staff to scheme the kinds of routes and concepts where he can simply see it, and throw it.
The offense must play into the fact that Levis will inherently be a beat late.
Will Levis also needs to pull his own weight
If it was an easy fix, Tennessee would have done it by now.
Not only has Levis been somewhere between catastrophic and insufficient in game action this year, but issues with the right side of the offensive line have exacerbated his issues. The Titans have either started or played five different people at right tackle this season.
All have been awful, allowing 44 total pressures between the five at right tackle in 2024.
Levis has not proven himself up to the task of adjusting to poor protection in front of him. Joe Burrow of the Cincinnati Bengals, where Callahan previously served as offensive coordinator, found ways to negate a good deal of inadequate offensive line play around him. While Callahan has clearly spent the year adapting to life without Burrow, Levis has also helped create some of the issues.
Against the Los Angeles Chargers and the Minnesota Vikings, Levis completed a 35-of-54 attempts together in those contests (64.8%). 470 yards with three touchdowns and one interception seems like a substantial improvement in his return to the lineup after missing action with a sprained AC joint in his throwing shoulder. Levis, however, has been sacked 12 times against LA and Minnesota, with several of those being self-inflicted.
Levis' sack percentage of 13.1% is the second worst in the league.
All parties must improve if Tennessee is to show any progress this season.
The Titans are back on the road against the Houston Texans (7-4) in Week 12. Watch/listen to Titans Radio's pregame coverage starting at 9am CT on 104.5 The Zone in Nashville.
