The Tennessee Titans made some play-calling changes in Week 2
Tennessee Titans head coach Brian Callahan is just two contests into his tenure as head coach. Naturally, we’re still familiarizing ourselves with his tendencies and preferred play-calling approach. A deep-dive into the numbers suggests the Titans made a fairly sizable change in Week 2.
The Titans called play-action passes on 31.4% of Will Levis’ dropbacks in Sunday’s defeat to the New York Jets, according to research compiled by 104.5 The Zone’s Zach Lyons. This represents a stark change from Week 1 when the Titans called play action on just 13.2% of Levis’ dropbacks. Unfortunately, play-action wasn’t very successful against Robert Saleh’s defense.
Levis went 6-of-10 with 30 yards, zero touchdowns, and one interception on play action. The former Kentucky standout completed 60% of his play-action passes and averaged just 3.0 yards per attempt. Levis was pressured on 45.5% of those dropbacks.
#TitanUp offense cranked up their play-action to 31.4% (13.2% Week 1)
– 6/10, 30 yds, 0 TD, 1 INT
– 60% cmp, 3.0 Y/A
– 0% Sack Rate, 45.5% Pressure RatePlay Action so far:
– 21.9% rate
– 9/15, 39 yds, 0 TD, 1 INT
– 60% cmp, 2.6 Y/A
– 0% Sack Rate, 43.8% Pressure Rate— Zach Lyons (@TheZachLyons) September 16, 2024
Play action is intended to help your starting quarterback. It was a staple of the successful Arthur Smith offenses in 2019 and 2020. The issue? It also typically requires the pass protection to hold up a tick longer, and Tennessee is really struggling in that area through two completed contests.
The data from Next Gen Stats supports that belief. Levis’ average time to throw in Week 2 was 2.93 seconds, 11th-worst among all qualifying quarterbacks. Levis’ release time was significantly faster in Week 1 at 2.70 seconds, with play-action being far less utilized.
Levis’ average completed air yards (CAY) was just 5.1, despite sporting an averaged intended air yards (IAY) of 10.2. The difference (-5.2) was the worst among all quarterbacks in Week 2, insinuating Levis wasn’t successful with his deep-ball attempts. That makes sense given the Treylon Burks interception, and the Calvin Ridley deep drop, both of which indicate Levis wasn’t totally at fault for this statistical misfire.
Callahan and the Titans are still figuring out what works for Levis. Better pass protection and deep-ball efficiency is required if play-action is going to become a successful staple of the offense. Levis’ preferences currently remain a work in progress.