TSRH. I'm not going to weigh in on the asinine and at this point extremely tired argument of whether Quinn is a pussy, is just playing like a pussy, or if he's still our perfect golden boy and it's actually everyone else who's terrible. But he is playing to not get hurt - that is clear. Whether that's justified or not, playing to not get hurt is a great way to get your shit rocked.
Playing loose and looking for a fight is part of accepting that football is a violent game and being okay with that level of violence. You're ready for someone to bring it to you and to bring it to them. As the QB you can't be stupid about contact, but you can't avoid the fact that you're playing football too, just like everyone else on the field. Look at this Pavia kid - do you think he's worried about contact? Fuck no. He's not trying to get his head caved in but he's not thinking about it either. If it happens it happens, that's the game. Even within Ewers' own career we've seen this - dude plays better after he's had a little contact. After a hit he sees that it's not a big deal. It's like he needs a shot in the mouth to wake himself up. But we haven't seen that version of him since UTSA.
Pretending like you can avoid the violence that's inherent to football is not only dumb, it's dangerous. Ewers is not only playing worse, but he's going to get himself hurt worse too.