Football has a way of turning common sense into a graduate-level course.

There are schemes to dissect, tendencies to analyze and enough terminology to make a reasonable question sound like it requires a dissertation.

Then there is Rob Leonard.

Asked how the Raiders balance an aggressive defense with the discipline to keep that aggression from becoming a problem, their defensive coordinator offered something considerably simpler.

“Don’t play stupid, you know what I mean?”

Actually, yes.

For all the time spent explaining the difference between playing with an edge and going over it, Leonard distilled the assignment into a few words.

Sometimes we make this stuff harder than it needs to be.

The Raiders have forced a league-high nine takeaways while committing the fifth-fewest penalties in the NFL and accumulating the fewest penalty yards in the league. They are chasing the ball without constantly tripping over their own emotions.

“There’s a difference in playing with your hair on fire and playing the game between the whistle and doing things the right way,” Leonard said.

The point is not to drain the energy out of a defense that has helped power a 3-0 start. It is to direct it toward something useful.

Pressure the quarterback. Finish the tackle. Strip the football.

Then get ready for the next snap.

The extra shove might feel satisfying. So might delivering the last word. Neither is worth handing an opponent a fresh set of downs.

“Just focus on doing things the right way,” Leonard said.

Leonard credited coach Klint Kubiak with establishing that expectation and the players with embracing it. His responsibility is to reinforce the message.

“It’s easy for me,” Leonard said. “I just echo the message of the head coach.”

There are complicated parts to building an NFL defense.

Knowing when to stop hitting someone should not be one of them.

Leonard’s guys seem to understand that.