When Tennessee Titans coach Robert Saleh looked back at his team's first preseason game, he didn't see a quarterback that didn't know what to do out there in the system. That's the good news. Bad news is Cam Ward just didn't do it. "He was making the right decisions," Saleh said of Ward on Aug. 14, the morning after a 19-13 preseason victory over the San Francisco 49ers, "and he was throwing the ball where it needed to be thrown. But, again, it comes back to time on task, trusting yourself and trusting your teammates. … "Get your feet in the ground and throw an accurate football. It's that simple. It sounds simple, but at the same time, we've got to be able to go do it and take it from practice to the game." Ward wasn't sharp against a defense comprised mostly of 49ers backups, finishing an unimpressive 5-of-12 passing for 57 yards in less than a half of football.
Saleh pinned Ward's struggles on a need for "confidence in not only himself but his teammates to execute." Ward's lack of conviction was apparent on a plays in which he held the football too long. There were other throws in which Ward just missed receivers with fastballs. "There's no doubt Cam is capable," Saleh said. "We've just got to go execute. ... It's a first time in live bullets, and there is a trust thing. You look at the plays that we had (Thursday), I think he had ample amount of time." Since Ward needs more "time on task," as Saleh put it, the Titans are planning to play their first-string offense in each of the two remaining preseason games and increase the number of plays each time. "We may end up going the whole first half this next game," Saleh said. What did Robert Saleh like from preseason opener? Saleh comes away from the West Coast trip pleased with his offensive line, and with its physicality in the run game in particular. That showed in the Titans' 167 rushing yards versus the 49ers. Right tackle JC Latham "had a great game," Saleh said, and the coach also had praise for fast-rising rookie Fernando Carmona, who started at right guard. "He's doing a really nice job," Saleh said of Carmona. While Saleh noted that both the Titans' offense and defense needs improvement in the pass game, he applauded how both units played the run. Reach Tennessean sports columnist Gentry Estes at gestes@tennessean.com and hang out with him on Bluesky @gentryestes.bsky.social This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Robert Saleh on Cam Ward: He just needs reps, and he'll get more in Titans' preseason games