Robert Saleh Reflects on Cam Ward's Decision Making vs. 49ers

Thursday night's game got off to a really good start for the Tennessee Titans offense.  The defense looked a little worrisome at times, but they were able to get the San Francisco 49ers offense off the field on their opening drive. The Titans didn't start with the best field position, but they made the most of it.  The Titans were on their own five-yard line to open the first offensive drive. However, they were able to score after an 11-play, 95-yard drive that ended with a Tony Pollard touchdown, making it 7-0 for the Titans.  Tennessee was able to move the ball, and Cam Ward looked composed, completing a couple of passes.  Then came the rest of his snaps. Ward looked rushed, and most of his throws weren't in time. He almost threw an interception if it weren't for the 49ers defender just flat out dropping it.  Ward ended up finishing with 57 passing yards on 5-of-12 completions. The 49ers game was a reality check for the team, which has spent a lot of the offseason pumping up Ward and investing in him.  Even though the Titans won 19-13, it raised some concerns about Ward. It is still the preseason, but that wasn't the kind of play you'd like to see from your second-year quarterback against backups.  Robert Saleh was asked what he thought went wrong for Ward in Thursday's win. He believed that Ward's mechanics were sped up compared to how the offense has been operating in training camp.  He focused on the positives at least. He noted that Ward's mistakes were correctable and shouted out the offensive line for their protection.  "Yeah, you know what?" Saleh said. "We'll go back and look, and I haven't gotten to talk to Daboll still. It felt like his decisions were right. I just felt like he was a little more sped up than he has been in camp. You know, it's first time live bullets. I'm not sure, but it looked like his mechanics were a little bit more sped up than it has been, which is good because we can go correct it, which is what the preseason is for. I'm sure he'll look back and see that the protection was pretty good and he can go through his process a little better."  At the end of the day, it is the preseason.  Ward faced the 49ers backups for most of the series he played in. As Saleh said, there is still plenty of time for the Titans to correct these mistakes before the regular season hits, but Ward did not look like his old self.  Whether the Titans can chalk this up to him learning a new offense or it being the first time he's played in an NFL game since January, Ward was a non-factor for most of the game outside of that first drive.  At least he's having these performances now instead of during the regular season.