The Tennessee Titans are hoping for big things from their young quarterback this year. And even though his first preseason start did not exactly go well, it sounds like they’re still optimistic about his talent.
Following a lackluster performance against the San Francisco 49ers this week, Titans head coach Robert Saleh came to the defense of his quarterback a little bit as he expressed confidence in Ward’s abilities despite what everyone saw on the field.
Cam Ward Struggles
During his rookie season, Ward struggled at times, completing just 59.8 percent of his passes for 3,169 yards with 15 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
The team is obviously looking for him to take a significant step this season, but his performance during Thursday’s preseason game against the Niners was quite uninspiring.
Ward played three series in the preseason showdown where he went just 5-of-12 for 57 yards through the air with a 56.6 passer rating. He also accounted for an egregious intentional grounding penalty and a near-interception – all against a defense made up of bench players.
Cam Ward still doing Cam Ward stuff pic.twitter.com/7S5a880DWk
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Needless to say, it was not the showing that the team would have hoped for from their young quarterback in his second season, but Saleh still has hope.
‘There’s no doubt’
Despite Ward’s struggles on Thursday, Saleh expressed confidence in the young quarterback moving forward.
“The good news is going back and digging in on the film, every pass play that (Daboll) called yesterday we’ve run in practice,” Titans head coach Robert Saleh said Friday via NFL Media. “You guys have been there and you guys have seen flashes of Cam and the entire offense operating at a very high level. It’s as simple as just time on task.
“Every single one of those plays he’s executed flawlessly in practice. He’s got to be able to have the confidence in not only himself but his teammates to execute, get your feet down, play with great technique and deliver the football just like he has. We’re going to continue to harp on the technique, all the fundamentals, continue to rep things at a high level. It’s just reps.”
As for the struggles, Saleh pointed out that these were Ward’s first live-action reps in Daboll’s scheme.
“It’s the first time in live bullets, and there is a trust thing,” he said. “… It’s time on task. It’s building trust with his teammates. It’s building confidence in himself. There’s no doubt Cam is capable, we’ve just got to go out and execute.”
We’ll have to see whether or not the team sees improvement from Ward in the coming weeks.
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