Music City Miracles
Is it time to panic?
The Tennessee Titans had a fairly good practice on Saturday. Starting quarterback Cam Ward was effective. Ward hit Calvin Ridley and Bryce Oliver for big-time gains, amidst other notable completions, per multiple reporters in attendance. Offensive coordinator Nick Holz talked about how the offensive install had been completed. It led to desirable on-field results.
Saturday’s practice ended with some lowlights, however. A sloppy redzone series was thrown off track by consecutive penalties (on Van Jefferson and JC Latham). A Calvin Ridley drop ended practice.
And then Sunday’s nightmare session arrived. The coaching staff purposely put Ward and the offense in disingenuous situations like third-and-long. The defense occasionally showed Cover Zero and dropped into coverage instead of bringing the blitz (they brought pressure too, sometimes).
The offense responded horribly. Ward went five-of-14 in the team periods, making him eight-of-18 on the day, per Jim Wyatt. He was intercepted by Amani Hooker and nearly threw two more interceptions. He was flustered, inaccurate, and frustrated, which is uncharacteristic. The offense as a whole didn’t respond to adversity, which may be concerning.
Brian Callahan made the offense run gassers at the end of practice, something veteran receiver Tyler Lockett admitted he’s never done in his 11-year career. It was shades of the 2024 Titans, the 3-14 iteration that earned the right to draft Ward.
Brian Callahan made the offense run gassers at the end of practice, something veteran receiver Tyler Lockett admitted he’s never done in his 11-year career. It was shades of the 2024 Titans, the 3-14 iteration that earned the right to draft Ward. They’re purposely being hard on Ward and the offense in an attempt to ensure last year’s mistakes don’t repeat themselves.
There’s no telling if the Titans’ unique approach will pay dividends. Those answers will arrive in September-onward. Currently, Dennard Wilson’s defense is throwing the “kitchen sink” at Ward, hoping he’ll pass the tests in November that he’s occasionally failing in August. Privately, the Titans’ staff possesses so much faith in Ward’s personality and make-up that they’re embracing the struggles and frustration. They believe he’ll recover.
And for the record, this is universally true around the league:
The Titans will hold a joint practice with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday. They’ll play the Buccaneers in the preseason opener on Saturday. It’ll be an excellent test versus a Todd Bowles coached defense. It’ll be worth monitoring Ward’s progress this week after a difficult weekend.
