Film analysis reveals missed opportunities and poor route-running beyond the quarterback, as dropped passes and technical errors from Titans receivers stall the young signal-caller’s offensive progress.
Tennessee Titans quarterback Cam Ward has had plenty of hype surrounding him this offseason.
He has a new head coach, Robert Saleh, and a former head coach, Brian Daboll, as his offensive coordinator. It has been mentioned many times that Daboll has had success working with young quarterbacks to help them reach their full potential.
Daboll's success stories include Josh Allen and Daniel Jones. We can even include Jaxson Dart in the conversation even though he didn't have Daboll for a full season at the New York Giants.
After all the offseason hype, we finally got to see Ward and the Titans take on the San Francisco 49ers. It was a little underwhelming after the first offensive drive.
Ward went 5-of-12 for 57 passing yards. He looked lost throughout the game.
Then came Sunday night, and he showed improvement. He finished with 69 passing yards on 8-for-12 completions. Ward wasn't afraid to take what the defense gave him, and his completion percentage improved as a result.
Ward had a much better outing, but it could've been better if the Titans were able to capitalize on a couple of potentially explosive plays. Former NFL quarterback Kurt Benkert broke down the film from Sunday night's game, and it revealed something.
Benkert spent time with the Atlanta Falcons, Green Bay Packers and 49ers in his career.
After watching the film, it became clear that all of the problems aren't on Ward.
There was a pass to Elic Ayomanor in the first half that was supposed to be a fade route. In the video, Benkert explains that with fade routes, receivers are supposed to win the matchup and break upfield.
The idea is that it makes it easier for the quarterback to put the ball on the receiver's outside shoulder to make the catch.
Instead, Ayomanor went to the sideline, essentially forcing Ward to throw him a jump ball. Whether you agree or disagree that there should've been a penalty there, Ayomanor didn't run the route as he was supposed to.
There was even a pass before that to Carnell Tate. Ward put the ball right in Tate's hands, but he dropped it. That incompletion is more on Tate than it is on Ward in that instance.
There was also the pass to Gunnar Helm on the sidelines. This reminds me of those passes we saw Ward make last year when the pocket collapsed, and he was forced to roll out, similar to the throw he made to Chimere Dike against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Ward put this ball right on the money to Helm, but the tight end couldn't keep his feet inbounds.
Don't take this the wrong way. This isn't me saying that Ward is a perfect quarterback. He isn't, as we saw many times last year.
Still, he needs better play from his receivers. We saw how the Titans receivers dealt with drops early in the year. Calvin Ridley was the main victim, but Van Jefferson and Tyler Lockett weren't much better.
The Titans have added quality receivers in Tate and Wan'Dale Robinson. For much was invested in this receiver room, they need to be better.
Ward doesn't deserve to shoulder all the blame for the Titans' offensive struggles.
