After a turbulent rookie campaign, Cam Ward revealed what has made him a better football player in the hopes of transforming the Titans' offense into a consistent, winning unit.
The rookie season of Tennessee Titans quarterback Cam Ward plenty of ups and downs.
For the first half of the season, it was mostly downs.
For the first nine weeks of the season, Ward threw for 1,760 passing yards, five touchdowns and six interceptions. During that period, head coach Brian Callahan was fired after the team lost to the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 6.
Then, after a few weeks being coached by interim HC Mike McCoy, a switch flipped for Ward, and he started to put it all together.
From Weeks 10-18, Ward threw for 1,406 passing yards, 10 touchdowns and one interception. He even led the NFL with the best touchdown-to-interception ratio during that span.
As a whole, Ward finished his rookie season with 3,169 passing yards, 15 touchdowns and seven interceptions. This was despite two of his starting receivers being replaced by rookies.
Tyler Lockett and Van Jefferson were replaced by Chimere Dike and Elic Ayomanor by the time the trade deadline rolled around.
Ward now has a better group of starting receivers with the additions of Wan'Dale Robinson and Carnell Tate, but there's one question that came up on Wednesday after the Titans' first training camp practice session.
Ward was asked how he had become a better football player. The second-year quarterback revealed that it had to do with offensive coordinator Brian Daboll.
He said that it had to do with situational football, meaning that he is starting to understand why Daboll will call certain plays at certain moments in games.
"I'll say the biggest thing is situational," Ward said. "And that's watching with Daboll. And it's not the play or the concept, it's the why he's calling the play. The time on the clock, how the game is going, whether, you know, we're starting off good, whether everything's open or we're starting out bad, or I need to slowly get us into the game. Whether it's quick game, running the ball, everything. So, I just think situationally and, you know, awareness of everyone else's position, you know, has been my biggest change."
As a rookie, and especially someone fresh out of college, it can be difficult to understand situational football. After all the uncertainty surrounding his rookie season, Ward is beginning to comprehend why the coaches are calling plays in certain situations.
This could go a long way in Ward learning to play winning football as he grows into a better quarterback in this league.
