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By Rowan Fisher-Shotton
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Sunday was a perfect opportunity for Tennessee Titans quarterback Cam Ward to show why he was the first overall pick in last year's draft.
Hosting a New York Jets team that hasn't had a winning season in over a decade, the Titans were supposed to open the season 1-0. Instead, they not only lost 23-10, but the offense looked horrible. That's not what fans were expecting to see with new offensive coordinator Brian Daboll running things.
Speaking after the loss, head coach Robert Saleh revealed a telling truth about Ward, who finished 19 of 32 for 140 yards and one touchdown with zero interceptions.
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"You look at Cam, he's had seven different coordinators over the last seven years," Saleh said. "So he's trying to build a foundation, and we're trying to build a foundation for him. And we're trying to give him some stability, and we're trying to give him some things that are repetitive week after week after week without having to reset. So his growth will happen throughout the year. His growth is gonna happen next year, and the year after.
"This young man is at the floor, again, of what it takes to be an NFL quarterback. But he has all the tools, the mental makeup, to get to where he needs to go. It's time on task. It's giving the kids stability. It's giving the young man a chance to be repetitive in his day-to-day process with the right coaching to help him get better. And that's really for all of them. It's a long, long process. Long story short, to get these kids where you need them to go. Quarterback especially."
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Before arriving in the NFL, Ward spent five years in college playing for three different programs: Incarnate Word, Washington State, and Miami. He worked under two different coordinators in each of his two seasons at Washington State, and the same pattern has continued across his two seasons with the Titans, first with Nick Holz as offensive coordinator last season, and now Daboll this year.
In other words, Ward has had to learn a new system every year for the majority of his young career. There are bound to be some growing pains as a result, so Saleh isn't wrong. Unfortunately for Ward, he's still the No. 1 overall pick the Titans invested in to be their franchise quarterback, and that expectation isn't going away.
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Ward's already coming off a disappointing rookie season, having completed 59.8% of his passes for 3,169 yards, 15 touchdowns, and seven interceptions. It's still early this season, but if he can't turn things around, especially with all the new weapons and system the Titans have brought in, more questions will emerge about whether he's really the guy.
Tennessee next hosts the Eagles, a team that just narrowly defeated the Commanders 24-22.
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