Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Cam Ward BIPOLAR PERFORMANCE against Saints Shows SPECIAL TALENT & Future Issues Titans Must Address

Episode Date: December 29, 2025

The Tennessee Titans lost the New Orleans Saints, but Cam Ward put on an absolute show with his arm talent and playmaking ability. These things make Ward a special player and that is something the Tit...ans should not want to suppress. However, Ward's game doesn't come without some issues as he put those on display against the Saints in a major way as well. Holding the ball, inaccuracy and carelessness with the football are all over the tape and Ward will have to clean some of this up himself as he goes into his first full offseason as a professional. On the other hand, the Titans need to help Ward with these concerns by surrounding him with players that have certain traits like body control, length and contested catch ability. With Ward's natural improvement and the Titans catering to his weaknesses with personnel philosophy, Ward would be on a great path to being a difference making player. Subscribe to the TicTacTitans Film Channel:https://www.youtube.com/@TicTacTitans TicTacTitans Merchandise: https://dixons-dream.square.site/shop/tictactitans-gear/C3AAPNWXSXA6SBYG3USV2I7R?page=1&limit=30&sort_by=category_order&sort_order=asc Follow Tyler on Twitter @TicTacTitans Follow the show on Facebook @LockedOnTitansPod Subscribe to the Locked On Titans YouTube channel:https://www.youtube.com/c/LockedOnTitans/videos Everydayer ClubIf you never miss an episode, it’s time to make it official. Join the Locked On Everydayer Club and get ad-free audio, access to our members-only Discord, and more — all built for our most loyal fans.Click here to learn more and join your team’s community: https://lockedonpodcasts.com/everydayerclubSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!FanDuelToday's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. So before tip-off, check the FanDuel app and see what’s dropping during NBA Happy Hour — every Friday from 6 to 7:30 PM Eastern.A little basketball, a little action, and a whole lot of Friday energy. PrizePicksDownload the PrizePicks app today and use codeLOCKEDONNFL to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup.Click Here: https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/LOCKEDONNFLGametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFLfor $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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Starting point is 00:00:00 Cam Ward's performance against the Saints had a lot of special plays and some scary ones too. But the Tennessee Titans need to lean into who Cam is as a player, not try to tone it down. I'll explain on today's edition of Locked on Titans. You are Locked on Titans, your daily Tennessee Titans podcast, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Welcome to the Locked-on Titans podcast. I am your host, Tyler Rowland Titans fans. On today's show, we are going to look at Cam Ward's performance against the New Orleans Saints because there was a ton of special plays that are hard to find in the NFL.
Starting point is 00:00:46 But also, there were some scary things that Ward definitely needs to work on as he grows throughout his career. But those things that I think Cam needs to work on can be helped by the Tennessee Titans in the way that they build the roster. talk about all of that before we dive in. Do want to thank you for making Locked on Titans, your first listen each and every day. Remember, Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content all year round, always for free. Make sure that you get subscribed, stay subscribed.
Starting point is 00:01:13 It's your team every day here on the Locked on Titans podcast. Speaking of every day, shout out to my everydayers out there. Tune in Monday through Friday. Couldn't do it without you guys. If you aren't an everydayer, you need to be one. The Tennessee Titans season is almost over, but the most important time of the year is right around the corner. We got a Tennessee Titans head coaching search.
Starting point is 00:01:32 We're going to have free agency. We're going to have the draft. If you want to stay as up-to-date, as informed, as entertained as a Tennessee Titans fan possibly could be, make sure that you stay locked in with me here on the Locked-on Titans podcast. But again, Cam Ward was absolutely special. Now, I'm going to go through the good and bad of this performance. But the point of this performance, in my opinion, in the way that it was yesterday, and immediately after I felt after the game,
Starting point is 00:01:58 the good far outweighed the bad in this one for Cam Ward in my opinion like the special plays that he made outweighed any of the issues that I saw from him in this game now does that mean that you throw the issues away entirely and you don't worry about them at all absolutely not that's not the way that it works but the reality with Cam Ward throughout his career and his style of play and I told you guys this a couple of months ago I told you after he was drafted I'm going to continue to remind folks Cam Ward is a gunslinger.
Starting point is 00:02:29 We have seen this type of quarterback before in the NFL. We have seen a Brett Favre, a Baker Mayfield. Patrick Mahomes is probably the best version in NFL history of a playmaker, a guy who may make some risky plays, but he's going to make some absolutely special plays that you just can't find in your average everyday quarterback in the NFL. And that's exactly what we saw from Cam Ward against the Saints. He made some strange plays that were turnovers.
Starting point is 00:02:56 overworthy and we'll talk about him, but the special plays. The special plays are so special and so rare and so unique. It's unbelievable. The things that he was able to do out there, he's a magician. Again, I continue to call him, he's the one. He's Neo and the Matrix. He's the Matrix to me. Like he can see the code and he can find his way through it. Does that mean everything's perfect? Does that mean that he's a top five quarterback in the NFL right now? No, but this special ability, the things that he can do well, there's an old adage in scouting. and it's not, it's tell me what the player can do
Starting point is 00:03:29 not what he can't do because when you look at players and you just say what they can't do you're going to lose a lot of value based on things that guys can do very well so don't tell me what Cam Ward isn't good at show me what he is good at and what he is good at and what we saw
Starting point is 00:03:46 in this game again it's so special it's so rare it's so hard to find it is the special talent that separates quarterbacks in the NFL, that second reaction, that playmaking ability where when the play breaks down, can you do something about it? And Cam Ward not only can do something about it, he might be one of the best players in the NFL already. He might be top five, top 10 already in those second reaction off schedule playmaking situations. Probably top 10. Let's be
Starting point is 00:04:16 conservative here, to be honest. But I'm just saying he already has shown that he has this special ability that's rare and not only is it rare to find, but we have seen. over and over and over again in the NFL that that special ability that Cam Ward has is the difference maker for a lot of teams in the big time moments in the NFL. Like Jalen Hertz is not a great quarterback like in sitting in the pocket
Starting point is 00:04:41 the classic sense of the quarterback but Jalen Hertz is clutch makes big plays in big moments, uses his legs to pick up first downs and he's a better runner than Cam Ward is but the point is I would say Cam Ward, not that much different than a guy like Jalen Hertz when it comes. I would say Cam Ward might even be better than Jalen Hertz
Starting point is 00:05:02 and just sitting in the pocket and delivering, especially with the way the Eagles offenses looked. I mean, there are some crazy stats out there about not completing passes in the second half and down the field and all these. You know, the point I'm making is it's not to disparage Jalen Hertz or compare the two or anything, but the point is that yes, it would be great to have a Peyton Manning, Tom Brady-style guy who could sit in the pocket and have pins.
Starting point is 00:05:24 point accuracy and precise. But that's not necessarily what wins because there aren't a lot of guys left like that in the NFL right now. You need guys who can make those special plays when the play breaks down. And now quite frankly, the play breaks down too much for the Tennessee Titans because the offensive coaching is not great. There aren't guys who are creating separation. There are a lot of guys who just simply are not open when Cam Ward has to go make some of these plays and make things happen. That's just the reality of this situation and my film breakdown on Cam Ward that's going to be out on the Tick-Tac Titans YouTube channel
Starting point is 00:05:54 tonight on Monday night after this podcast drops at 6 p.m. Easter is going to show the plays that we're talking about but I mean four big time throws in this game from Cam Ward the deep crosser to Chim Dike early in the game where he's fading away from the safety going to the right-hand side
Starting point is 00:06:11 the corner route on the PA bootleg to Van Jefferson on the sideline perfectly between the corner and the safety The shot 63 yards in the air. He throws it from the 35-yard line all the way to the 2-yard line in the air to Chim D-K that draws the defensive pass interference. 63 yards in the air.
Starting point is 00:06:31 And again, the arm talent is there. That is good enough arm talent to do anything. Now, the accuracy, that has to be worked on and we'll talk about that. But just the velocity to throw it down the field, he can make any throw that you want to make The bomb to Mason Kinsey, and again on that one, he's rolling out because nobody is open. He gets all the way to his sideline and Mason Kinsey finally turns up the field and goes vertical
Starting point is 00:06:57 and he delivers a perfect pass right to him. Right to him. Then the playmaking, rolling out to the right, he waits for Van Jefferson to clear the window where the linebacker is waiting in front of him and he stares the linebacker off and at the last second flips his head, throws it to Van Jefferson for a 10-plus yard. completion. Hits I.O. Manor in the red zone on the corner route. David Martin Robinson on the sideline where he's rolling out, rolling out, and he's just standing there waiting, and he's just waiting for somebody to cut back inside.
Starting point is 00:07:31 And finally, David Martin Robinson cuts back to the inside. He hits him first down, keep the chains moving. Two throws where he goes through the middle, creates space and time, and hits Elicio Manor over the middle. One was complete, one was incomplete late in the game. The one on four down at the end of the game where his knee was ruled down. I mean, his knee was ruled down, but what an incredible play to get back and then shoot up. Like, the ability to play make, the ability to buy time in the pocket even when there's pressure, when the play isn't there.
Starting point is 00:08:02 And if you have listened to this podcast for any amount of time, then you know, you know that my football philosophy is I want guys who can make plays when the play doesn't work. wide receivers, I want contested catch guys over separators. Give me guys who, even when they are covered, they're going to go up and make plays and catch the football. Even when a guy is on their back, they're going to catch the slant, break a tackle, and take it to the house.
Starting point is 00:08:32 Yeah, it's great that you can separate and get open. That's great. But what about when the defense calls the perfect coverage? What about when it's the red zone? And there is no space to separate. Can you go make a play? What about when it's Sandlot and Cam Ward's rolling out to the right and he's on the sideline and nobody's open.
Starting point is 00:08:48 Can he throw it up to you and can you go make a play for him? When the pressure's on, can he toss it up and can you make a play? We're going to talk more about this. When I talk about what the Titans need to do to help Cam Ward with some of his concerns. But at the end of the day, give me the guy who can make the play when the play breaks down. When the three-level flood concept
Starting point is 00:09:13 zone still isn't there because the defense covers it perfect. when it's cover one man and they bring five and there's pressure on you, but the man coverage is tight. Do you have a quarterback that can make a play? Do you have a quarterback that can save the day and put on the cape? The Tennessee Titans do. The Tennessee Titans do have a Superman quarterback who has special abilities that are rare and hard to find.
Starting point is 00:09:35 And then you start to look at just some of the general stuff of Cam Ward's play. Four straight games of multiple touchdown passes. he's the number at a number one overall pick quarterbacks he has the longest streak in the NFL since 1970 besides Baker Mayfield who did at
Starting point is 00:09:54 five straight games in 2018 and Cam could do it five straight games if he throws for two touchdowns against Jacksonville Jaguars this week and then he would be tied with Baker Mayfield for the longest streak of multiple touchdown passes in a game as a rookie number one overall pick since 1970
Starting point is 00:10:09 that's 25 years right 1970 70 to 20, that's 55, well, it's about to be 56. Quick math, okay? And you add in this, it's all a stat from Nick Suss from the Tennessean, I think, four straight games of two plus touchdown passes with only one interception or less. Only three rookie quarterbacks have done that. Russell Wilson and Dan Marina. So you look at the film and you see the special plays that Cam Ward made in this game. You look at some of the trends of how he's played since the bye week
Starting point is 00:10:47 and some of the streaks and names that he's being mentioned with. Again, there may be issues and there may be concerns with Cam Ward and he showed us all of them in this game with some of these scary plays that he made. But the special outweighs the scary. That is my synopsis on Cam Ward's rookie season. The special outweighs the scary. and the special that Cam Ward brings to the table can be a massive difference maker in the NFL.
Starting point is 00:11:18 That is what's important to me. What can he do? And we'll work on the other stuff. And when we work on the other stuff, that starts with knowing what we need to work on and then having a good plan to work on it. And I think that, I think we know what we need to work on and I think we know what the plan needs to be going forward.
Starting point is 00:11:38 And quite frankly, it's something that I mentioned to all you guys a couple of months ago. Do want to let you know that today's episode is brought to you by Gusto. Let's be real. No one starts a business with the joy of calculating tax withholdings or managing payroll spreadsheets. That's where Gusto comes in to take the stress out of payroll benefits and HR so you can focus on running your business and supporting your team.
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Starting point is 00:12:49 That's right, three months free payroll at gusto.com slash locked on NFL one more time. That's gusto.com slash locked on NFL. Titans fans, let's continue today's edition of the Locked-on Titans podcast. Breaking down Cam Ward's performance against the New Orleans Saints. Again, we got a lot of special and we got a lot of scary in there as well. But I think that makes for a good conversation about where Cam Ward is at in his career going forward. But I want to talk about some of the scary stuff. Because we talked about the special throws, the playmaking,
Starting point is 00:13:38 the big time throws down the field, the improvement since the buy, some of the statistical streaks. But make no mistake, everything, everything that makes Cam Ward scary was on display in this game. First off, the turnover worthy plays. Now, the interceptions haven't been out of control for Cam Ward. He has cleaned up the fumble issues.
Starting point is 00:14:06 he had early on in the season. Again, before the buy, he had five touchdown, six interceptions, and a ton of fumbles. And since the buy, he has one interception, 11 touchdowns, and has had two fumbles. Okay? Now, the Chase Young fumble, I think is a bad example of a good point. I said this yesterday on the show after the game, but I think that Chase Young ripping that ball from Cam Ward's hands as he backs up in the pocket is not necessarily Cam Ward's fault 100%. Now, it's a turnover worthy play. He struggles with ball security issues in the pocket.
Starting point is 00:14:48 Those are real. Okay, that's fair. J.C. Latham got beat like a drum on the play by Curtis Granderson, and there was pressure right in Cam Ward's face. So he backed up, and as he backed up, Dan Moore was pushing Chase Young past the pocket. That's not a bad job by Dan Moore. Cam Ward backed up really far because of the pressure in his face from Granderson. He kind of had no choice because Granderson was right in front of him.
Starting point is 00:15:15 He couldn't go forward. He had to back up to keep the play alive. It was that or sack. But the reality is it's also fair to say Cam needs to hold the ball a little more securely in the pocket. He had it in one hand leaning backwards. It was easy for Chase Young to rip away. But my real point with that play is,
Starting point is 00:15:33 is while Cam Ward has a ball security issue that he must improve specifically with the fumbles in the pocket, I don't think if you made a list of the most egregious fumbles Cam Ward's had to showcase that point, I don't think that this one with Chase Young should be high on the list of examples. I think you could leave this one on the cutting room floor. Like when I make my film breakdown after the year and talk about Cam Ward's ball security issues, I'm not going to use this play. I don't think. Maybe I will as B-roll or something. but like there are more egregious examples of this issue with Cam Ward but nonetheless nonetheless it is an issue going forward and it was on display in this game
Starting point is 00:16:11 his biggest issue is probably the fumbles in the pocket and we got an example at least even if it's a bad example it is an example nonetheless outside of that early in the game he's late to Chica Conquo on an end-breaking route and front of the safeties on cover four. He could have dumped it off to Tony Pollard on the right-hand sideline and a checkdown. He decided not to and to go big play hunting. And then he almost fumbled the ball backwards.
Starting point is 00:16:43 Okay, the refs called it an incomplete pass, but the ball went backwards and I was scared. Okay? That was a terrifying play. That's a turnover worthy play. It may not have turned into a turnover, but what are we doing there? Just throw it out of bounds.
Starting point is 00:16:57 I mean, I would have rather have been on time to Chick-a-conquo through the progression, I would have rather him dumped it off to Tony Pollard for a two-yard gain on the right-hand sideline. It was second and ten. It wasn't third down. You didn't need to do that. Just take your profit, you know? And that's part of, you know, these big plays that we talked about in the first segment where he's rolling out and he's buying time and he's making plays like this is the other side of that sword. And I've mentioned players like Brett Favre, like Patrick Mahomes, you want to go the bad way. You could say like Jay Cutler. Good example of a player. was like this early in his career as well.
Starting point is 00:17:34 But you have ups and downs with these players where they always want to make the big play and dialing it in is really the difficult part is when do you go make the play? When do you stop? But outside of that, the fake wide receiver screen where he still lobs it up
Starting point is 00:17:53 down the sideline, like if that, we're lucky that Alante Taylor jumped up and dropped it because number 29, the cornerback was coming behind him and if Alante Taylor wasn't there, the cornerback was going to pick it off and go the other way. Like, that was, just check it down to the wide receiver screen that was the fake because all the defensive backs backed up.
Starting point is 00:18:13 They didn't fool anybody. And he still tried to sneak it in from the opposite hash. Buddy, you don't have the arm to do that. I mean, what are we doing here? Just take the checkdown. This wasn't a third and long situation. You didn't fool them. Don't try to risk it.
Starting point is 00:18:28 throw it to the wide receiver screen that you faked and just take your couple of yards and keep going. You know, that was a bad decision and too risky going big play hunting, wanting something more than what's there. The late dump off to Hunter Helm that almost turned into a pick six going the other way. He was just late.
Starting point is 00:18:48 He was just late and then he panicked and that was like the pick six that we saw against the Indianapolis Colts early in the year. He just panicked and he was late to his checkdown and it was man coverage and he threw it anyway. You know, you got to be quicker than that or you got to be more aware than that. That's something getting through his progressions on time.
Starting point is 00:19:04 That will naturally get better, you would think, with a young player in his first year. Then, the almost interception on the sideline, you know, he's going to James Prochet. I would love to not throw to James Prochay ever again in Cam Ward's career. Can we have better wide receivers than James Prochay for Cam Ward to throw to as one of his top three wide receivers?
Starting point is 00:19:25 Like, I'm just, that just can never happen again, right? But nonetheless, I mean, it was a terrible throw and if the cornerback was a wide receiver, it would have been an interception. He just wasn't good enough at tapping his toes. So that's five turnover-worthy plays and as a matter of fact, that is the most turnover-worthy plays
Starting point is 00:19:40 of any quarterback in the NFL this week going into Monday night football. His time to throw was over four seconds because he was just holding the ball and waiting and trying to make plays. It looked like Cam Ward in college. It was basically Cam Ward at Miami where he just didn't care.
Starting point is 00:19:55 He had protection. He's going to hold the ball as long as he wants. And a lot of that turned into special plays. But again, a lot of that turned into scary plays. And outside of those real obvious, like, oh, that should have been a turnover. Like, he was late to I.O. Manor on the third downer,
Starting point is 00:20:13 they were off in some way. I don't know that I can blame him for that. We'd have to know if Iow Manor didn't run the route depth right, and it should have been shorter. But earlier, he went to, or later in the game, he goes to Chim D.K. on a crossing route over the middle where there are two guys in a zone on him and the backside, it's one-on-one on both
Starting point is 00:20:31 and Gunner Helm is cutting in for an easy completion that would have moved the chains. Cam just got a little rushed and went to Chim automatically, made the wrong read. He had a miss to Van Jefferson on a deep post that was wide open and it's one of those plays where he extended it and then eventually threw it away because it wasn't there, but if he just makes the read
Starting point is 00:20:49 and hits Van Jefferson on the deep post where he's wide open, beating his man deep, that could be a big play or a pass interference or something. he had two bad throws to Chica Conqua one on a seam where he was way behind him one on a throw that went out of bounds the sideline missed a prochet not the one that was an almost interception
Starting point is 00:21:07 but he had another one of those deep balls on the outside sideline that went way out of bounds again the accuracy the ball control the progression speed those are the three key areas where Cam Ward must improve
Starting point is 00:21:22 as his career continues okay now with the accuracy I think it's a footwork thing and his mechanics he works hard to clean that up I think that will improve the ball control I think is just a mental focus
Starting point is 00:21:35 and an adjustment to the speed of the game thing and he got better in the second half of the season with that aspect I think that'll be fine the progression speed naturally comes from not being a rookie anymore feeling more comfortable seeing every coverage seeing different route concepts against those coverages and there will still be a learning curve with that
Starting point is 00:21:55 as a new offense is installed this all season but at the end of the day it's going to be easier to not be a rookie and understand how to get through that and when and it's not just how quickly you get from one to two to three it's being able to recognize oh we got this coverage my one isn't even going to be there I'm going to go to two immediately oh based on how the routes are distributed I know that three isn't going to be there
Starting point is 00:22:21 so I'm going to go one two and just immediately get to the checkdown It's not just, hey, these are my progressions. It's how quickly and how much you can eliminate during the play and pre-snap. So Cam Ward's going to get better with all that stuff. And quite frankly, the Tennessee Titans need to help him as well. It's not just on Cam Ward. It's on the Titans as well to help Cam Ward. And we're going to talk about what they need to do to do that.
Starting point is 00:22:45 And again, it's something that I've been talking about for a few months now. Do want to let you know that today's episode is brought to you. by prize picks. Whether you're starting a new routine or jumping into player projections for the first time. Trying something new can feel like a challenge. But with prize picks, it always feels good to be right. With high pressure football matchups every weekend and elite hoops action almost every night, the action never slows down. And prize picks let you stay in control. Prize picks is a daily fantasy app that makes watching sports even more exciting by letting you build lineups based on player stats.
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Starting point is 00:24:35 We talked about Cam Ward's bipolar performance against the New Orleans Saints. We saw all of the special, but we saw all of the scary as well. Now, the special outweighed the scary, in my opinion. That will be key with Cam Ward's archetype as a player going forward. And with that in mind, the Tennessee Titans need to help Cam Ward based on the style of play that he has because they need to lean into his special qualities, not try to tone them down.
Starting point is 00:25:00 But with that being said, before we talk about what they need to do to help him, do want to thank you again for making Locked-on Titans you're at first to listen, and thank you for making the Locked-on podcast network, the number one sports podcast network. But I have been saying this for a few months now, and I think it's been proven out throughout the season,
Starting point is 00:25:18 throughout the good and the bad with Cam Ward. Cam Ward is a gun slinger Cam Ward is not a precision pocket passer he's going to playmate he's going to hold the ball he's going to make risky throws he's going to make risky plays he's going to make risky decisions
Starting point is 00:25:36 he's going to put the ball in harm's way but he's going to do some crazy special things that only certain people can even do and I think that the Tennessee Titans need to understand and acknowledge and prepare for
Starting point is 00:25:56 Cam Ward's deficiencies as a player. Cam Ward is not a perfect quarterback, nor will he ever be, and I don't know that a perfect quarterback exists. If you can't admit that, then we can't have adult serious discussions about how to help Cam Ward and how he can get better
Starting point is 00:26:13 and how the roster can support him. If you can't, like, it's like marketing. You know, when movies look at how things work, they look at male and female, they look at different races, who came out to the movie, who didn't come out to the movie.
Starting point is 00:26:28 And in the industry, they call it a four-quadrant movie. Those are the big blockbusters. Those are the ones who sell the most money. Now, if you can't acknowledge, hey, we didn't get a good female turnout. Hey, our audience was mostly 40 plus. We need to get more young people
Starting point is 00:26:44 to want to come see the movie. Maybe we cast this young star who's big with the younger audience. If you can't have honest discussions about your deficiencies, you can't have honest discussions about how to fix things, how to make things better, how to improve. So if we're honest about where Cam Ward is deficient, okay, then we can be honest about how to build this roster around them and help him
Starting point is 00:27:09 because the Tennessee Titans number one need to get a smart offensive coach in here, which is why I still lean offensive coach when it comes to hiring the new head coach. I still lean offense because a young offensive coach or even an older smart offensive coach is going to make things so much easier for Cam Ward give them so much many more options.
Starting point is 00:27:31 Right now the Tennessee Patins don't have guys who can separate consistently in the back end of the defense but they also don't have a coaching staff who is consistently scheming guys open against certain coverages either. So where you saw Tyler Shubes, get really good opportunities. Cam Moore didn't have as many good opportunities in the second half
Starting point is 00:27:50 because his head coach got out-coached in the second half after adjustments were made, whereas the opposite happened for the Saints. And a better head coach in Kellynne Moore made things easier and attacked better and understood the Titans' coverages and blah-b-b-b-b-b-b. So the Titans have to help Cam Ward number one by getting a coach. But again, as I talked about a couple of months ago, they're wide receivers, their tight ends, their decisions they make in that regard with the roster
Starting point is 00:28:14 need to help as well. The Titans and Cam Ward need big weapons. They need big bodied wide receivers and this goes back to what we talked about earlier in the show. I've set it up for you, okay? A little foreshadowing. But they need big bodied wide receivers with long arms, big hands,
Starting point is 00:28:35 good and contested catch situations, great body control to adjust to the ball in the air on the fly, be able to adjust on the sideline and make toe tap catches. Have good hands and not have drop issues. They need guys like that. Because the reality is,
Starting point is 00:28:52 Cam Ward's probably going to be a little behind, a little in front, a little to the left, a little here, a little there. The ball's going to tail a little, and you're going to have to fade back and adjust. Look, all quarterbacks have those situations, but Cam Ward isn't going to be like Joe Burrow or Tom Brady or these guys who are more pinpoint accurate players,
Starting point is 00:29:11 like Jared Golf, for example. in a clean pocket. Very pinpoint accurate with his ball placement and I know a lot of you guys live by this. It hits the wide receiver in the hands they better catch it. But the reality is NFL passing is more advanced than that. It's not just about putting if you throw the ball to your wide receiver's chest
Starting point is 00:29:28 perfect pass right to his chest like any level would tell you hey that's a good throw you got it right to the wide receiver's chest. In the NFL that might be a bad throw because there's a safety barren down on your guy over the middle of the field and if you throw that low instead of at the wide receiver's chest if you throw it low now the receiver can go low slide to it and they avoid a hit think about a back
Starting point is 00:29:55 shoulder fade you throw it to the back shoulder to the sideline that's not a perfect accuracy to your chest pass like a coach would draw it up but you're not right to the wide receiver's chest on purpose because that ball placement is the more accurate place to be to give the wide receiver a better chance to make the play. So, ball placement is critically important in the NFL. It's not so simple to say it hits the wide receiver in the chest. He should, that's not maybe necessarily the right throw. So I don't think that Cam Ward is going to be a pinpoint accurate guy. He's a gunslinger who's going to get out of the pocket. He's going to playmake. He's going to wait. He's going to extend plays. He's going to throw up little lobs to guys on the sideline and let
Starting point is 00:30:37 him jump up and make plays and go get it. He's going to throw across his body back into the middle of the field into traffic. You know, he's gonna do that stuff. So you have to build the roster to help him. Yes, Cam Ward needs to improve in some of the areas we discussed. His individual improvement with his mechanics will make him more accurate and on a consistent basis. You know, like going through his progressions, having bigger, stronger weapons with these things, having better weapons overall will help him
Starting point is 00:31:06 because then there will be more guys open and he won't have to get through him as often. You know what I mean? But from a general standpoint, I think it's very, very important to get guys with these qualities because you have to support who Cam Ward is a player and if Cam Ward makes small improvements himself and then the Titans support Cam Ward that is how you make a special situation.
Starting point is 00:31:30 It's not all on Cam Ward to get better it's not all on the Titans to give him the answers and support him 100% to where they need to go. They have to go together. Cam Ward has to do his part and improve and put the work in and the Titans have to do their part but they have to recognize what the right
Starting point is 00:31:48 path is to help Cam Ward and yes it would help to have separators I'm not saying you don't want speed guys like Azay Flowers who get open and stuff like that like you need that but I do think that the Titans do need to make sure and I think Gunner Helm is one of these players I think
Starting point is 00:32:04 Alec Ayo Manor can be one of these players but the ceiling may be limited there of what that can and you can't just wait on Elek Ayo Manor to become that player. He has drop issues. He might just be a utility depth wide receiver, a wide receiver 3-4, which is what I talked about last week.
Starting point is 00:32:21 I wouldn't say like, oh, don't go get, you know, big physical wide receiver who can do these things I'm talking about because you have Elykeyeomanner and he might become that. Like, that's not, you know, not the way I would see it. Now, there are wide receivers who do fit that bill who will be available in the draft or free agency. We'll talk all about that in the coming weeks and months and everything. so make sure you get subscribed, stay subscribed, of course.
Starting point is 00:32:43 But at the end of the day, again, this is something that I've been talking about for months. I think Cam Ward's style of play has enough special where you can win championships or a championship. I would be fine with one, quite honestly. Let's not look the gift horse in the mouth here. You could win a championship with Cam Ward
Starting point is 00:33:02 because of the special things that he displayed in that game. But the scary things have to get worked on and it's not just on Cam Ward to work on them. Honestly, it's more on the Titans to make sure that they cater to his skill set and who he is as a player. And I think the combination of the Titans doing their part, Cam Ward improving naturally as a player
Starting point is 00:33:21 and then the special things that are already there and on the table, that is enough for the Tennessee Titans to build a championship football team and that at the end of the day is what we're all looking forward to. So with that being said, though, make sure that you check out my film breakdown on the TickTek Titans YouTube channel on Cam Ward where I go over all of the plays that were very special and we're also scary
Starting point is 00:33:40 as well, it's going to be a lengthy one, folks. So check this out, go over there to that and check that out. That's going to do it for me today. Folks, as always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this was Locked on Titans.

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