Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator Brian Daboll said a few things about quarterback Cam Ward before a Week 2 game against the Philadelphia Eagles.
That’s putting it generously.
Days after a humbling 23-10 loss to the New York Jets, Daboll publicly offered little analysis on Ward at the team's Sept. 16 practice at the Vanderbilt Health Football Center.
Daboll dealt mostly in generalities. He was asked specifically if Ward against the Jets couldn’t see his open receivers, or if he made decisions before they became open.
“Like I always talk about, it takes all 11 (players),” Daboll said. “There are certainly plays I wish I had back and plays Cam wishes he had back. There are 10 other guys out there as well. We have to do a better job at that. That
starts with me.”
The Titans (0-1) figure to have little chance against the Eagles (1-0) if Ward and the offense don’t make improvements. Ward’s 80.2 passer rating against the Jets matched his rating for all last season, already leading to questions about his development.
How Daboll adjusts this week is of importance. But he offered little about Ward, who appeared to flee the pocket too much against the Jets, can flip the script this week.
“If you watch any game, that’s going to be the case for most quarterbacks,” Daboll said about Ward having patience in the pocket. “But again, you asked me if there are plays Cam would like to have back. I certainly know (he has said) there are. As a coaching staff, you just keep grinding. You’ve got to do a good job of keeping your eyes down field and knowing where your read is, and he does that. But there’s a couple of them we wish we had back.”
While not specific to Ward, the Titans can help him create big plays by running the ball better. They had just 68 yards on 14 carries in Week 1.
“It all ties together. Did we try some plays downfield? Certainly. Didn’t connect on them,” Daboll said. “They’re hard to connect on, but you need to try to have a few of those in there.”
Tyler Palmateer covers high school sports for The Tennessean. Have a story idea for Tyler? Reach him at tpalmateer@tennessean.com and on the X platform, @tpalmateer83.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: What Titans OC Brian Daboll said — and didn’t say — about Cam Ward before Eagles game
