Tennessee Titans training camp observations: 1 really encouraging area for rookie Cam Ward
And so it's gone through the first two weeks of training camp for Tennessee Titans rookie quarterback Cam Ward that, arguably, his two best passes have both been dropped.
Ward played a cleaner, more decisive brand of football on Aug. 2, dropping back 21 times in 11-on-11 periods without a ball being intercepted, tipped or batted. He completed passes on 16 of those dropbacks, though a couple of those passes were nullified by penalties. But his best throw wasn't completed. On the first play of the final team period of the session, Ward dropped back and uncorked a deep ball to Calvin Ridley that traveled 40-50 yards in the air. The ball fluttered out of spiral a little bit, but it hit Ridley in the hands in stride for an easy, walk-in touchdown ... only Ridley bobbled the ball unforced and wasn't able to hang on. Drop.
Ward made a throw earlier in the week where he stepped up through traffic and launched a pass down the middle of the field that hit receiver Jha'Quan Jackson in both of his hands, but Jackson wasn't able to hold on either, taking away another would-be touchdown.
Regardless of the drops, this practice was Ward's best when it came to keeping the ball out of danger. Only one of Ward's five incompletions in team periods landed remotely near a defender, with the rest coming from drops, narrow accuracy misses put in safe places or miscommunications that landed in empty grass. After a week where Ward had been intercepted five times in three practices with tips and bats galore, a day like this is a huge step forward.
Here are The Tennessean's other observations from practice, the seventh since the start of training camp.
Tennessee Titans practice observations
Rookie of the day: Oluwafemi Oladejo
The first three full-pads practices looked tough on Oladejo, a former college linebacker still learning how to play edge defender as a pro. But Oladejo really started to look the part in pass rush 1-on-1s against offensive linemen. The coaches gave him seven reps in the session and he won four of them, getting to the (simulated) quarterback by getting past JC Latham once, John Ojukwu twice and Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson once.
Oladejo continued to show up in team periods, but his rep against Latham where he showed off his speed around the corner and his finesse move to get past the right tackle was a highlight of practice.
Veteran who stepped up: Ali Gaye
Sticking with the edge defenders, Gaye was making plays everywhere. He looked good in 1-on-1s, getting the best of Latham once and left tackle Dan Moore Jr., another time. He made a mark in special teams drills, looking good running downfield in punt coverage. And he intercepted a pass in team period, albeit on a ball that found him much more than on an outstanding coverage play.
The logjam of potential bottom-of-roster edge defenders competing for a job is tightly contested, with Gaye fighting against Jaylen Harrell, Jihad Ward and Titus Leo among others. But Gaye's been stacking good days.
Stray observations:
- DT T'Vondre Sweat missed a second-straight practice with an abdominal injury and is still day-to-day. Offensive linemen Blake Hance and Chandler Brewer were also out.
- Ridley showed a little bit of fire after a long completion from Ward in the middle of practice. Ridley made his way across the formation toward the defensive sideline after a completion, and was hit by cornerback Jarvis Brownlee Jr., on his way to the ground. After the play, Ridley got up and chucked the ball toward the defensive sideline angry about the contact. No fights broke out.
- Backup quarterbacks Tim Boyle and Brandon Allen have repeatedly looked strong in red zone drills. This practice was no different, with Boyle threading a ball to rookie Elic Ayomanor for a 15-yard touchdown in tight single coverage against rookie Jermari Harris and Allen connecting with veteran Mason Kinsey for a touchdown. Boyle also had some fun by completing an underhanded shovel pass in a third down drill and showing off the Shooter McGavin celebration from the "Happy Gilmore" movie after a long completion over the middle in a team period.
- This note has ended up in more practice reports than it hasn't, but: Jeffery Simmons is looking real good. Simmons obliterated guard Kevin Zeitler in a 1-on-1 rep early on, and then later in practice could be heard yelling "it's too easy" after a defensive run stuff.
- Kicker Joey Slye had a rough performance, as even special teams coach John Fassel was willing to admit. Slye missed three kicks from the mid-range in a team period, but Fassel explains that several of those misses came when the coaches were trying to simulate late-game scenarios where the unit only has 10 seconds to get on the field and get set up, and one came because of a wind miscalculation.
Nick Suss is the Titans beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at nsuss@gannett.com. Follow Nick on X @nicksuss. Subscribe to the Talkin’ Titans newsletter for updates sent directly to your inbox.