TAMPA — It was the closest Cam Ward has been to crunch time in an actual NFL game in enemy territory. Fresh off a bench-clearing brawl, Ward was in a two-minute drill in shotgun against the Bucs aggressive first-team defense. All eyes — Titans players and coaches, Bucs players and coaches, bleachers of loud Bucs fans, the media, everyone — were on him.
Ward dropped back, fired a quick dart to a receiver near the line of scrimmage, and it was picked off by Bucs end Haason Reddick, who dropped into coverage. Pandemonium, both by Bucs fans and Buccaneers players mimicking Ward’s elephant celebration, ensued.
Welcome to the NFL, rookie.
“I tried throwing around him, didn’t throw it enough inside for Chiggy (Chig Okonkwo) to get it,” Ward said of the pick.
Ward’s first day against an NFL defense went about as well as you might expect: A lot of mistakes, but many glimpses of mature throwing, proof that he has the potential to live up to the expectations of a No. 1 overall pick.
He held the ball too long and felt enough pressure to check the ball down or throw it away. He had a number of overthrows, even in 1-on-1 drills. But he also displayed some awesome anticipatory throws where he put the ball right where his receivers, especially Calvin Ridley, could snare it. There were a couple of plays where Ward read a coverage breakdown and attacked, or knew he would draw a pass interference penalty and sailed the ball over his receiver’s head.
Some good, some bad. Typical rookie stuff.
If there was a large concern, it had to be the moments where his timing seemed off with guys like Tyler Lockett, Van Jefferson and rookies Chimere Dike and Elic Ayomanor, the latter three getting more reps against the Bucs than the 11-year veteran. Improved chemistry figures take time, and having an experienced receiver like Lockett should help.
“Lock is one of the most productive slots in football. He don’t look like it, but that man’s a dog” Ward said. “He’ll help me out from what he sees from his alignment, because my alignment is really all about angles. Sometimes I have to throw the ball away from defenders, and just me getting reps with him on the non-timing routes, just seeing where he’s gonna end up or where I need to put the ball.”
Knowing where to put the ball remains a learning process. The time for those lessons is now, but it’s going to go fast because Tennessee’s Week 1 matchup at Denver — in hostile Broncos territory — is around the corner.
“Coach Callahan lets me know what I can get away with and what I can’t get away with, but more of it is the time you get away with it, whether it’s third down or I get flushed out of the pocket and I have to make a play.”
As for learning moment from the joint practice with the Bucs, Ward pointed out how important it was to throw guys open, and he did enough of that to create optimism in the future.
Cam Ward is far from a finished product, but the development is happening.
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