The numbers from No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward’s debut don’t look great, but they fail to tell the whole story.
Ward ended Tennessee’s season-opening loss to Denver 12-of-28 for 112 yards. While he didn’t have any touchdowns or interceptions, he did take six sacks and lost a fumble.
But Ward’s completion rate was affected by a mistake from his head coach, plus several drops by his receiving corps. The quarterback, however, hasn’t lost confidence in his pass catchers.
“I am never going to get on those guys for dropping a ball,” Ward said in his Wednesday press conference, via Jim Wyatt of the team’s website. “I’m going to throw a pick at some point in the season. So, bad plays are going to happen. The biggest thing is when we get back to the huddle, we have to always have a next-play mentality. I am not too worried about that — those boys are going to catch the ball.”
Ward also took the blame for his sacks.
“I think it was more me just not getting the ball out,” Ward said. “Especially the back-to-back sacks. … There’s stuff I have to get better at, week by week. At the end of the day, nobody is going to be perfect.
“Me, the O-line, we’re good. I had some bad pocket movement as well, so I take full responsibility on my part, and they’ll do the same as well. We are still getting used to each other, but we’ll turn it around, try to get a win this week.”
Ward and the Titans will host the Rams for the No. 1 overall pick’s home debut on Sunday.
