Titan Preseason Notebook: Sneaky details reveal what you actually need to know about Cam Ward’s debut and final roster spots

The Tennessee Titans first preseason game and Cam Ward’s NFL debut(ish) is in the rearview mirror as the team gears up to practice against and then play the Atlanta Falcons this week. Before we move on to an exciting couple days of joint practices in Flowery Branch, Georgia, let’s take one last look at what Preseason Week 1 in Tampa Bay taught us. Sifting through what matters and what doesn’t in the preseason can be tricky, so I want to run through the details from the tape that actually mean something as we watch this roster take shape:

Cam Ward’s Debut On Film

If you wanted to see the All-22 sideline and endzone angle of every Cam Ward pass on Saturday night, I’ve got you hooked up right here:

Upon reviewing the film, the takeaways from the rookie’s 14 snaps are largely the same. He bounced back well after a shaky 3-and-out on the first drive. A couple of his passes to Calvin Ridley showed the flashes of his upside. Check out the zip he put on the first ball to him deep down the middle of the field, and then the perfect placement on the pass breaking to the left sideline. That’s the good stuff right there.

There’s still plenty of room for improvement, thought. Pay attention to his footwork on the pass up the left sideline intended for Elic Ayomanor, the one that was nearly an interception. This is an example of a young QB just needing to calm down a bit. He’s not under any pressure. The pass is telegraphed, and his feet are basically parallel to the line of scrimmage when he releases the ball. I’m sure his coaches want to see better fundamentals on that drop back, which may have led to a safer result. It’s not shocking to see that in a guy’s 2nd NFL drive ever. He’ll keep working to shake those off.

Scary Defensive Depth, Examined

The Titans defensive depth is a mostly dire situation, particularly on the back end. I’ve been talking and writing about this since the beginning of training camp, as these units have made the Brandon Allen and Tim Boyle offenses in practice look much better than they are. Now that you’ve seen those two QBs operate against another team, I’m sure you understand the concern. Making them look really effective is a problem.

Here’s a list of the defensive backs who played the most snaps in Tampa Bay.

Gabe Jeudy-Lally and Marcus Harris got the most run at cornerback, where this team is hurting badly for some decent depth beyond Darrell Baker. Simply put, these two need to continue some serious development the rest of this camp to feel good about them on this team. They’ll both make the final roster, and they’re both young. I’m not writing them off as lost causes yet by any means. But the work they have left to do was evident in Tampa Bay. One last cornerback note: the Titans allowed way too many rushing yards in this game. A dramatic number of those yards allowed belong to CB Jalen Kimber. Maybe it was just a bad day at the office, but oh boy. The angles taken on tape were… tough.

One area of depth on this defense I don’t have a big issue with is the defensive line. The Titans made a somewhat surprising move earlier in camp, moving off of veteran Keondre Coburn. I think you got a glimpse of why in this first preseason game.

Mike Borgonzi and Chad Brinker added a healthy crop of UDFA defensive linemen in April, and Isaiah Raikes and Cam Horsely are who are standing out to me so far. Both showed flashes in the tape cutup attached above. I think both have a decent shot at making the roster if they keep progressing and producing. They’re perfect practice squad candidates to stash and develop for a year if not.

Special Teams Clues

If you really want to figure out who has the inside track to making the final few spots on a roster, pay attention to who is playing where on special teams. Having upside in this third phase of the game is usually your meal ticket as a depth guy.

We’ll continue to track this throughout the preseason, but in Game 1, EDGE Ali Gaye and S Mike Brown are who stood out the most. Gaye played a bunch of special teams early in the game, which indicates they trust him. He’s in a room where the competition isn’t all that stiff, so I’d probably have him above the cut line today. He also did this, which was the funniest thing on the game tape:

S Mike Brown was the personal protector for punter Johnny Hekker to begin the game, another position of serious trust. I’d have him on the team as well. Click in on my long tweet listing special teamers for the full (apparent) list of players competing for gunner and protector roles.