Cam Ward got crushed for two viral moments in Week 4 that both completely miss the real reasons to criticize the Titans QB
The Titans are winless and there are legitimate reasons to be unhappy with Cam Ward so far. But these two very loud Week 4 criticisms aren’t on that list.
The Tennessee Titans dropped to 0-4 after a 24-18 loss to the Baltimore Ravens in Week 4, and there is plenty to criticize from that game.
But two popular knocks on Cam Ward, one on the field and one off it, have generated more buzz than anything else since the final whistle.
What do they have in common? They’re both silly! I understand the frustration of a winless start, and there are legitimate football reasons to want more from Ward right now. These two moments just aren’t among them, so let’s walk through each one.
The opening drive interception
Tennessee returned the opening kickoff for great field position, and Ward hit WR Chim Dike for an explosive gain on the first offensive snap. Then on the second play from scrimmage, Ward was intercepted.
Was it a bad pass? Was it a reckless decision? Plenty of people in the moment said yes. But the correct answer is no!
I have no issue with the creativity Ward displayed on this play. I think the snap reaction from fans frustrated by another facepalm start blinded a lot of people to the fact that Ward didn’t deserve the blame here.
To be fair, part of this play is on him. Ward takes too deep of a drop, which sets the pocket up for failure and invites pressure early. He is about to take a sack for a roughly 5-yard loss on first down, and that kind of early-down sack is historically an absolute drive killer.
Instead, he finds the outlet. Ward flips a short, underhand/sidearm toss to running back Tony Pollard right up the gut from just a couple yards away. With space in front of him, that should be a quick catch and maybe a 2- or 3-yard gain, setting up a second-and-manageable.
Instead, the ball goes in and out of Pollard’s hands and into the arms of a crashing linebacker. The return set up a Ravens touchdown and an early 7-0 deficit. In real time, the internet reaction from many was that it looked like a Will Levis play, one of those instant-meme moments where the quarterback tries to do way too much.
That’s not what happened. Watch it again from the broadcast angle, the All-22 sideline angle, or the All-22 end zone angle, and you’ll see the same thing. The ball arrives from short range while Pollard is looking right at it with both hands available. It hits him in both hands, and he mismanages it right along to the defender, like he’s in that mandatory Seattle fish market shot they cut away to on primetime Seahawks games. He just tossed that fish on down the line.
And if you don’t want to take my word for it, take Pollard’s! In the locker room after the game, Pollard said in no uncertain terms that he has to make a play there.
So of all the things to reasonably criticize Ward for in this game (and there are things!), this wasn’t one of them.
The hot mic moment is about optics, not substance
The second criticism came after the game. Titans PR walked Ward into the postgame press conference room before Titans media had arrived, and Cam said some stuff that rubbed people the wrong way.
Here is how this normally works. Media gets a heads up in the locker room that the quarterback is about to speak, and everybody heads over to the press conference room to receive him. I wasn’t in Baltimore for this game, but according to those who were on the ground, the media was in the middle of defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons’ availability at his locker. Simmons is a vocal leader of this team that everybody understandably stops what they’re doing to get a piece of him when he’s ready to talk, and nobody wanted to abandon that session before finishing it out.
So Ward ended up in an empty room on hot cameras and hot mics, trading barbs with Titans PR man Jared Puffer, as the two of them are regularly wont to do. Ward had just lost his fourth straight game on the road, and he wanted to get on the plane and go home. Anybody rational can understand that. What he said essentially amounted to giving the media a couple of minutes before he walked out, since nobody was there to ask him questions.
It’s not actually a big deal. It’s not even a small deal. It’s no deal at all.
But, this is a textbook example of optics that are only as bad as the current vibes. And the vibes around Ward and the Titans are bad! When people are already inclined to be annoyed with you because of losing football, you cannot give them this kind of ammo. It was obvious what reaction this clip would get, and sure enough, the usual suspect individuals and social media accounts have circulated it to stir up consternation.
I’m sure Ward wishes he had realized that an empty room doesn’t mean the cameras aren’t rolling. I’m sure Titans PR wishes they hadn’t walked him in early, because players and coaches simply don’t enter media rooms before the media is there. It was a unique situation, and from what I understand, every reporter on the ground reacted the same way: it was a weird moment, they appreciated him waiting, he answered the questions, and they had no issue with what he said.
The bottom line is this: if you want to be mad at Cam Ward, find on-the-field reasons. Accuracy, ball placement, footwork, pocket management, and decision-making all leave room for improvement right now! These two high-profile moments from Baltimore, they just don’t qualify.
