Titans Training Camp Notebook: Cam Ward’s new and strange issue, ‘Mid’ team adds a padded practice, the WR who can’t stop winning

The Titans practiced on Friday morning, and I was there to watch it! They wore pads and everything. Was it planned? No. Did some notable things happen? Yes. So let’s talk about them: Titans Take Time For Tune-up Before Road Trip The Titans turned a planned walkthrough practice on Friday into an unplanned, full-blown padded […]

Easton Freeze — Tennessee Titans Beat Writer
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The Titans practiced on Friday morning, and I was there to watch it! They wore pads and everything. Was it planned? No. Did some notable things happen? Yes. So let’s talk about them:

Titans Take Time For Tune-up Before Road Trip

The Titans turned a planned walkthrough practice on Friday into an unplanned, full-blown padded practice. This turned a two-day weekend of popping pads and media availabilities into a three-day marathon. It came as a surprise to those of us in the media in terms of adjusting our schedules, but it wasn’t particularly surprising in terms of how well they’ve looked in pads so far. Cam Ward’s description of the offense as “very mid” has already been overplayed, but it is in-fact the most accurate way to put it.

The reason for this added day was put to me simply: because they need it. This is a group that’s about to go on a long road trip filled with joint practices and preseason games. It makes sense they want to make sure they have their own house in order before they go work against other competition. Here’s what Brian Callahan said about the decision to add a day:

“Welcome to Friday. Today, we have some flexibility built into our training camp schedule. These days that precede our two padded practices are generally pretty tempo-down days. But with two joint practices coming up, and what I know is going to be, you know, I know what we need to get to to go be able to compete early in the season, and felt like another padded practice was in the cards. And so our flexibility with the schedule allows us to add it. And I’m excited to get out here and grind a little bit today.”

James Proche Won’t Stop Impressing

I wrote about this at length earlier this week, which you can read about here. But it bears repeating: WR James Proche has been really, really popping in camp. Here are some facts. He’s been the most productive receiver in 11-on-11 drills through six days of camp. He’s flashed at all three levels of the field. His coaches are quite impressed with the camp he’s has so far.

I deliver you these facts with no James Proche agenda of any kind, besides that I continue to leave impressed and genuinely surprised. The man I thought only of as a security return specialist for this team has become the very clear frontrunner for the seventh receiver role. Does this reflect poorly on the rest of the WR room? I wouldn’t say that. It’s important to remember (or infer) the level of competition Proche is up against vs who the more established receivers are facing. Proche has distanced himself from his competition, but he’s not flown up the depth chart. At least not yet, as I hesitate to box this player in any longer. The most immediate impact it has is on the chances of Xavier Restrepo to make the team, and the necessity for the coaching staff to turn somebody else into a starting returner.

Cam Ward’s Tipped Balls Are Becoming A Thing

Cam Ward keeps getting passes tipped. I hesitated to call it an issue until now. He’s gotten seven passes knocked down in the last three practices. Is this a stroke of bad luck? I’m sure that’s a part of it. But it’s officially more than that.

So much has been made of Ward’s ability to slot arm angles with impressive accuracy. It’s a strength of his, but I’m beginning to wonder if he’s going to need to make a conscious adjustment with how and when he employs it. When he throws sidearm, the ball comes out at body level (duh). Perhaps the jump to NFL speed and athleticism on the defense is what’s fooling him on what he can and can’t get away with. Because what’s curious about this ongoing issue is that it wasn’t one in college. He got his fair share of passes batted down, which was especially unsurprising given he’s not the tallest QB on the planet. But it was nothing of note. Now, it is.

When we asked him about it this week, he was unbothered to the point of being aggressively dismissive. I don’t necessarily take issue with that response right now, but if this keeps up, his coaches will have to get through to him on making an adjustment. There’s plenty more camp to go for him to get it right.

Injuries, Absences, Odds & Ends

Coach Callahan announced before practice that WR Calvin Ridley wouldn’t go today, but it wasn’t injury related. With three practices in a row now, the veteran got the day to rest. This is around the time vets will start doing some of this load management across the league. Starting DT T’Vondre Sweat also didn’t practice, who is day-to-day with what sounds like an unconcerning abdominal issue. LG Peter Skoronski, who has had a fantastic camp so far and is my pick for the best lineman on this team, left practice early. We heard afterwards that he got rolled up on his calf and would be fine.

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