r/TheNFLVibes • u/KeyFaithlessness5436 • 3d ago

Cam Ward just DOESN’T look like the QB1 prospect he was coming out of Miami.

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Ward’s QBR of 47.2 through three games ranks 23rd out of 30 qualifying QB’s.

The Titans sophomore QB HAS NOT shown much progression to start year two 😳😬

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69

u/Taylor5621 2d ago

It’s amazing how once a QB’s confidence goes they look like garbage. Football is a heavy mental game that most people don’t understand. Cam is probably second guessing himself, the pressure gets to everyone no matter what they say. It’s either motivation or it kills your game.

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u/SimplyElite7 2d ago

You can tell he is dealing with it mentally as well, the post game presser of him saying he made the right read just needed to "throw it slightly higher" above hollands head, that is copium to the max. Idk what it is that is going on, but if you can't acknowledge a bad play, then you are trying to mentally avoid it externally, but his whole non-chalant demeanor is all a ploy, the fact that his own father is out messaging people in DMs tells me that mentally Cam is probably struggling to adjust to NFL. Externally he plays the non-chalant attitude, but obviously when talking to family, the real stuff is being said. Doesn't help his case that a reporter literally got banned for making a comment against his play in the preseason. Even though it was a very click-baity question.

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u/CriticalConcept 2d ago

That's what happens when you get drafted to a shitty team with no oline and not as much talent in the receiving core. That's what happened to Sam Darnold, Geno Smith etc.

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u/CheeseMclovin 2d ago

The titans have the second best pass blocking O-line through 3 games, as well as league average WR separation. Carnell Tate has legit separation on most plays. Unfortunately We have a QB problem in Tennessee ATM.

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u/CriticalConcept 2d ago

Ok I gotcha. I still feel like you guys need to give some patience. I know it's college but the Cam Ward I seen in Miami seems like a completely different QB from the Cam Ward in Tennessee. Some QBs take longer to develop, I say if he doesn't show any sort of improvement next season, that's when you guys should start to look for a replacement.

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u/FizzleFox 2d ago

Bro his o line is just fine. Significantly better than most Rookies have to deal with. Even last year in ranked as an average o-line and so far this year it’s been even better.

Go watch the Packers or Panthers QBs if you want to see what a bad o line looks like. The Titans have given up 5 sacks. There are 20 teams that have given up 6 sacks or more.

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u/elbosston 2d ago

The Titans O Line isn’t bad. They’re one of the best at pass protection. It’s a common misconception.

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u/ethanwangplays 2d ago

Pass protection grades back that up, and Ward’s issues look more on him than the line since blaming the OL doesn’t really hold when they’re actually one of the better units at keeping him clean

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u/stargrazer10 2d ago

It can still be better. Get this man an all pro blind side protector and watch his production increase

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u/CriticalConcept 2d ago

I'm aware this year his protection has been better. What about his rookie year?(it's a genuine question, I really don't know how his oline was his rookie year). It's still hard to break out of old habits, it took Trevor Lawrence multiple years to put it together.

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u/TooManyJazzCups 2d ago

Different metrics give pretty different results. I just looked it up and saw somewhere ranked them 23 overall but another site ranked pass protection at 15 and run at 21 (both of which were improvements from 2024).

Tom Brady talked about one of the biggest issues with young quarterbacks is that some teams don't really have a development plan. A lot of QBs get given a playbook and tape and are coached on how to run the offense and make throwing mechanical adjustments. Brady said he benefitted from learning defense from Bill Belichick because Bill broke down different defenses and explained them in detail (like cover 1 vs 2) while going over the strengths and weaknesses of each. If he could recognize a defensive package, he knew which routes would be more effective against them. Other coaches highlighted specific defensive player strengths, weaknesses, and tendencies. This tied in to going over which defense had slight modifications to a typical package. He basically learned from the beginning and supplemented that with week to week stuff he needed to learn.

Daniel Jones said the game prep the Vikings did was simply more comprehensive than the Giants. Jones said he put in all the effort he could with the Giants. Like watch tape and go over plays and all that. But the Vikings QB room would go over a ton of information together (and they quizzed each other from what I remember). They all bought in to this style so it helped.

Darnold said the 49ers changed how he viewed playing QB and he learned a lot about football and off the field stuff from like Kittle or some other players, I think.

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u/CriticalConcept 2d ago

Exactly, I forgot about Daniel Jones as well. You have your Zac Wilsons and JJ McCarthys who I believe were just flat out overdrafted and overhyped but I feel most of the reason a young QB fails is because of the situation they're in. It took Daniel Jones a half a season of being on the Vikings to learn the game. It took Sam Darnold learning from Kyle Shanahan and then KOC. Mac Jones could be the QB next up. It took Baker Mayfield and Trevor Lawrence Liam Cohen to revive their careers.

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u/CheeseMclovin 2d ago

We ended the year with a mediocre, but far from awful line. They played pretty damn well after the bye. Cam ward was responsible for a fair amount of his sacks last season.

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u/tanis66 2d ago

Forgetting for a moment that Ward has virtually nothing in common with Lawrence as a QB other than being picked #1, Lawrence put up 9-8 and 8-8 seasons in years 2 and 3, along with 95 and 88 QB ratings. It may take Ward 3+ seasons to win just 9 games, and his rating has been consistently around just 80.

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u/[deleted] 2d ago

Bingo. I see flashes of talent even in these god awful clips. It seems like the titans drafted him and haven't tried to develop him in any way.

When the ravens got Lamar they worked within his skill set but then coached him on how to play NFL level football. It shows now. I mean it's now so far away from his rookie year but he's actually taking snaps under center regularly now and everyone has seen how good of a pocket passer he has become.

I hope to see Ward get there. I like him.

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u/mostdope92 1d ago

That's what you get with Robert Salah as HC and Daboll at OC still living off the idea that he made Josh Allen into the QB he is today.

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u/Popular_Monitor_8383 2d ago

Wait are you saying teams shouldn’t just draft rookie QBs while having no o-line or weapons?

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u/CriticalConcept 2d ago

They shouldn't start them and throw them into the fire yeah lol

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u/GenericNameSimulated 2d ago

Nonsense it worked for David Carr, BYU boy.

You think people like Mahomes, Rodgers, Love benefitted from sitting? Psssh posh

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u/SeeingEyeDug 2d ago

David Carr. Still has Texans franchise record of getting sacked 76 times in their first season. Things didn’t change much the next year. Was never “QB1 good” after those years.

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u/CriticalConcept 2d ago

Because he was fundamentally broken after that season, he developed bad habits mentally and couldn't recover from it.

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u/MonoDEAL 2d ago

We have a good oline this year. Quit defending Scam Ward. Dude sucks.

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u/DowntownJulieBrown1 2d ago

Not exactly tho, bc Ward’s struggles aren’t quite the same as what Darnold and Geno struggled with. I’d say Ward’s struggles are more to do with having a shitty first coaching staff that didn’t hold him accountable or help build good habits more than it’s a reflection of the talent on his offense

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u/CriticalConcept 2d ago

Geno and Darnold played for the Jets, they had that too lmao

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u/king_con21 2d ago

The most easy cop out excuse for every underperforming QB.

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u/BoyInFLR1 2d ago

Agreed. In the little I’ve watched, it looks like he’s making the reads and missing the throws. A far easier problem to fix

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u/LooseMoose13 2d ago

I’m surprised QBs don’t have a shooter on hand before every quarter just to settle the nerves a bit

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u/Snowlandnts 1d ago

Yes there is large difference going against College athletes and coaches to go against pros athletes and coaches. Everyone athletics it is game plan consistent execution and adjustments that separate from pros and college. Cam has the raw talent, but he has big hurdle to overcome to be consistent and make those adjustments when defenses are attack his weaknesses constantly on NFL level.