NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Tennessee Titans and rookie quarterback Cam Ward turned in a sluggish performance Sunday, earning a profanity-laced tirade from head coach Brian Callahan as the session concluded.
The No. 1 overall pick followed two solid practices with a rough showing Sunday in team drills. Ward completed just 4 of 13 passes in team drills and was off the mark on several throws.
The Titans also had penalties and a play that would have been a sack as the defense pressured the young quarterback.
Ward’s final rep of the day was a pass that sailed far over the head of receiver Van Jefferson and out of bounds.
That's when Callahan unleashed on the offense.
The second-year Titans coach spoke before practice. After practice, Callahan stood near midfield talking with Ward, offensive coordinator Nick Holz and quarterbacks coach Bo Hardegree for about 20 minutes. Tennessee opens preseason play Saturday night at Tampa Bay with a joint practice on Thursday.
Before practice, Callahan said some self-inflicted mistakes Saturday had him concerned because of the emphasis he has put on correcting those all offseason.
“The progress obviously isn’t always going to be linear, we’re going to have ups and downs,” Callahan said before practice.
The Titans have NFL officials on hand to make clear when players commit penalties. Callahan said that's great to have that experience.
The Titans called Callahan’s outburst warranted because of a lack of focus and intensity on offense.
“He’s not really an outburst-type of coach for the most part," left guard Peter Skoronski said. “So I think so I think the practice kind of warranted it. It just felt kind of low and juice-less from an offensive end and lacking execution.”
Skoronski said Sunday's session was disappointing and he could feel the frustration before Callahan went off.
'When he started yelling, I said, ‘Oh there it is,’” Skoronski said. "We just didn’t move the ball the way we needed to. I think it was warranted. We shouldn’t need that to bring out the intensity. We shouldn’t need the head coach to be like that. It should be player driven. We’ve got to be better and more on that.”
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Terry Mccormick, The Associated Press
