NASHVILLE \u2014 Everything about Cam Ward\u2019s budding relationship with Brian Daboll feels intentional. The two regularly discuss Daboll\u2019s past work with quarterbacks \u2014 Jaxson Dart and Josh Allen most recently, but also his time around Tom Brady and Brett Favre. There\u2019s talk of mixing some of those lessons into the Tennessee Titans\u2019 2026 offense. Daboll\u2019s tumultuous New York Giants head-coaching tenure aside, Ward has seen what his new OC’s offenses have looked like at their best \u2014 and the second-year Titans quarterback wants to see that manifest in Tennessee. “I\u2019m trying to get better at seeing from an offensive playcaller\u2019s standpoint and why he\u2019s calling a play, whether it\u2019s first or second down,” Ward said last week at OTAs in Nashville. “Trying to see where his mind is at.” That synergy with Daboll is intertwined with a larger Titans hope in 2026: Ward making sizable steps toward becoming a true franchise quarterback. Last year\u2019s No. 1 overall pick flashed promise as a rookie, but he had issues both inside and outside his control \u2014 ball-security woes, coaching instability and a talent-lacking supporting cast. In 17 games, he completed 59.8% of his passes for 3,196 yards and 15 touchdowns with 14 turnovers, including seven interceptions. The Titans went 3-14 under two head coaches, Brian Callahan and Mike McCoy, before hiring former Jets head coach Robert Saleh in January. Saleh brought in Daboll shortly after. With a more experienced coaching staff and what appears to be a more competent offense around Ward, plus a year of seasoning, Tennessee is banking on a second-year leap. Daboll and the Titans\u2019 new offensive staff like what they’ve seen from Ward on tape. They didn\u2019t come in wanting to tweak his mechanics. What they\u2019re looking for, instead, is more consistency from Ward \u2014 the “every day, monotonous plays of being a great quarterback,” as left guard Peter Skoronski put it. That\u2019s been the focus on individual drills during offseason practices. At the same time, the coaches don’t want to take away from Ward\u2019s ability to create spectacular plays. “Aggressive but not reckless” is the mentality stressed in the quarterback room. “He wants to be great,” Daboll said last month of Ward. “He\u2019s instinctive. When we\u2019re just watching the tape, he\u2019s able to communicate the things that he sees and why he did certain things \u2026 last year. “We\u2019re installing the new system to him right now,” Daboll added. “He picks it up very quickly.” Early on, teammates have seen growth from Ward. Skoronski has already seen the ripple effect of having a new offensive staff. “It\u2019s just a level of experience that I think Cam really responds to, and it seems like they\u2019re playing to his strengths a lot,” Skoronski told reporters at OTAs. “I think when you have that guy really humming, everyone really falls into place behind that.” Veteran safety Amani Hooker has noticed a change facing Ward in 7-on-7 and team periods as well. “Just his knowledge of the game, understanding the situation,” Hooker explained. “When he can zip the ball in there and when he has to put some air into it. And understanding coverages \u2014 you can tell he\u2019s starting to understand what we’re in even when we disguise.” In his work away from the facility, Ward focused on slowing down in the pocket. The goal is to be more in sync with his receivers and allow his tackles to properly set, helping to avoid bad situations. Ward has also debuted a slimmer body in OTAs. He\u2019s lost 10 pounds. He\u2019s been conscious of his diet and calorie intake. There\u2019s more cardio in his workout regimen. “I just think it\u2019ll help me with durability \u2014 being faster, getting up in the pocket,” Ward said. “Just trying to play to my speed, not anyone else\u2019s speed.” On the field, his connection with rookie receiver Carnell Tate, the No. 4 overall pick in the 2026 draft, has flashed potential. Last Friday, the two heated up toward the end of practice. Ward first delivered a beautiful sideline pass, which Tate snagged with one hand. The duo later connected on a third-down, contested jump pass for a conversion in a hurry-up drill. “I just think we\u2019re running faster plays to where I can control a lot of it,” Ward explained. “And then I get to see angles of guys, where they\u2019re going. I just anticipate the throw.” The more Ward is in flow, the better it will be for the Titans in 2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NASHVILLE \u2014 Everything about Cam Ward\u2019s budding relationship with Brian Daboll feels intentional. The two regularly discuss Daboll\u2019s past work with quarterbacks \u2014 Jaxson Dart and Josh Allen most recently, but also his time around Tom Brady and Brett Favre. There\u2019s talk of mixing some of those lessons into the Tennessee Titans\u2019 2026 offense. Daboll\u2019s<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlinebettingnewyork.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32864"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlinebettingnewyork.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlinebettingnewyork.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlinebettingnewyork.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32864"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/onlinebettingnewyork.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32864\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlinebettingnewyork.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32864"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlinebettingnewyork.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32864"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlinebettingnewyork.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32864"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}