“Be Smarter” – Robert Saleh’s Blunt Take on Cam Ward’s Blunder Against Giants

Cam Ward threw an interception with the game on the line at MetLife Stadium.

“Be Smarter” – Robert Saleh’s Blunt Take on Cam Ward’s Blunder Against Giants

Cam Ward and Robert Saleh inside the circle (Image via IMAGO/X)

Cam Ward and the Tennessee Titans arrived at MetLife Stadium on the back of consecutive defeats to start the season. Ward had a great chance to seal the Titans’ first victory right at the death, but a rookie mistake cost them the game.

Reporters asked head coach Robert Saleh about Ward’s decision-making. Without mincing his words, Saleh bluntly admitted that Ward could have chosen a better option.

Yeah. Just be smarter with the football. We’ve got two timeouts left, and it’s 1st-and-goal on the eight; we’re gonna score.

Robert Saleh said post game

The New York Giants led by 12 points at the start of the fourth quarter. Ward reduced it to just five when we connected with offseason addition Wan’Dale Robinson for a four-yard touchdown.

Tennessee regained possession on downs. On 1st & goal with under thirty seconds left, Ward climbed out of his pocket and targeted Elic Ayomanor inside the Giants’ end zone. However, his pass was intercepted by Jevon Holland.

Replays showed that Ward could have walked the ball into the goal. But he opted to throw and turned the ball over. The Giants won 12-7. Ward finished with 23 completions for 181 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception. He rushed just one time for two yards.

Running back Tony Pollard rushed 17 times for 74 yards. Rookie Carnell Tate caught 6 passes for 58 yards. The Titans are winless after three games.

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Cam Ward explains his reason for attempting a pass instead of rushing

Ward is a quintessential pocket passer. He showed that in college with Washington State and Miami. In his final year, Ward broke the Hurricanes’ single-season passing yards record. He threw for 4313 yards, 39 touchdowns (leading the FBS), and just 7 interceptions. On the other hand, he only had 3.4 yards per carry and scored just 4 touchdowns using his legs.

"Be Smarter" - Robert Saleh's Blunt Take on Cam Ward's Blunder Against Giants
Cam Ward (Image via IMAGO)

Ward has tried to emulate the same philosophy in the NFL. It hasn’t been successful. Compared to the college level, the NFL is much faster and played with a physical vigor. That’s partly the reason traditional pocket passers or less-than-mobile signal callers often struggle to play their natural game.

Ward’s rookie season stat sheet reflects those aspects. He completed 59.8% of his passes, took 55 sacks (most in the league), fumbled 11 times, and lost possession 7 times.

He’s still learning the process. After his first year, the Titans changed the play-caller, so he has had to learn everything from scratch. But he’s still making avoidable mistakes. Sunday’s fixture in the Big Apple proves it. But in Ward’s view, he didn’t make the wrong move. It lacked proper execution.

At the end of the day, if I throw it higher, it’s a different outcome. I don’t think it was reckless. I think you know it just wasn’t a good ball at the end of the day.

Cam Ward said via ESPN’s Turron Davenport

Or he could just run the ball, as Saleh alluded to. Regardless, the Titans lost the game and return to Tennessee to prepare for their next opponent.

Saleh and co. will hit the road once more. In Week four, they travel to Baltimore to play the Ravens, who edged out the Dallas Cowboys in Brazil. The series is tied at 11-11. This fixture last took place in Week 6 of the 2023 season. Titans quarterback duo Ryan Tannehill and Malik Willis combined for 150 passing yards, zero touchdowns, and one interception in a 24-16 defeat.

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