The stages of grief are well-known and reflect where a person’s mindset is in coping with tragedy.
It only took four games for Cam Ward’s demeanor to move from denial to anger, which was on display after Sunday’s embarrassing 26-0 loss in Houston.
When the Titans were preparing to draft Ward first overall last spring, everything was rosy as a new chapter was beginning for the franchise and for a self-made and confident quarterback who was being challenged to turn around the fortunes of a sliding team.
Ward even made the declaration while playing video games that he considered his future teammates Calvin Ridley and Treylon Burks to be among the top five receivers in the league.
His confidence in interviews and in practice could be seen and not easily shaken the way Titans quarterbacks in the past had succumbed.
But Sunday in his postgame news conference, Ward was visibly frustrated by the Titans’ 0-4 start and his own play in trying to pull this franchise out of the depths of despair.
Saddled with a less-than-sparkling roster, Ward has been among the least of the Titans’ issues so far, despite numbers hovering near the bottom of the league in nearly every passing category.
In other words, Ward could get a bit of a pass for his failures, given his status as a rookie and the Titans many shortcomings around him.
No sugar coating
Credit to him that his anger and defiance of the Titans’ losing ways lit a charge under him after the game.
“If we’re keeping a buck right now, we’re ass. At this point, we’ve got nothing to lose. We’ve dropped a quarter of our (expletive) games, and we’ve yet to do anything,” Ward said. “We’ve yet to lock in, especially myself. From the offensive line to the defensive line to the special teams, all three phases we have to play together. We have not played together this year.”
The rookie took his share of the blame and more when explaining why the offense hasn’t clicked thus far this season.
“Honestly, I would say just not being consistent, and that falls into the execution standpoint,” he explained. “And whether I have a bad ball or whether I need to throw it away, also the biggest thing is every time we get into a long situation or a get-back-on-track situation, the drive always ends.
“In the NFL, it’s hard to play on second-and-long, it’s hard to play on third-and-long. That’s the biggest thing. We have to execute plays every play. It can’t just be whether we get a big run or a big pass, we’ve just got to be consistent.”
Ward says the offense needs to complement the defense. Honestly, he’s being generous here, because the defense hasn’t been that much better than the offense. But give him points for leadership.
“That’s the biggest problem right now in my head,” he said. “We’re not helping the defense out. And whether the defense gives up a touchdown here or there, we’re still not doing enough to help those guys out.
“They’re playing their (expletive) off every Sunday for us, and we’re not doing our part. It all comes down to us locking in from myself having bad incompletions to not getting the ball out, to us having a penalty or a drop on a receiver.
“Everybody knows. Everybody’s got their one job. Everybody has got to go do their one of 11. We’ve just got to go get it.”
Plenty to spread around
Ward tried to absolve the Titans coaching staff of the blame for the team’s poor start. He has said several times previously that he wants to work with Brian Callahan long-term.
“It’s nothing about the coaching staff. At the end of the day, they put together a good plan for us. We’re not executing it as players,” Ward said. “Offensively, we just have to make the plays. At the end of the day, every pass concept is winnable versus man or zone. I’ve got to get through my progressions.
“I’ve got to put the ball in my receivers’ hands and, at the end of the day, they’ve got to make plays.”
For Ward, who probably could not have imagined how bad the situation he walked into last spring could be, the bottom line is finding a way to turn it around.
“I just want to win,” he added. “When’s the last time Tennessee won? I don’t know. I’m trying to win. Everybody in this locker room is trying to win.
“That’s really what it comes down to, no matter how we do it. At some point, we have to turn the tide and we have to start winning games.”
Terry McCormick also covers the Titans for TitanInsider.com