It’s getting more difficult to be encouraged about the play of Cam Ward.
Ward continues to struggle for the most part as the Titans stand at 1-6 on the year, and both his numbers and overall play are pedestrian compared to the majority of NFL quarterbacks.
His season totals through the first seven games of his second year: 129 completions in 208 attempts for a 62% completion rate. Ward has thrown for 1,179 yards (5.6 yards per attempt) with four touchdowns to five interceptions. That calculates to a passer rating of 73.8.
Not the stuff of franchise quarterbacks.
But there is one statistical anomaly that goes against trend: his fourth quarter play. Three times in games against the Jets, Ravens and Texans this season, Ward did some stat-padding in garbage time when those outcomes had long been decided.
But other times, like Sunday against the Browns, the game was actually still in the balance when Ward’s numbers showed stark improvement in the final period.
As paltry as Ward’s numbers were in Indianapolis two weeks ago (102 yards), he got credit for a fourth-quarter comeback win in that game. And on two other occasions, Sunday against the Browns and in week two against the Eagles, Ward had the Titans in position to either win (Philadelphia) or go to overtime (Cleveland), only to be let down by the defense.
Late to the proceedings
Whatever the reason, Ward seems to be a late arrival in terms of his play most weeks.
Here are Ward’s fourth quarter stats thus far: 58 completions in 79 attempts for a 73.4% completion rate, 535 passing yards (6.8 yards per attempt) with all four of his touchdown passes and just one interception (albeit a game-ender against the Giants) in the fourth quarter.
Those numbers add up to a very healthy 103.1 passer rating.
Also, 45% of his passing yards and 45% of his completions this season have come in the fourth quarter.
So where does that leave his play in quarters one through three? Nothing short of alarming. He has completed 71 of 129 throws for 644 yards (5.0 yards per attempt) with zero touchdowns and four interceptions. Those stats have produced a horrific passer rating of 55.8.
So why is there such a disparity with Ward when it comes to the fourth quarter versus the rest of the game? Only once in seven games has Ward passed for more than 100 yards by halftime. And in the past two games, against Indianapolis and Cleveland, Ward didn’t cross the 100-yard passing mark until the fourth quarter.
Ward was asked about the slow starts and what could be done about it in terms of getting fourth-quarter Cam to play closer to that level all the way through the game.
“I think the baseline is just playing simple, which we did today,” Ward says. “I think Coach Dabs (Brian Daboll) had a great game plan each and every week, especially this week, and he’s allowing us to play at a faster rate. But at the end of the day, it all comes down to us executing the plays.
“We didn’t do that at certain times, whether it’s a penalty, whether it’s a missed throw or a dropped ball, we all have our hand in it,” Ward continued. “So we just continue to refine everyone’s mechanics, continue to get better each week and try to get on a run.”
Get rolling sooner
Whatever the reason, Ward and Daboll would be wise to figure out a way to get that fourth-quarter formula going at the outset.
On Sunday, head coach Robert Saleh was asked point blank if the Titans have a quarterback problem – something he denied. But then again, when he pointed to most of the positives from Ward they were all on his fourth quarter plays.
“I don’t think it’s a quarterback problem. You just hit the nail on the head, it’s all the way across the board,” Saleh says. “He missed some throws. I’m not going to sugarcoat that. He missed some throws that he’s got to make. He missed the throw on Belly (Daniel Bellinger) at the end, but he made up for it with an unbelievable throw to Elic (Ayomanor) while getting hit and still got us in the end zone to tie the game up.
“He made some good throws, and he missed some plays that we all expect him to make,” Saleh continues. “But overall, there’s enough to go around for everybody.”
Terry McCormick also covers the Titans for TitanInsider.com