NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Although there weren't expectations for rookie Cam Ward to lead the Tennessee Titans to a Super Bowl in his first season, there was a degree of belief that the No. 1 pick would offer a promising look into the future.
There have been flashes, such as Ward's first NFL touchdown pass -- when he threw the ball across his body while scrambling to fellow rookie Elic Ayomanor against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 2. But overall, the first half of Ward's rookie season has left much to be desired.
It has been a challenge for Ward, but there have been obstacles outside of his control as well. Brian Callahan, who was relieved of his head coaching duties after a miserable 20-10 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 6, handed over playcalling duties to quarterbacks coach Bo Hardegree after an 0-3 start as the offense failed to find its footing.
Now, the Titans (1-8) are coming off a Week 10 bye with interim coach Mike McCoy trying to help Ward and the offense right the ship in the second half of the season.
Entering Week 11, Ward has completed 57.6% of his pass attempts for 1,760 yards to go along with five touchdowns and six interceptions, and his 11 turnovers (five fumbles lost, six interceptions) place him in a three-way tie for third most in the NFL with Bryce Young and Joe Flacco.
Along with turnovers, one of Ward's biggest issues has been sacks. He has been sacked an NFL-high 38 times and leads the league with 295 lost yards on sacks -- 100 more yards than Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert, whose 195 lost yards are the second most.
"We've taken too many sacks as an offense," McCoy said. "At times, there's an opportunity to throw balls away when you're outside the pocket. That will come with experience and him understanding it. When do you dirt balls? When is it better to try to get out of a problem instead of just getting the ball out of your hand? There's a number of things that come into play. You obviously want to minimize the yardage you lose."
Ward is known for his tendency to hunt for big plays, which is why he pleaded with Callahan back in April to add a deep passing concept from his college days called "four verts." Some of the sacks Ward has taken are a result of him holding the ball too long in hopes of an opportunity to throw the ball down the field.
McCoy has encouraged Ward to take the checkdown when it presents itself to get the ball into a playmaker's hands quickly. At times in practice, McCoy intentionally takes away options in the passing game to force Ward to take the checkdown.
Ward is learning that it's better to take a shorter, high-percentage throw than to risk a sack or turnover by holding the ball too long.
"I think he's done a really nice job kind of taking the checkdowns," offensive coordinator Nick Holz said. "Especially against some of these zone defense teams where everybody's running out, and it's like, 'Hey, let's throw it to Tony Pollard or [Tyjae Spears] or [Chig Okonkwo] in the flat, and they're going to go get me 12 or 14 yards,' and all of a sudden now we're at the 50-yard line."
Ward is cognizant of it all, and he has expressed frustration over missing opportunities to check it down and take shorter passes that will help him stay upright and in more manageable down and distances.
"I've got to get the ball in my playmakers' hands," Ward said. "Let them make plays for us, and I think that'll have the offense just flowing."
There's also an ongoing emphasis on Ward's mechanics, which can cause some of his throws to be off target. The coaching staff is working to get his footwork in sync with the receivers' routes so the offense has better timing. McCoy has extended the individual period of practice where they focus on technique from eight minutes to 12 minutes.
"Reps are the biggest thing that can help you," Ward said.
With being a more efficient passer and ball security as two key areas of improvement for Ward, the Titans are looking at ways to get him more settled and into a rhythm. When McCoy took over, one of the goals was to recalibrate the offense to emphasize the things it did best. Part of that is working more play-action into the offense.
Under McCoy, Ward has operated in play-action on 27 dropbacks over the past three games. He has a 62.5% completion rate on play-action over that span. In those three games, two of Ward's five passing touchdowns came off play-action as well. His off-target throws dropped from 21.5% in regular pass plays to 12.5% on play-action.
Before McCoy took over as interim coach, Ward had run play-action on 49 dropbacks. He hasn't thrown an interception in 66 total play-action pass attempts and has been sacked only six times.
"With the play-action you kind of get some of those deeper, longer-developing concepts that he had in college where you can see some of those big three-level throws," Holz said. "Some of the spaces are similar to some of those college dropback concepts you've seen. I think he's done a really nice job moving the pocket. When he gets that good pocket movement, it frames it better, and you feel his comfort on those play-actions."
McCoy took time during the bye week to watch a lot of the quarterbacks. One of the things that jumped out to him was how suddenly they took off when the play wasn't there. The decisiveness helped them pick up positive yards and stay ahead of the down and distance.
Ward admitted he'd like to make more plays with his legs to expand the ways he can impact the game. It's something he planned to reflect upon during the bye week.
Ward's longest run of the season was a 12-yard scramble on third-and-13 against the Houston Texans in Week 4. Although the Titans failed to convert on fourth-and-1, the scramble was an example of an added element that opposing defenses would have to account for.
Ward knows it's a process, but he feels he's getting better as his rookie season continues -- with a rematch against the Texans up next on Sunday (1 p.m. ET, CBS) at Nissan Stadium.
"I think I improved every game from an operation standpoint, from a playcall standpoint, to getting in and out of the huddle, to knowing where guys are, to just being an NFL quarterback," Ward said before the bye. "Every game we've had together, we've got better chemistry because practice is a lot different than the game, so I'll continue to work with those guys. We're going to continue to be better."