Cam Ward's best practice of Titans preseason still had 2 bad throws he'd like back | Estes

The first mile marker of any Tennessee Titans preseason was passed during their Aug. 3 practice. Yup, they wore full pads for the first time during this training camp. The acclimation period, officially, has ended.

>Time to hit somebody:

An improved day for Cam Ward, but …Quarterback Cam Ward has his best practice yet of camp. Same for the entire offense.

>From the jump, Ward looked more decisive and confident in flinging passes deeper down the field. He found Calvin Ridley for a big play, beating cornerback Cor’Dale Flott. He hit Wan’Dale Robinson several times in the middle of the field for nice gains. He had some nice throws and completed a higher percentage than what we’d been seeing from him going back to summer workouts.

>So that was encouraging.

>What was not encouraging: Two sloppy interceptions from Ward that looked a lot like duplicates. Ward was intercepted early by Amani Hooker on a play where he was flushed from the pocket, rolled right and then tried to throw back to the middle of the field.

>Evidently, he didn’t learn from the mistake, because Ward tried the same thing later in practice, rolling right and throwing back left across his body. Jermaine Johnson picked off that throw.

>“I don't want to say they are non-negotiables,” Titans coach Robert Saleh said, “but throwing across your body, especially swallow. It’s different when you really extend the pocket, and it just really opens up for you, but when there’s so much traffic in there.”

>Saleh said Johnson’s interception was “an elite play,” while he put Hooker’s earlier interception more on a “poor decision” by Ward.

Playing past the whistleAn interesting note on the Saleh-led Titans: They generally didn’t use whistles to blow plays dead during this padded practice.

>Defensive players were “thudding,” rather than tackling, meaning they’d hit or wrap up the ballcarrier, but he’d just keep moving for 10, 20, 30 or more yards down the field while defensive players swarmed and continued to try to knock the football out of his hands.

>“We'll stop (the play). They know when to stop it,” said Saleh when I asked about it. “I want everyone thudding up on the ballcarrier, and the ballcarrier has got to go finish. We stop when the ballcarrier finishes all the way through the entire defense.”

>Good for evaluating and effort and finishing, but the Titans were a little lucky that they only had a few sparse, isolated post-play scuffles. Allowing the play that long created a lot of moving piles and pushing and shoving down the field. But, hey, that might’ve been what coaches were looking to see.

Moving pieces everywhereThe Titans are substituting a lot at practices, and on both sides of the ball. A lot of players – especially younger players and recent draft picks – moved up for plays with the first team after being on the second (or even the third) units. It means that more players can likely expect to contribute on Sundays this season. Well, that and the fact that coaches are still trying to get a gauge on the roster.

>The competition at right guard, in particular, looks a free-for-all at this point. Several different players are getting quality looks, with rookie Fernando Carmona being the latest addition to the fray.

>As for defense? I'll throw out inside linebacker James Williams as stock-up guy.

Today’s name to knowThe more we are seeing from fifth-round running back Nick Singleton, the most I’m liking it. We knew of Singleton’s speed, but he’s also showing toughness between the tackles. And he got a lot of carries, too, on a day where Saleh noted, “Our offense ran the heck out of the ball today, which is awesome.”

Extra PointsReceiver Elic Ayomanor (who I patted on the back a couple days ago) continues to show up in every practice during this camp. On this day, he beat cornerback Micah Robinson clean for an easy TD toss from Mitch Trubisky, and that may have had something to do with a subsequent play in which Robinson tackled Ayomanor in the end zone and was flagged for pass interference. • >Defensive tackle Laki Tasi, a former rugby player that the Titans just signed as an international player, is an intriguing addition. Because, if for no other reason, he is a massive human being. Dude is listed at 6-foot-6, 373 pounds, and he looks larger on the field, dwarfing NFL linemen standing near him.They said it“Consistency will always be the truest measure of performance. Everyone can do it once. The great ones can do it multiple times over time.” – Robert Saleh, not being swayed much by one week of practice.

>Reach Tennessean sports columnist Gentry Estes at gestes@tennessean.com and hang out with him on Bluesky @gentryestes.bsky.social.

>This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Cam Ward's best practice of Titans preseason still had 2 bad throws he'd like back | Estes