What We Learned From The Titans First Preseason Game

The Tennessee Titans played their first of three preseason games last night, and despite the lost, there are so many things to take away from it. Some good, and some bad. It's the preseason for a reason, winning does not matter, but each individual performance is crucial. Let's go over what happened.

Cam Ward Is Poised; Ridley is his favorite target

While rookie quarterback Cam Ward didn't light the world on fire with his debut, his two drives still showed a lot of promise for the young player

Via USA Today

The first drive was a three and out, starting with a handoff up the middle to Tony Pollard for about 5-6 yards. Then we saw Ward throw a pass right at the line to gain to Van Jefferson. The throw was a tad late, however was still a ball we would like to see Jefferson catch, however he unfortunately couldn't hold on. The third and final play Ward tried to extend and rolled out to his right, where he would throw the ball away. Sure, he didn't do anything crazy to get a first down, but he showed discipline and patience while rolling out and extending the play. It is a contrast to Will Levis often attempting to do too much.

The second drive was the one to watch, as Ward led a drive all the way to the endzone. During this drive he hit wide receiver Calvin Ridley 3 times for a total of 50 yards. Ridley was well open for two of the passes, but there was one that was placed super nicely just above the reach of a Buccaneers defender right into the arms of Ward's favorite target. One mistake on this drive was a throw that was almost picked off, where it looked like Ward didn't see the defender. Rookie mistake that we would like to see less of.

Overall, Ward was 5/8 for 67 yards and showcased a lot of good with a couple mistakes. Hopefully next week we get to see him make some throws to rookie receiver Elic Ayomanor who was held without a reception this week.

Depth at Quarterback is ROUGH

After the first two drives, the Titans offense was painful to watch, and this was mainly because the backup quarterbacks Brandon Allen and Tim Boyle were atrocious. They combined to be 10/25 for 86 yards and 3 interceptions.

Brandon Allen was awful at reading the field, including throwing away a pass on 4th and 2 when he had two wide open wide receivers. His passes are slower with more air under them then Ward's, and his football IQ seems a lot lower. The intereception he threw was less of his fault, as he had defenders running at him and his throw was deflected and intercepted with one hand by a Bucs linebacker.

Tim Boyle needs to be cut. His two interceptions were some of the worst I have ever seen, one being thrown to a completely covered receiver that got tipped and intercepted, and the other being thrown straight to a defender who would bring it back for a touchdown. Boyle finished 4-13 and has a passer rating of 0.6 which may be the most disgusting statline I have ever seen.

The Titans need to either trade for a backup such as Stetson Bennett or Aidan O'Connell, or sign a backup such as Carson Wentz or even former Titan Ryan Tannehill, because neither of the players we saw last night need to play meaningful football for the Titans in the regular season.

Poor Tyjae Spears

Tyjae Spears may be poised for a breakout season, but he has got to stay healthy, and that is seeming less and less likely. During the game last night he took a screen pass about 20 yards just short of the line to gain but got up seemingly limping. He would take a cart back to the locker room and has been diagnosed with a sprained ankle, ending his preseason.

Injuries have been the story for Spears the last couple seasons, which is heartbreaking because we know he has the talent to be great. I just want to see a healthy season from the young player.

James Williams is Fighting Well for a Starting Spot

Williams made his presence known from the get-go, as he made a huge hit on the opening kickoff, starting a Tampa Bay drive short of the 20 yard line. He continued to fly around the field all game including a tackle to force a 4th down on a screen pass. Williams is making a strong case for being the MLB next to Cody Barton.