Titans Training Camp UPDATE: Hype around rookie QB Cam Ward, growth in Year 2 for Brian Callahan

Titans Training Camp UPDATE: Hype around rookie QB Cam Ward, growth in Year 2 for Brian Callahan

Back here on CBS Sports HQ, let’s go to the music city, shall we? Because Titans camp is underway. And despite being the long shot to win the AFC South and really a long shot in almost every category, there is a sense of excitement around the Titans because of that guy right there, Cam Ward, the number one overall pick. A and the future of the franchise, it’s seeming like there’s news coming out today that Cam Ward will play all preseason. That first preseason game is coming on Saturday against the Bucks. and we are coming to you from Titans training camp with the very very latest. And for that we do want to welcome in Kayla Anderson. Kayla, great to see you. There is a lot of hype and buzz around Cam Ward coming out of camp and it’s not only because of his abilities, but also I’ve heard a lot about just the way that he carries himself and his attitude. What is something that you’ve noticed about him just kind of in and how he carries himself at camp as well? Yeah, Jacqueline, he definitely carries himself like maybe he’s a three or fouryear vet and that’s something that he really set the tone with early on in mini camp. He actually came in and started to show up in the meeting rooms in the workout rooms at 500 a.m. and he really set the tone for his other rookie teammates. And then as training camp started, we started to hear the same kind of storylines as he was here probably one of the first guys in the building, even beating coaches sometimes. But you can just see out there when he’s working in different drills, even when he throws an interception or even when he does something where he knows he messes up, he just really doesn’t show it on his face. He doesn’t show it in his body language and he’s able to really bounce right back. And that’s what a lot of his teammates love about him. And of course, that is what Brian Callahan loves about the rookie quarterback. A lot of his teammates have great things to say about him, especially his weapons on offense. Anytime we hear from Calvin Ridley, he is just glowing about things with his new quarterback. Of course, there’s Tyler Lockett and then they get Van Jefferson in the offseason in terms of weapons for Cam Ward. What have you noticed about their chemistry and their relationship and how all of that is coming together on offense? It’s going really well. Well, and I’m going to start with Calvin Ridley because you’re exactly right. Everything that you’ve heard out of Titans training camp over the last two weeks has been good when it comes to the chemistry between Cam Ward and the veteran wide receiver Calvin Ridley. Now, Calvin Ridley last year during training camp with Will Levis, just never on the same page. And it was hard to grasp what that came from. Was it that it was Calvin Ridley’s first year in this offense for Brian Callahan or was it more just not connecting with the quarterback Will Levves? We have not had any questions about that early on in camp. It seems like Cam Ward and Calvin Ridley kind of have the same mindset on things. And Calvin Ridley has said time and time again when we spoke to him after practice, he just really feels comfortable. He knows the area now. He knows the team facility and more importantly, he knows what this Brian Callahan offense is. So, it makes it a lot easier to get on the page with his quarterback. And as for Tyler Lockett, Tyler Lockett also goes back a little bit with Cam Ward. Quandre Diggs, who just signed with the team this week, is actually Cam Ward’s cousin. So when Quandre Diggs and Tyler Lockett were up in Seattle playing together, they were able to watch Cam Ward’s game at Washington State. Something that not a lot of people get to do over on the East Coast and in the South. And so he’s always really had a feeling for what Cam Ward could be like as a quarterback. So their connection early on has been special as well. When Cam Ward is done with a series, he goes to the sideline. You immediately see him talking with some of those veterans like Tyler Lockett and like Van Jeff just for the fact that they know how to run these routes and that’s something that Cam Ward has really picked their brains about. Awesome. I love that story. Such a small world, right? If we go to the other side of the ball and we’re looking at statistics, right? Kind of perplexing if we’re looking uh last season, right? bottom three in scoring defense, but yet top three in total defense. So, how is the defensive side of the ball looking at camp, Kayla? You know, this time of the year, Jacqueline, I think it’s really a theme all around NFL camps. As we always hear, the defense is a little bit ahead of the offense. And I would say that that is definitely true here in Nashville when it comes to Dinard Wilson’s defense. Last year you rattled off some of those numbers which was perplexing a little bit for the fact that I think in the beginning they really held their own defensively but because the offense just wasn’t able to score points and just really couldn’t keep the defense off the field. They wore down and so you saw some of those numbers decrease as the year went on. But what I will say about the difference here with this defense is the front early on. Um they will be rotating a lot, but the big thing about them rotating since they don’t have really solidified lockdown edges right now, they’ve got an Ardan key. Um they’ve got some of the guys that can rotate, but they’re really disguising a lot against Cam Ward and that’s what’s giving him troubles early on being a rookie, but the biggest difference has been Jeffrey Simmons, the veteran on this team, one of the longest tenure Titans. He looks different, guys. He lost 20 pounds this off seasonason. He’s real agile. He is giving fits to the offensive line, especially the secondyear player who has moved to the right side now in JC Laam. All right, let’s talk about Brian Callahan finally. I know we talked about him a little bit. It’s year two under Brian Callahan and of course we know the magic with him in Joe Burrow and how that all played out and he has another very talented quarterback in Cam Wart. But Kayla, what is the sense around the team about this upcoming season under Brian Callahan? I’ll start with this story because it’s a good one. So on Sunday uh after practice, Brian Callahan, who is not an animated guy. He’s more of a quiet guy compared to past coaches like Mike Vrabel here. But after practice, he was not happy with the performance, especially on offense. He gathered the team up and he kind of went nuclear on him in front of everybody, media here, fans here. But that is something that Calvin Ridley said today. He actually liked seeing that fire out of Callahan because sometimes we don’t get to see the behind the scenes and and how passionate he is. But I will say firsthand, this is a huge huge year for Brian Callahan. Last year coming in here being a play caller and a head coach for the first time. That’s a lot that’s thrown at you at once and obviously trying to figure out your quarterback as well. But now they have their quarterback. They picked Cam Ward and he has seen things that are similar. Even comparing him a little bit to Joe Burrow in terms of what he is doing on the field, the mental side of things. So, there is a lot that it’s expected out of Callahan right now. They’ve picked out some of those veteran wide receivers that are here. They’ve got some of the guys that have been here for a minute, but there’s a lot of young guys that they’re going to have to play. But the biggest thing is what is it like with Callahan and Cam Ward’s chemistry from the jump? Right now it looks good, but that’s a lot difference uh different what we once we actually start seeing them play games of course. But hey, if it’s anything like what we saw with Callahan and Joe Burrow, that is great news for Titans fan fans, excuse me, Kayla, we certainly appreciate it bringing us the very latest out of Titans camp. And our CBS Sports HQ training camp tour continues. Of course, we talked about the Steelers and the Titans today. We have the Packers coming up, the Bears, the Niners, and then the Ravens on August 13th. [Music] When you need your sports news all the time, we’ve got breaking news to bring to you. CBS Sports HQ gives you a snapshot of all the sports that matter to you. Big news coming out of the NFL. A lot of movement in the rankings this week with highlights. What a finish at the final round of play. An in-depth analysis. Can they three? Tony Romo joins the conversation. What can you say about this game? When you need your sports in a snap, we’re bringing you that breaking news right here on HQ. Find it on CBS Sports HQ. Dreaming free anywhere you

Kayla Anderson joins CBS Sports HQ live from Tennessee Titans training camp.

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR CHANNEL:
https://www.youtube.com/user/CBSSports

WATCH
CBS Sports HQ: https://www.cbssports.com/live/
Paramount Plus: https://www.paramountplus.com

FOLLOW US ON:
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/CBSSports/
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/cbssports/
Twitter – https://twitter.com/CBSSports

#nfl #titans