QUARTERBACK CAM WARD
What happened with the quick start and what derailed the second half?
I think just with the quick start is just us having urgency. That's how we need to start every game and maintain it throughout the whole game. And the third quarter, really, fumbling the football, I think that was what really set us back. If I don't do that, the game does get out of hand that fast. So just got to continue to have ball security and get better.
Did the ball just slip on that play?
Yeah.
That's two weeks in a row. What's going on?
Got to hold on to it tighter. But really, just got to continue to emphasize it within myself. Got to be better at it. I know that's something that I can't continue to let happen. I got to cut that out next week.
Do you feel like you guys lose urgency at any point?
No, we don't lose urgency. It's just we have to continue to stack plays. And there's just— whether it's a false start and even towards the end of half, I should have checked the ball down, ended up stopping the clock again. We have to just waste the play on what we didn't have to. It's all of us have to do our job every play. And when we do that, we can be a good offense.
Do you get a chance to push at all to try to score a field goal before halftime or is there no chance for you to participate in that conversation?
That's the goal, to get points. We had enough time, we had three timeouts. But when I don't take the completion right there like I need to, it puts the coaches and the offense in a bad situation. So that's how it ended up happening So, I just got to be better. We got to be better as a whole, and then at the end of the day, we've got to win games. We have to start next week by winning a football game.
Obviously, you didn't get the result, but Mike McCoy and some of the changes that he's implemented, how do you like that went throughout the week and in the game?
I think Mike (McCoy), he's done an unbelievable job, especially within the circumstances that he's in and everything he has preached to us since he was named the interim. And then all the way to this point, it stayed true. We want to be a hard, tough, physical football team, and we were that at times, but we weren't that the entirety of the game. That's why we got the outcome. So we got to continue to pour into the coaching staff, the coaching staff continued to pour on us and we've got to flip this thing around.
He mentioned how previously working with Trevor Lawrence, he just told him all the time that, 'Hey, you're getting better, you're getting better.' Is that something you've experienced in this short time with him?
Yeah, I've experienced that every game. Not only him just telling me that I get better. I'm feeling that I'm getting better just because of the level that you have to play at consistently. And just as a whole, myself and as an offense, we haven't done that consistently. And I just think the coaching staff, they never really tell us what we have to just continue to emphasize, they more tell us just to play the next play, continue to play. Because at the end of the day, you're not going to have a perfect game. But you've got to continue to stack perfect plays to end up trying to be in a situation to win.
Is there anything you could take from Drake Maye's path? He had a somewhat rough rookie year, had a new coach his second season, and he's playing like that. That's a pretty good course he's on. You think you can follow that?
It's not really about following him, it's more of being myself. I think he's a great player, he's going to continue to make plays in this league. When it's all said and done, I think me and him, we'll have a chance to have some elite battles. So he got the best of us today, but we got to continue get better. But you know that's not really the main goal as far as us trying to be a particular person. We're trying to play together, we ain't played complementary footbal for a decent amount of time. It's only been at clicks of the day. So we just got to continue to pour into each other, do better, and try to win next week.
What allowed you and Chim (Dike) to have the success you had right out of the gate? And did they do something to try to get him away in a second?
Me and Chim (Dike), we just see it the same way, from how he sees the field to how I see the field, it's the same way. I think that's something that me and him continue to create that relationship just on the field. I think he had an unbelievable day, not only in the return game, but especially at receiver. I think the more reps me and Chim get together, the better we're going to be, but this is only the start.
With the fumbles, do you think it's more an issue with focus and concentration or is it more mechanics?
I don't think it's neither, I just got to hold on to the football.
Did the coaching staff tell you anything after that fumble?
No, they don't really be crashing out on the sidelines, it's really more, 'Next play.' But they don't need to tell me that. I know that. But I've got a great coaching staff around me in Bo (Hardegree). He continuously tells me what I need to get better at, and that's one of the opportunities I have to get better at.
Do any examples come to mind of anything that was new or done differently today versus the first six games under Brian (Callahan)?
In terms of like—
In general operation, communication, strategy, scheme. Was anything different today than what had been in the past?
Not really in terms of just how it translates to the game, our play. I think the biggest difference has only been just practice. We had a great week of practice, and I think it translated to the game, not the whole game, but we're starting to feel it click. But nothing really changed. Coach (Brian) Callahan, he did his best for us. He's a great head coach. He's a guy who took a chance on me, so I'm forever going to be grateful to him. But, we just got to continue to play complementary football. We did it for one half, we didn't do it the next half, so that's the next improvement for us.
What are maybe nights like or 24 hours like for you after a game when things don't go as well as you want them to as far as beating yourself up and how are you as far as putting stuff behind you and getting ready for the Colts next week?
I can put stuff behind me fast. I think as a quarterback, you have to be able to play the next play, got to be able flush stuff. And it's really me watching all my bad plays. How can I prevent it? What situation are we in? What down are we in? And even on some good plays, there's some stuff that I can continue to do better today, but I just got to be to build off the bad plays and make them into more good plays.
Were there more opportunities today for big chunk plays, even with Calvin (Ridley) out of the game? Looked like you have some decent success in getting the ball down field?
Yeah, I think that was more of an emphasis this week, just because of the different coverages that they can get to. It's a good defense that they have in the back end. And at the end of the day, we had to put the ball in play as well. Starting early, just taking what they give us until we're able to get the intermediate and deep throws. So we just got to continue to stack plays like that.
The interception that was behind Chig (Okonkwo), it looks similar to the miss in that same area of the field to Elic (Ayomanor) in the first quarter. Were those the same route or the same play? It looked like the same miss. Was their miscommunication there in terms of the landmark or were you just behind?
No, it wasn't the same route or the same play, completely different concept. I just threw the ball behind him, so I just need to be accurate with football.
To what extent do you think your performance so far is representative of what Cam Ward can do at the quarterback position?
I think he can do a lot. He can push the ball down the field. He can make plays with his feet. And he can motivate his teammates to continue to try and score every drive. That's the standard that we want to score the football every time we touch the field, whether it's with three or seven. I think that's just what I possess. Not a lot of people can go the route that I took to get to this point. So I'm not tripping over just a certain situation that one person is in or I'm in. I'm always trying to get better every day and meet my end goal, trying to be one of the best.
On the touchdown, Dike said that's something that you guys talked about. How long have you been waiting to have that opportunity and that exact look to be able to take advantage of what both you and he do well?
I was ready for that play. We had that play on the sheet for about three, four weeks. So whenever he called it, I got to smiling in the huddle. Almost checked out of the play, but we reloaded. And then, that's Chim (Dike) really making the play. The O-line did an unbelievable job just getting everybody out of the way. Gunnar (Helm) sealed it with the pin block, and Chim made the play. So, I got to continue to put the ball in his hands, let him make plays, because when he touches the ball, he's dangerous.
Was that the first time that was called this season?
That specific play, yeah. Not the protection scheme, everything. We just got a new play in and it worked.
