NASHVILLE – The Titans returned to the practice field on Saturday at Vanderbilt Health Football Clinic.
Here's a look at 10 observations from practice No. 9 of training camp:
-It was a really good day for quarterback Cam Ward, probably his best day of training camp. Ward completed 21-of-25 passes on Saturday, including five touchdown tosses. Ward threw touchdowns on three straight plays during a period inside the 10-yard line, including two that went to rookie Carnell Tate, and another that went to receiver Elic Ayomanor. In a later team period, Ward connected with receiver Elic Ayomanor on a deep ball, as he left cornerback Alontae Taylor behind for a touchdown. Later, Ward connected with receiver Wan'Dale Robinson for a touchdown in a "Strikezone" period, and it left offensive coordinator Brian Daboll pumping his fist.
-Perhaps the craziest play of the day was a Ward bomb to receiver Calvin Ridley. In a "Move the Ball, End of Game" period, Ward lofted a bomb in Ridley's direction, and I didn't think it had a chance of being completed. But Ridley got under it, and caught it, with safety Amani Hooker in the vicinity.
-I noticed linebacker Cedric Gray, especially early. Gray got his hand on the football to break up an early pass, and he was right there when tight end Gunnar Helm caught a pass. I had several Titans with PBUs, mostly on balls thrown by Mitchell Trubisky and Will Levis. In addition to Gray, Mario Goodrich had three PBUs and Erick Hallett and Tony Adams had one as well. Jeffery Simmons was in the backfield on more than one occasion.
-Cornerback Keydrain Calligan had the only interception of the day for the defense, and it came on the very last play of practice. With Trubisky trying to get the ball to Chimere Dike, Adams got his hand on the football, and it ended up in the hands of Calligan, who held onto the football for a while.
-It was a sweltering day at practice, I think the hottest day of camp so far. And the Titans went long, taking only a 10-minute break in the middle to cool down. I checked the Weather Channel app at one point and it read 99 degrees, with a feels like temperature of 106. It made me wonder what the temperature is in Seattle today, because the Seahawks are headed to town for a practice and game later this week. Seattle's temp was 67 at the same time. If the temperature trend continues, the Seahawks are in for a rude awakening. It looks like the Seahawks – and the Titans – may catch a break though, because temperatures are forecasted to cool down later in the week.
-The biggest hit of practice came from defensive back Joshua Williams, who has been wearing a yellow jersey as a precaution because of a pec injury. Williams lowered the boom on running back Julius Chestnut after he caught a pass, and then let him hear about it. Offensive players noticed, of course, partly because Williams was wearing the yellow jersey. And, they let Williams hear about it. In fact, I heard one guy say: "Take off the yellow jersey, dawg."
-It was a big day for pass-catchers, especially when Ward was throwing the football. I had Robinson, Ayomanor and Dike with four catches each, and Tate, running back Tyjae Spears, and tight ends Helm and Daniel Bellinger with three catches each.
-Linebackers Dorian Mausi and Anthony Hill combined to create the other turnover on the day for the defense. After running back Michael Carter caught a pass from Trubisky, Mausi punched it out and Hill snatched it up for a fumble recovery.
-Guard Fernando Carmona has the inside track for the starting right guard spot, Coach Robert Saleh said after practice, while indicating the competition has a ways to go. Cordell Volson and Jackson Slater remain in the mix, Saleh said.
-The Titans got some bad news on the injury front: Defensive end Jaylen Harrell suffered a torn ACL and tight end Jaren Kanak suffered a pectoral injury in the preseason opener, and both are out for the season. Saleh said Tony Pollard, Nick Singleton, and Jacob Martin are dealing with soreness but are expected back at practice soon.
