'You've just got to work through it' - Titans doing all they can to prepare QB Cam Ward for hostile Denver Broncos environment in Week 1

Quarterback Cam Ward is preparing for his first NFL regular season clash this week when Ward's Tennessee Titans travel to Denver to face the Broncos. Ward, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, faces his first real test against a Denver defense that led the league in sacks last season.

The rookie has played in hostile environments before, of course.

Brian Callahan working in close concert with Cam Ward, Titans offensive staff

So, how does one prepare a young passer for his first NFL start being on the road?

"Well, just like any young quarterback, you want to do things that they're comfortable with and you
want play fast," coach Brian Callahan said on Monday. "So we don't have a—you try not to reinvent the wheel getting ready for Week 1, or any game for that matter. But certainly in Week 1, you try to do all the things you bank reps on in practices and meetings. So there's not a lot of newness. So we can go play confident and play fast that's the idea, especially when you've got a young quarterback. There's going to be plenty of things that he's going to see that maybe he hasn't seen, and he's got to manage those things from a defensive structure perspective. But at the end of the day, try to put him in position to play as fast as possible and as confident as possible on the road."

The Broncos were excellent in 2024, but have the potential to do more damage in this season.

Ranking fourth overall as the most effective defensive in total DVOA (-12.4%), Denver coordinator Vance Joseph's unit specialized in making its opponents one dimensional. Ranking first in efficiency against the run (-24.4%), the Broncos were able to force quarterbacks they faced into more dropback situations than the average defense might.

The Denver crowd will be raucous for a 2:05 pm MT kickoff.

"Turn the music up as loud as you can to practice," Callahan said. "You've just got to work through it. I mean, he's played in loud environments. It's not new. And generally speaking, it's not every single play. It's usually the third downs and the low red zone where it really amps up. But got to be on top of the silent cadence. Got to be on top of our operation. Make sure we're not putting ourselves in down-and-distances because of some false starts or miscommunication. So we got to on top those things. And really, you just emphasize it, and he's going to figure it out as he goes."