Titans rookie quarterback Cam Ward has taken 38 sacks for 295 yards in nine games this season. That is 100 more yards than Raiders quarterback Geno Smith has absorbed on 27 sacks.
That puts him on pace for 72 sacks for 557 yards.
The NFL records are the 76 sacks that Texans quarterback David Carr took as a rookie in 2002 and the 489 yards that Eagles quarterback Randall Cunningham lost in 1986.
Ward is averaging a loss of 7.8 yards per sack and is being sacked more than four times per game on average. That has played a big role in the team ranking last in the NFL in third-down conversions (28 percent) and in points scored (14.4 per game).
“The first part is it’s the number of sacks. We’ve taken too many sacks as an offense," interim coach Mike McCoy said Monday, via Terry McCormick of titaninsider.com. "I think at times, too, there’s an opportunity to throw balls away when you’re outside the pocket. You might do certain things or when you’re making plays. And I think that will come with experience of him understanding it. When do you dirt balls and do certain thing or when is it better to try to get out of a problem instead of just getting the ball out of your hand?
“So, I think it’s combination. I mean, you’d have to look at every play to say, ‘This is why.’ If you looked at the film I have, I’ve got a breakdown of this is why sacks happen. Is it on the quarterback? Is it offensive linemen? Is it a running back? Did something happen with the receiver that caused Cam to hold the ball long? So there’s a number of things that come into play. But you obviously want to minimize the yardage you lose.”
McCoy had a cut-up made for Ward to review his mechanics, throwing motion and situational awareness.
“I met with him this morning, and I sat down with him, and I [told him], ‘Hey, here’s some things I think you could look at from my perspective, and here’s some things you can mechanically clean up,’” McCoy said.