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Let's let Tennessee Titans linebacker Cedric Gray be the one who offers the superlatives about rookie wide receiver Carnell Tate.
"He's the truth," Gray told reporters after the Titans' practice on May 29. "He's the truth. I just saw it today. He had a few plays today. I actually literally just went up to him after practice today and told him 'You cold.' I'm a huge fan. I'm on the Tate bandwagon right now."
It's hard not to be on the Tate bandwagon after two weeks of OTA practices. In the first session open to the media, Tate caught a couple of touchdowns and quickly established himself as quarterback Cam Ward's go-to target in red zone and third-down situations. In the second session, Tate cranked it up with a sensational one-handed catch that flashed his budding chemistry with Ward.
On the third rep of a drill that simulated third-down situations, Tate lined up across from cornerback Micah Robinson. Tate lurched toward the sideline for a deep fade route and Ward threw the ball before Tate had barely crossed the line of scrimmage. Ward put the ball where only one of Tate's hands could reach, and Robinson interfered with Tate's path to the ball, but none of that prevented Tate from flicking his right arm skyward and palming the ball nose first, fighting through Robinson's contact for a conversion to huge fanfare from his teammates.
Just a few reps later, with the Titans moving on to a two-minute drill, Tate converted another third down by leaping over Robinson and two-hand squeezing a ball he plucked out of the air, twisting and contorting to get to the ball before Robinson could get his head around.
The day wasn't perfect; Tate dropped two passes in earlier drills including one in a 7-on-7 drill. But the chemistry between Tate and Ward is developing quite nicely, and it's not just Gray who's noticing.
Take these stats with two grains of salt: First, more than half of the projected starting defense wasn't present for this practice, so Ward was mostly throwing against second-teamers. But second, more than half of Ward's throws were in drills that simulated third-and-long and two-minute situations, so the degree of difficulty for a lot of his throws was higher than a standard practice.
The Titans won't have another practice open to media until June 11.
Nick Suss is the Titans beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at [email protected]. Follow Nick on X @nicksuss. Subscribe to the Talkin’ Titans newsletter for updates sent directly to your inbox.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Carnell Tate's chemistry with Titans QB Cam Ward is dazzling in real time
Continue reading...
"He's the truth," Gray told reporters after the Titans' practice on May 29. "He's the truth. I just saw it today. He had a few plays today. I actually literally just went up to him after practice today and told him 'You cold.' I'm a huge fan. I'm on the Tate bandwagon right now."
It's hard not to be on the Tate bandwagon after two weeks of OTA practices. In the first session open to the media, Tate caught a couple of touchdowns and quickly established himself as quarterback Cam Ward's go-to target in red zone and third-down situations. In the second session, Tate cranked it up with a sensational one-handed catch that flashed his budding chemistry with Ward.
On the third rep of a drill that simulated third-down situations, Tate lined up across from cornerback Micah Robinson. Tate lurched toward the sideline for a deep fade route and Ward threw the ball before Tate had barely crossed the line of scrimmage. Ward put the ball where only one of Tate's hands could reach, and Robinson interfered with Tate's path to the ball, but none of that prevented Tate from flicking his right arm skyward and palming the ball nose first, fighting through Robinson's contact for a conversion to huge fanfare from his teammates.
Just a few reps later, with the Titans moving on to a two-minute drill, Tate converted another third down by leaping over Robinson and two-hand squeezing a ball he plucked out of the air, twisting and contorting to get to the ball before Robinson could get his head around.
The day wasn't perfect; Tate dropped two passes in earlier drills including one in a 7-on-7 drill. But the chemistry between Tate and Ward is developing quite nicely, and it's not just Gray who's noticing.
Cam Ward stats: Titans QB performance on May 29
Take these stats with two grains of salt: First, more than half of the projected starting defense wasn't present for this practice, so Ward was mostly throwing against second-teamers. But second, more than half of Ward's throws were in drills that simulated third-and-long and two-minute situations, so the degree of difficulty for a lot of his throws was higher than a standard practice.
- Standard team period: 3-for-5, one missed throw behind his receiver
- 7-on-7: 5-for-7, one pass dropped, one gorgeous highlight throw on a wheel route to Bryce Oliver that Oliver was able to reel in down the sideline
- 3rd down period: 4-for-6, three conversions, including the Tate one-handed catch
- Two-minute drill: 5-for-11, red zone stall, one fourth-down conversion on a well-timed seam route throw to Wan'Dale Robinson
Titans roster notes: Attendance, drills that matter, standout performers
- All of the Titans' significant offensive players were present for this practice, including veteran receiver Calvin Ridley. Ridley didn't take any team reps, but he ran a few routes during individual drills. Along with Ridley, second-year receiver Elic Ayomanor didn't take reps during the team period and fellow second-year receiver Chimere Dike participated but in a significantly reduced role.
- Rookie running back Nick Singleton participated in some team drills for the first time as he continues to work back from an offseason foot injury. He's still working back to full strength, but one indicator of his return to health is how on two occasions he broke into a full-speed, 50-yard sprint down the sideline as a nice sideshow when his teammates were in the middle of a full-team drill.
- First-round pick Keldric Faulk saw a bigger and more prominent workload in this OTA practice than he did in the previous media-observable session.
- Offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo led one of the more fun looking drills of the day. Linemen paired up in groups of two across from each other and each held a metallic device with four handles, pushing and pulling each other to simulate balance and preserve solid bases in the event defenders tug at them in game. Bricillo told reporters earlier in the day that he has respect for former Titans O-line coach Bill Callahan, but there are some things he does differently. In the smallest sense, that's obvious with Callahan's patented Bertha and Olga pads sold to the Atlanta Falcons (where Callahan now works) and replaced by Bricillo's contraptions.
When do Titans practice next?
The Titans won't have another practice open to media until June 11.
Nick Suss is the Titans beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at [email protected]. Follow Nick on X @nicksuss. Subscribe to the Talkin’ Titans newsletter for updates sent directly to your inbox.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Carnell Tate's chemistry with Titans QB Cam Ward is dazzling in real time
Continue reading...
