For a No. 1 overall pick, Cam Ward isn't commanding much of the summertime spotlight.
It's certainly less than the typical top selection attracts, especially for a quarterback. One of his new teammates, three-time Pro Bowler Jeffery Simmons, believes part of the problem lies in the fact most folks overlook the Titans, a team that has won just 16 games over the last three seasons.
"First off, I think that our team -- the Tennessee Titans -- never get the respect and attention we need," Simmons said during an appearance on Good Morning Football on Thursday. "I've never seen the No. 1 pick overall never get the respect and, quite frankly, the attention that he deserves."
Though they've only spent time together during organized team activities and minicamp, Simmons believes that will change soon enough because Ward -- a former zero-star recruit who worked his way from collegiate anonymity at Division II Incarnate Word to Heisman Trophy finalist at Miami -- carries a level of confidence that he expects to shine through on the field. He knows this because he's already exchanged plenty of trash talk with Ward.
"It was after a play, we stopped him, and I think I ended up getting a sack," Simmons recalled. "All of the sudden, we're talking smack and Cally (head coach Brian Callahan) is giving him the dang play and I'm still talking smack to him, I'm jawing because that's my game -- I want to talk smack, I want to get in your head.
"It didn't faze him. He's still talking smack while Cally's getting the play to him. He's giving the play to the offense, still talking smack to me. When they gave him that play and came to the line, the next play after the smack talk, he threw an 80-yard bomb to Calvin Ridley. So, that right there showed me we got us one. He's legit."
Once the face of the Titans' bright future, Simmons is now squarely in his prime as he nears his 28th birthday. He's also one of the most senior members of the organization following plenty of turnover typical of a team headed in a different direction, and understands he's responsible for helping players like Ward acclimate, "to make him feel at home."
During this recent period of uncertainty, Tennessee has faded into relative irrelevance while cycling through quarterbacks and making changes at head coach and general manager. Simmons has been there for all of it, but thinks Ward's arrival will finally settle things and position the Titans for future success -- regardless of whether folks are paying attention to them now.
"I think where we're at right now with him not getting enough praise, who is not known as a No. 1 pick overall or don't get the attention and the praise that he deserve," Simmons said. "But I think that's a chip on his shoulder. You could tell by the way he goes about his business -- his swagger, his demeanor -- this gonna be one of the ones that I'm excited to see. I'm excited to get back to camp next week to be more around him and learn a little more about him."
