Ward believes jawing with great defenders brings out his best. Warner thinks it may, but says there's another side to that equation.
By PAUL KUHARSKY
SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Fred Warner flew around and chatted it up during the 49ers-Titans joint practice on Tuesday.
Afterward, Cam Ward said he was working to jaw with the four-time First Team All-Pro linebacker. I’m only now hearing what Warner said.
“I think Cam is one of the unique quarterbacks where he's not afraid to sit there and play that game with you,” Warner said. “You know, whether that's a positive or negative, I think that's still yet to be seen for their side. We'll see. But for me, you know, I am always trying to get the quarterback out of his game.
"And anytime I am in that mode, that's only going to amplify my game, right? So, I love joint practices; those are the best. What I mean is, he is one of the few quarterbacks who will sit there and actually get into that verbal back-and-forth, right? Where a lot of quarterbacks aren't."
This isn’t a surprise.
As soon as Jeffery Simmons turned up at Ward’s rookie OTAs last year, the same type of stuff unfolded.
The question is whether it helps Ward.
It seems to juice Ward up, which is good. But Warner said it amplified his game, too. Giving Warner additional fuel doesn't seem like much of a victory.
Here’s Ward’s thinking about the approach:
“I got him riled up a little bit,” Ward said. “That’s what I want to see. Because I want him to be at his best so when I’m at my best, I know what I can and can’t do in a game. He helped me out a lot today. He’s a great player. Started talking shit. The right things to say to guys like that. I know they don’t hear it a lot from specific quarterbacks.
Whether it’s a specific conference or their quarterback, I don’t know how Brock (Purdy) is. Its great because I get to see the other side of him that they might not be willing to show.”
Warner is conscious that in the end it’s just noise, washed out by the bigger picture.
He said some guys do not go that direction “because they're so focused on wanting to just obviously just execute the offense.”
“But some guys, they elevate their play too when they get into that,” he said. “And I think he's probably one of those guys who does elevate his play when he starts getting into that. But listen, that talking at the end of the day, you got to go out there, you got to play football. And it's 11-on-11; it's not just me versus him right?
“So, there were situations where I wish I could say something to him, but then we're giving up a touchdown or something, right? And it's like it's a team game at the end of the day. You got to go out there, you got to play the game. All that talking is just talk.”
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