When the Tennessee Titans hired Brian Daboll as their offensive coordinator, plenty of fans and NFL analysts believed that he was the man to guide Cam Ward to realize his potential.
Five games into his time in Nashville, that belief has all but vanished. Daboll's offense has been unable to get anything going, and it has led to an embarrassing 0-5 start. It was at its worst against the Houston Texans, putting up just three points in an embarrassing loss.
It's still too early to call his hire a mistake, but Daboll hasn't done anything to warrant faith that he can turn things around in Tennessee. From the perspective of Titans fans, he's starting back at square one.
Brian Daboll's offense hit a new low against Texans
The Texans' defense has earned its reputation as one of the most fearsome units in the NFL. It's stacked with talent at all three levels. Still, Houston gave up at least 19 points in each of its first four games this year.
Daboll and the Titans made them look impenetrable. They put up just 187 total yards on offense in Week 5, and most of that came on the first drive or in garbage time.
While Ward was able to evade Houston's pass rush for the majority of the game, Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter broke through late, combining for four sacks.
Brian Daboll is setting Titans QB Cam Ward up to fail
An offense led by Ward should regularly produce explosive plays. He's prone to head-scratching mistakes, but his ability to extend plays with his legs and find his receivers down the field was one of his biggest selling points as a prospect.
But under Daboll, the Titans have been unable to find any chunk gains. Coming into Week 5, Tennessee had produced just seven offensive plays of 20 or more yards, which tied for the third-fewest in the NFL. They weren't able to break through for big plays against the Texans, either.
Ward has completed just one pass more than 20 yards downfield this year. That's the fewest of any quarterback in the league with at least five total pass attempts. That isn't the Cam Ward that Daboll was supposed to form.
Ward has a lower average yards per attempt and a lower passer rating under Daboll than he did as a rookie. What was supposed to be a bounce-back second season with improved passing targets has been disastrous so far for the young quarterback.
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