What was so funny is that you could tell that Ford had never even considered actually seeing Corker. He thought he was going to engineer some 'gotcha' moment, where he bemoaned Corker while Corker cowered inside, and Corker grabbed the initiative by coming out alone and confronting him. You could also tell that Jr has very little actual campaigning experience since he has never had to really campaign for his seat because his seat is nothing more than a Ford family asset that can be transferred amongst family members like a car title. I'd be willing to bet that his little stunt cost him 3-4 points at a minimum.
I think that's very insightful, and it's highly plausible. He would stand outside and accuse Corker of any number of things I guess, and have a great old time doing it. Instead, Corker came out, like a man, and met the challenge head on. Ford ended up looking pretty bad on this.