By Jimmy Hyams
Tennessee’s offense last season was one of the program’s worst in the modern era of football.
The Vols ranked last in the SEC in points scored and total yards and 13th in rushing and passing.
UT scored 10 or fewer points in four SEC games.
So when Tennessee’s first-year offensive coordinator Tyson Helton was asked what numbers he pays attention to on the post-game stat sheet, you might have thought points and yards gained or yards per play.
Nope.
He looks at two things: Turnovers and field position.
“Turnovers can lose a game in a heartbeat,’’ Helton said.
Helton said you can point to players and teams that have “great offensive performances, but at the end of the day, people turned the ball over and they put themselves in bad situations.
“We have to take care of the football.’’
Next, he said, is field position.
Without good field position, Helton noted, it’s hard to have explosive plays.
“The name of the game is explosive plays,’’ Helton said. “At some point in time, you’re gonna have to throw the ball down there and you’re gonna have to come down with it.
“Or you’re gonna have to hand it to a running back and him take it to the house.’’
But if you’re backed up inside your 20, you’re less likely to generate plays of 20 or more yards. And you’re more likely to be a bit conservative when calling plays.
How would Helton define success for the offense this season?
“Win a lot of games,’’ he said. “I think our main goal going into every game is to win the game. That’s you’re mindset. That’s what it has to be.
“Every game is different and every game takes on its own environment. And so we want to win every game.
“Now, is that scoring a bunch of points? It might be.
“Or is that managing the clock and making sure we do whatever it takes to go win? Then it’s that.’’
But to accomplish that, Helton believes, you have to avoid turnovers and enjoy good field position.
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