Considering the caliber of opponent faced last weekend, Tennessee showed some improvement on offense but still only managed 12 points in Athens. That came after being shutout in the first half but clicking in the second half to make the game against the No. 2 team in the nation competitive until the dam broke late in the fourth quarter against Georgia.

During his weekly Sunday coaches show, Jeremy Pruitt made an interesting comment that drew some attention when reviewing back the Georgia film. After a completed Tennessee pass lost yards, here’s what Pruitt offered up.

“I’m not real fired up about these passes that go for minus 2,” the Tennessee coach said.

That’s leading some to believe there may be frustration in the building over the program’s lack of offensive identity and gameplanning. During Pruitt’s Wednesday evening media availability, the Tennessee coach was asked about Tyson Helton’s offensive playbook and if it will continue to expand during the bye week.

Pruitt’s answer indicates the issue with Tennessee’s offense is more about execution than the playbook.

“You can be successful offensively; it’s been proven over the course of time if you run the split back, triple option or run and shoot. You can do whatever, but it’s all about being able to execute,” Pruitt said. “Having positive plays, not having negative plays, being efficient in the throw game and being able to run the ball effectively. We haven’t been able to do that for most of the year.

“There have been times were we put plays back-to-back, but we have to be more consistent. We have done a really good job of getting in third and manageable… we haven’t converted. In the last game, there were two third-and-ones. We have to do a better job of that. You want to put yourself in manageable third downs. If you look at it across college football (last week), defensively, they converted eight out of 14 snaps on us on third down. If you go back and look, how many of them were third-and-two or less? A lot of them.

“The last several weeks, we have been successful on third downs. A lot of them have been third-and-eight plus. To be good on offense, you have to be able to converge, score touchdowns in the red area and can’t turn the ball over. We have to find a way to do that and be consistent every day.”

The Tennessee coach was then asked a follow-up question regarding his involvement on the offensive side of the ball.

“Lots of the opponents I’ve been familiar with, so I can give them some ideas,” Pruitt added. “On game day, the plan should already be in about how you want to call the game, just like it is defensively. It’s 1st and 10, they’re in a certain personnel, the ball is in a certain part of the field, you should have an idea we’re going to call one of these four defenses, or we’re going to call one of these four offensive plays. It’s second and seven-plus, it’s second and minus six, so kind of along the way, the score might dictate some of that.”