‘I don’t think they’re getting him the ball enough’ – Tennessee is leaving too much on the table with one of its biggest playmakers
The Tennessee Volunteers need to find a way to get the ball in the hands of one of their biggest playmakers more often.
If Tennessee is going to beat Alabama on Saturday, the Vols’ offense will need to play at a higher level than what we’ve seen over the last few weeks.
Tennessee is averaging 21.6 points per game in its first three SEC matchups. The feeling is that the Vols will need to score at least 30 points on Saturday to get a win over Alabama.
A big reason the Volunteers’ passing offense, specifically, has struggled this season is the youth at the quarterback position. Tennessee’s run game has had to carry the load as a result, but the pass game will need to step up against Alabama.
One way to do that is to get the ball in wide receiver Mike Matthews’ hands more often.
Matthews has 22 receptions for 396 yards and three touchdowns through the first six games of the season (he also has two rushes for 16 yards).
VolQuest publisher and Vol Network sideline reporter Brent Hubbs doesn’t think Matthews is touching the ball enough.
“I think Mike Matthews is playing really good football,” said Hubbs on The Mike Keith Show. “I don’t think they’re getting him the ball enough. It’s been a bit hard to get him the ball, but he’s playing fast right now. He looks like he’s at a different place than he was a year ago. They’ve just got to find ways to get him the ball more and more.”
Hubbs expounded on his thoughts on Matthews on Tuesday during an appearance on WNML’s SportsTalk.
“How do you get Mike Matthews the football?” said Hubbs. “Mike Matthews is arguably the most dynamic playmaker Tennessee has on offense right now. And I’m not taking anything away from DeSean Bishop because he’s a workhorse grinder who pops some runs here and there. But Mike Matthews is a guy that you get the ball to him in space, and he can really make some hay and do some really good things.”
Tennessee found some unique ways to get Matthews the ball in the win over Arkansas last weekend. We saw a direct snap to Matthews in the red zone and an end-around. The Vols will certainly need to find more ways to get him the ball against Alabama as he’s a player who can pick up significant yards if he gets the ball in space.
