Xcardinal,
Here's my take on what I saw at the Spring Game.
O-Line's pass protection was solid. I thought our run blocking in general was alright, EXCEPT on short yardage situations. I can't figure out our struggles with that. Maybe it's the overall scheme where we spend most of our formations in shotgun or the pistol that the guys aren't accustomed to lining up and whipping someone. Or maybe it's as you said physically we aren't strong enough to physically dominate the guy across the line of scrimmage when the field is shorter and things aren't so spread out. Whatever, it is I know it will keep Coach Hoke up at night and it needs to be (and I believe will be) corrected. I believe you said you are an ex-Oline guy so I would've liked to have watched those short yardage situations with you to get your take on it.
Nate looked pretty good. Couple of touch throws I know he would've liked to have had back and there were times I would've liked to see him run to move the chains instead of going for it all. However, the cannon that's attached to his right shoulder was evident and he made some throws in motion across his body that most college QBs can't make. I was also impressed with how he got a third receiver involved. He moved his progression from Dante Love to Darius Hill and checked to Ifft and Trempe for huge completions.
On that note......... we are incredibly deep at Wide Receiver. There is going to be big competition for the spot opposite Dante Love. The beauty of it is that you can clearly see that Nate has confidence throwing to these other guys. That's going to take our passing game to another level..... scary thought for opponents.
The backs (Edmonds and Sykes) looked good in open space running the bowl. Short yardage.... again... it's an issue. Most of our backs are lightning in a bottle.... our recruit James Cravens at 210 lbs might provide some thunder that might help in short yardage. We'll see.
On the defensive side...... I liked how Davyd Jones, Womack, and Derrick Henry played. I know that Coach Hoke has been high on the future of these guys and you can see why. Henry's going to help a bunch against some of the MAC's bigger receivers because he is taller and has long arms.
Placekicking was erratic. I can see big competition continuing for those duties.
Overall........ I liked what I saw. There's a lot to be excited about. No one got hurt. We've got some things to work on, but I think that's good to help us from getting complacent.
