It’s been five months since the Syracuse football team last took to the Carrier Dome turf and played in front of a crowd – a much needed break for SU and its fans.

The Orange had five months to lift weights, perform agility drills, learn the playbook and anything else that may help it move on from the worst season in the 108-year history of the program.

Entering Saturday’s spring game, which will feature the offense against the defense at 1 p.m. in the Carrier Dome, the biggest question will be whether the Orange, specifically its offense, used those five months to its advantage.

‘We have to worry about getting better,’ Syracuse head coach Greg Robinson said. ‘That’s the name of the game for us right now. The execution is better. I think (fans are) going to see a more experienced football team than they’ve seen at this time last year.’

Improving on offense is a must if Syracuse wants to be a better football team.

The offensive unit was the largest, and most documented problem for SU last year, ranking 115 out of 117 Division I teams in total offense and scoring 14 or less points in six of its 11 games. The offense looked confused, and earlier this spring starting quarterback Perry Patterson admitted at times he was lost in the system.

But Patterson has at least one less thing to worry about for now. Robinson named him the starter for spring practices, avoiding a quarterback controversy for now between Patterson and junior Joe Fields that lingered for most of 2005. With the stress of winning the starting job off him, Patterson has more time to focus on leading the offense.

In the offseason, both offensive coordinator Brian Pariani and quarterbacks coach Major Applewhite left SU for other coaching jobs, and the Orange hired Brian White and Phil Earley to replace Pariani and Applewhite, respectively.

With the new coaches came an altered philosophy on the West Coast Offense.

While Syracuse rarely used the plays it ran during last season’s spring practices in its regular-season games, the offensive playbook is less complicated this time around. The plays White’s unit ran in the past four weeks will, for the most part, be the same plays it will use during 2006’s 12-game schedule.

Still, it’s easy to be skeptical of SU’s chances this year. The offensive line replaces three starters, the coaching staff has yet to settle on a starting running back and the passing game – like total offense – finished 115 out of 117 Division I teams last season. The Orange often saw opposing defenses bring eight men into the box, making it almost impossible to run the ball and daring SU to pass.

Running backs Paul Chiara, Curtis Brinkley and Kareem Jones have battled all spring for the starting spot vacated by Damien Rhodes. Jones was the second-leading rusher on SU last season, with 42 carries for 108 yards.

Even the Syracuse defense, the offense’s opponent Saturday, knows while it can’t take the offense lightly, it still has the upper hand based on last year’s performance.

‘I’m taking it seriously,’ SU linebacker Kelvin Smith said. ‘I love my offense, but I got to shut you down.’

Smith confidently said the defense would win the spring game again this year.

But the offense has improved this spring, Robinson said. Despite filling spots where starters graduated and adjusting to a new offensive coordinator, the offense has grown.

‘I think the offensive staff has done a good job of blending well together,’ Robinson said. ‘I think they’ve done a good job of taking the group and moving the ball. They’re working in new phases of the offense.

‘I see it in the quarterback position, I see it in the receiver position, I see it in the running back position. I see the physical skills, the physical techniques growing. The line, this is a group that when we started, it was like, ‘Uh-oh.’ But I’ve seen them grow.’

Published on April 12, 2006 at 12:00 pm