Oregon Football: 5 Overreactions You Will Hear from Oregon's Spring Game

With the spring game now behind the Oregon Ducks, the players will have wrapped up spring practice and will begin to work out on their own. In the mean time, Ducks fans will continue to breakdown and analyze every part of the spring game. 

Anytime you have this much time between a spring scrimmage and the real deal, fans will get worked up about what they saw in a game that didn't even feature a cohesive unit since the teams were drafted to be fair. 

As the summer starts to creep up on us, here are five overreactions you will be sure to hear during the long wait for September. 

Running Game Was Not Effective

People are certainly going to overreact to the lack of success that De'Anthony Thomas and Kenjon Barner had during the spring game. Unless you watched with your eyes closed, you should realize that both were limited. The fact that Thomas got a few touches like he did was shocking. 

What people need to focus on is the success that other backs who did get the majority of the carries had. Also, keep in mind that the offensive line was split up for this scrimmage, and you did not see a true starting front five.

The Return Game Looked Soft

Much like when taking a look at the running game, the same principles are being considered for the return game. While kick and punt returns failed to generate any big plays, the Ducks were not running with their starters and were giving a chance to some young guys to step up and make big plays. 

As we get closer to the regular season and into the first couple of games, Ducks fans will get a better view of what this team will look like when they face their bigger challenges against teams like Washington and USC. 

The Receiving Group Is Amazing

For Oregon fans, we are not used to having receiving groups that are game-changers. Coming into 2012, Ducks fans are on edge about the quarterback position and the receivers. 

During the spring game, many of the Ducks receivers ran good routes and got themselves into position to make big plays. One thing that was noticeable was this group did not display the drops that we saw last season. 

While it was nice to see them make plays, it is still yet to be seen if this group can be consistent and spread a defense out vertically, something that will be key for the Ducks all year long. 

Bryan Bennett Took a Huge Step Back

The one downside of closed practices this spring is the only impression that fans will get of players is during the spring game. During the game, Bennett looked jumpy and looked like a guy who wanted to run through a wall and win the job right then and there.

Luckily for Ducks fans, Chip Kelly gets to see him every day in practice, and based on Bennett's body of work, this race is far from being over.

Marcus Mariota Is the Next Dennis Dixon

While Bennett looked uptight and appeared to be feeling the pressure, Marcus Mariota looked like a guy who is cool and calm and ready to perform.

And perform he did. 

Mariota looked sharp and handled the offense well. He was able to move the team up and down the field and was effective with both his arm and legs. He also was inaccurate at times and appeared to not be working through his passing progression all that much. While his debut was more than fans could ever ask for, Mariota still has some things to work out before he can be anointed the chosen one.