Grading the performances of both the offensive and defensive units collectively in the spring may be quite the subjective task for the Arizona football coaching staff.

But after Arizona’s first scrimmage of the spring Saturday at Arizona Stadium, offensive coordinator Sonny Dykes had no trouble evaluating the performance of his offense, and he made it known.

Following the scrimmage, in which a defense supposedly filled with uncertainties looked far more superior to its more experienced counterpart, Dykes raised his voice in anger toward players gathered around on their knees.

His apparent frustration came through in his speech, as he said it was “”embarrassing”” for him to watch the sloppy and lethargic play of his offense.

“”In the spring it’s the same thing, if the offense looks too good then you worry about the defense and if the defense looks too (good) then you worry about the offense,”” said Dykes, who is entering his second season at Arizona. “”The effort has got to improve (on the offensive side of the ball). … The thing we can’t have right now is guys that aren’t playing hard.

“”You are going to have some days when guys, for whatever reason, don’t play as good during the spring,”” Dykes added. “”The first couple of practices we were further along than I had expected and the last couple we haven’t been as good as I expected.””

It’s fairly hard to tell whether the offense was struggling or the defense was just playing exceptionally well, but if statistics don’t lie, defensive coordinator Mark Stoops has much to smile about.

In more than 15 offensive possessions, they were only able to reach the end zone once on a one-yard touchdown dive by running back Xavier Smith, who had 51 yards on 12 carries. Though the offense also tacked on two field goals, the defense held the more experienced side 13 of the 16 drives.

The offense gained a total 295 yards in the 88 plays it ran.

“”It is always give and take in the spring,”” Stoops said. “”It is hard for the entire staff to be happy after a scrimmage because somebody has to win and somebody has to lose.

“”The good thing (the defense) is doing is making the (offense) execute and work. We have been pretty fundamentally sound for the most part defensively, so I like the group. They are pretty eager, they are working hard and they are pretty good.””

Arizona’s offense seemed to have carried over some of its bad habits from last year, as it started off slow and didn’t get running on full cylinders until it was too late.

Smith made the correlation to both the Wildcats’ offense struggles early on in games and winning as a whole, as Arizona has made it a habit in recent years to lose games it probably shouldn’t early, then rebounding with big wins in November after it’s too late to be a serious contender for a bowl game. Arizona hasn’t made an appearance in a bowl since 1998.

“”We kind of started off slow and the coaches got mad,”” said Smith, who got the bulk of the carries because expected starter Nick Grigsby missed the scrimmage with an injury. “”We started off like we started off usually all of our games, slow, and then we try to step it up at the end.

“”It’s a big problem on this team because usually when we try to step it up at the end, it is too late to go to a bowl game.””

Nevertheless, the main interest of the coaches lies in the progression of their players heading into next season, and despite the offensive struggles, it was hard for them not to notice bright spots from both sides of the ball.

On the defensive side, the coaches found much to be pleased with, particularly with players who may be new to playing roles in 2008.

Among a few were linebackers Xavier Kelley and Adrian McCovy, both looking to factor into Arizona’s defensive plans for next year. Kelley had nine tackles (one for a loss) and McCovy had five tackles (half for a loss).

Senior linebacker Ronnie Palmer, this year’s defensive leader, had five tackles and a forced fumble.

“”Every time they are yelling at the offense it means we are doing something right,”” Palmer said. “”We’re not always in the right spots but we’re definitely making plays and going 100 percent, and that’s good.””

Offensively, a collection of youngsters and reserve players got their chance to show the coaching staff what they are made of.

Joe Reese, freshman running back and younger brother of receiver Terrell Reese, got his hands on the ball quite a bit, rushing for 37 yards on 11 carries while catching five passes for seven yards.

Quarterback Willie Tuitama was 30-for-39, passing for 150 yards and no interceptions.

“”I started to be a little more confident in my running,”” Joe Reese said. “”We need more leadership on this team, and I am not the type to do a little yelling. I just try to get it done on the field.””