Cade is impaired for sure. However, I personally believe a non-impaired Cade would only benefit this offense marginally. I know it sounds like a broken record, but this entire offense is predicated on offensive line play and it isn't very good. And hasn't been in quite some time and thus the massive drop off in offensive production. To go back a bit, Petras totally botched some throws, but he also made some good ones and hung in there knowing he was going to get destroyed on pretty much every passing situation.
I wrote about this a couple of years ago after the ISU game, if you can't run on and protect the quarterback with the defense only rushing 3 down lineman you are in trouble. Big trouble. PSU the other night had their way with 3 dlineman, both on the inside and on the outside. I don't care what your playbook is, none of it is going to work in this scenario. And when you have to use a 2 tight ends and a back to protect the QB against a 4-man rush, you could have Jerry Rice and Randy Moss as receivers and it wouldn't matter.
I continue to feel badly for Spencer in all of this, he didn't deserve the ridicule that he received.