Some skills can’t really be taught, the player has the ability within him, or he does not.

This is the case when it comes to a quarterback who can throw an accurate football on the run. Not many can do so consistently.

Through two games, Michigan QB Shea Patterson appears to be rock solid when he scrambles out of the pocket to throw.

(Here’s a video of Patterson from a few years back displaying his throwing prowess)

For the rest of the season I am going to track Patterson’s statistics with a clean pocket, and I will also track how he fares when he decides to roll out of the pocket. I started the clean pocket tracking last week and set the criteria.

Clean pocket numbers through two weeks

• Patterson went 11-of-14 with a clean pocket for 146 yards against Notre Dame with a clean pocket.
• He had another strong showing when his o-line gave him time versus Western Michigan, where he went 5-of-6 for 65 yards and 2 touchdowns.
• On the year, Patterson is 16-20 for 211 yards and 2 touchdowns. That’s an 80% completion percentage
• Also worth noting: Two of Patterson’s four incompletions were dropped passes.

Throwing on the run

Patterson has been very impressive anytime he decides to get out of the pocket. Whether it’s by design or it is instinctual, the comfort level Patterson has throwing off-balanced throws is sky-high.

Patterson often has to torque his upper body whilst he throws off-balance (this also requires strong legs). Throwing on the run is like a golf swing somewhat; your hips must be fluid and be in sync with the rest of your body to get the ball to its preferred destination.

Against Notre Dame, Patterson was a perfect 9-of-9 for 105 yards any time he did a bootleg, rolled out of the pocket, or scrambled up and out of the pocket.

While he didn’t pass the ball as much against Western Michigan due to it being a blowout by the end of the first quarter, a couple darts were thrown that hit the bullseye.

Example #1

This is an incredibly hard throw that Patterson makes look easy.

Example #2

Now that throw is the definition of balling out. A beaut indeed. Most NFL starting quarterbacks can’t even make this throw.

Patterson finished the game against WMU completing 3-of-4 throws on the run for 40 yards.

Through two games, Patterson is 12-of-13 for 145 yards throwing on the run. I did not include a pass thrown away out of bounds in this statistic.

What makes his 12-of-13 even more interesting is how he has evenly distributed his passes on the run. 3 went to Grant Perry, 3 to Donovan Peoples-Jones, 3 to Sean McKeon, 2 to Oliver Martin, and 1 to Chris Evans. Opposing defenses will have no clue who Patterson is targeting when he’s throwing on the run (to this point).

Final Thoughts

This is still a relatively small sample size that needs further evidence, but all the evidence to this point would indicate more of the same will occur if Patterson throws on the run or is protected well by his o-line.

I am unsure what the final tally of these statistics will look like, but after evaluating his film I can safely say Patterson has high-level arm talent.

Patterson will face stiffer tests in the months to come and it will be interesting to see how games against the likes of Wisconsin, Michigan State, and others impact these impressive statistics.