Shea Patterson’s clean pocket and throwing on run statistics through Week 4

Michigan quarterback Shea Patterson has now played four games wearing maize and blue, and his numbers have remained consistent when he has had a clean pocket and throws on the run.

I’ve been updating these numbers after every week and will continue to do so throughout the season.

Totals through Week 4

Patterson went 9-of-12 for 79 yards and 1 touchdown against Nebraska when he had a clean pocket. Those numbers bring his season clean pocket totals up to 33-of-42 (78.6%) for 444 yards, 6 TD’s and 1 INT.

The past two weeks, Patterson has not thrown on the run much. That appears to be a concentrated effort to get him more reps passing from the pocket and making his offensive line protect him. The o-line has done a good job protecting Patterson the past two games.

Patterson threw only two balls on the run versus the Cornhuskers, going 1-of-2 for 15 yards. Through four games, Patterson is 16-of-19 for 202 yards when throwing on the run.

What’s to come

I expect Patterson to start throwing on the run more in weeks to come, but what Harbaugh is doing schematically has varied week to week. The variance in how much he throws on the run will leave future opponents guessing as to whether Patterson will be a predominantly pocket-passer on a given-week, or be on the move frequently.

Either way, through four games if Patterson throws on the run or he’s given a clean pocket, he can do damage. Of course, stiffer opponents are ahead.

Previous Patterson passing summaries

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3