Kornacki: Patterson Getting It Done with Efficiency and Flamboyance
11/10/2018 11:40:00 PM | Football, Features
By Steve Kornacki
PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- Shea Patterson has been so efficient in the passing game and so shrewd in his run-pass option decisions. He slices and dices opponents by "taking what they give us" and generating touchdown drives.
Patterson breaks the spirit of defenses by consistently pulling rabbits out of the hat with third-down passes, and he had six beauties in that department Saturday (Nov. 10) in leading the University of Michigan to a 42-7 win over Rutgers.
He completed 18-of-27 passes for 260 yards with three touchdowns and nary an interception, running his streak to 128 throws without a pick.
Patterson has thrown one interception in Big Ten play. One. That was on a ball tight end Zach Gentry tipped high before Maryland's Darnell Savage Jr. picked it off.
Patterson throws on the run, across his body, from the pocket, and his location doesn't seem to matter. He's just accurate. And the degree of difficulty in this game was high. Patterson threw into a swirling, 18-mph wind that made the 43-degree temperature at game time bone chilling. Making matters worse was the fact that the No. 4-ranked Wolverines weren't running as effectively as they had been in recent games.
But Patterson delivered: on passes and in the win column.
It's what he does, and it's a big reason why Michigan (9-1, 7-0 Big Ten) has all its goals in front of it with two games to play.
"He was really playing tonight," said Wolverines coach Jim Harbaugh. "He does everything that you ask him to. That was a really tough night to throw the ball, and I remember back to my days at Soldier Field (with the Chicago Bears) and some of those windy conditions. But he made some throws that were just unbelievable. He put it in the right spot with the wind blowing, swirling.
"That throw he made to Oliver Martin on the run was great. The ones to the left, the third-down conversions, and also our receivers did a great job of catching the ball. It was not an easy night to catch the ball. There were tough elements there. They really did a good job of catching the ball -- Gentry, Nico Collins, Donovan (Peoples-Jones), Oliver (Martin). And the offensive line protection was really terrific all night. It was really impressive, and they were doing a good job of containing our run game.
"But the throw-and-catch part was really difficult in this game, and our guys did that at as high a level as you can do it in terms of throwing the ball and catching it."
Martin
Harbaugh played professionally in the Windy City, and Patterson was asked how difficult these winds were to deal with as a passer.
"In the first half, it was really pretty tough," said Paterson, who threw for 155 yards and one touchdown before halftime. "The second touchdown to Nico was a little tough, but the receivers did a heck of a job.
"It all starts with the O-line. They did a heck of a job protecting. There was one time I had to get out of the pocket when something broke down today. We're just taking what they give us."
Patterson isn't about tooting his own horn, and so I asked defensive end Rashan Gary to do that for him by sharing what makes Patterson so tough to defend in practices.
"You can't fluster him," said Gary. "In practice, I like talking, and I'm in his ear chirping. But it doesn't seem to faze him. When he first got here, he was on a roll-out pass and I thought I had him, but he put on the jets and got to the sideline, threw a touchdown. So, practicing against Shea, I don't feel like I'm going to go against another quarterback like that all year, and he's been getting us ready as a defense."
Patterson smiled and added, "He can't hit me in practice. If he could hit me in practice, it would be a whole different story."
They shared a laugh together.
It was funny but also reflected the reality of what great players going against great players in practices brings to games.
"He pushes me every single day," Patterson said of Gary. "Rashan talked about how I push him, but it's the same thing. Iron sharpens iron, and I'm just so proud to be part of this team and see progression every single week."
Collins
Peoples-Jones
Patterson, a junior transfer from Ole Miss, kept moving the chains on third-down plays.
He scrambled to his left on third-and-four to throw across his body to Donovan Peoples-Jones down the sideline for seven yards before Michigan's go-ahead second touchdown.
Patterson zipped a pass to Collins for 10 yards on third-and-six, and then on third-and-seven found Collins wide open in the end zone for a 36-yard touchdown that made it 21-7 at the half.
On the opening drive of the third quarter, Patterson showed poise under a heavy rush on third-and-nine to put the ball up where only Gentry could catch it in tight, one-on-one coverage for 21 yards down the middle. It was third-and-seven later in that drive when Patterson rolled left again before dropping a 32-yard completion into the hands of Peoples-Jones. Two plays later, he rolled right and hit Martin for a 16-yard touchdown.
Patterson hit DPJ for 26 yards on a slant route on third-and-eight midway through the third quarter before missing Grant Perry on third-and-10 later in that drive. That made him six-for-seven on third-down passes in the game. Hey, nobody's perfect.
"I'm just taking what they gave us," said Patterson. "We worked hard on the game plan all week, and receivers did a great job of getting into the open space."
Taking what you're given doesn't sound exciting, but it's effective. It's all about watching endless video, practicing for what you anticipate, and then having the proper plays called while choosing the best options at the line of scrimmage and beyond.
Choosing wisely leads to long drives, touchdowns and victories.
Paterson had one more pass to throw in the game, and it was a perfectly placed back-shoulder throw to Collins for a 10-yard TD. Patterson's night was over on the final play from scrimmage of the third quarter.
He was poised from start to finish.
"That feel and pocket awareness -- where the quiet spot is," said Harbaugh. "He looked really good, as good as he's ever looked tonight in the pocket, not panicking, moving subtly and getting to the quiet spot.
"With spatial awareness, he's really gifted in that area."
He's exactly what Harbaugh's been looking for in his starting quarterback.
Patterson has completed 67 percent of his passes for 1,927 yards with 17 touchdowns and three interceptions. He's also run the ball quite effectively but chose not to against Rutgers.
He's a finalist for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award and a semifinalist for the Davey O'Brien Award -- both for top quarterbacks. He's also a semifinalist for the Walter Camp and Maxwell player of the year awards.
Patterson is a playmaker who protects the ball, and that's all any coach can ask for. Factor in his leadership and toughness and he's the complete package.
