Harbaugh Wants Patterson To Take Safer Approach: "You’re Not A Running Back"

Jim Harbaugh appreciates Shea Patterson's all-around game as much as anyone, and was pleased with his performance in Michigan's season-opening win over Middle Tennessee State. 

Patterson threw three touchdowns in the first half, before a minor injury limited his workload the rest of the way. 

"I thought Shea had a great first half of the game," Harbaugh told the Jamie and Stoney Show on 97.1 The Ticket. "I saw a stat where Pro Football Focus said he was the top rated QB in the Big Ten after Week 1, and he really looked it. Where he was really good, throwing the ball downfield, made the big play, thought he was running and avoiding pressure really well. Against the blitz he was really good, as good as I’ve seen, picking up protection and redirecting and checking plays. 

"I was pleased with that. He had a little something he was working through and hopefully we can get him back to 100 percent for this ballgame, but he had a tremendous camp and it was great to see him get off to a really good start in the first game." 

That said, Patterson's daring style of play can sometimes get him in trouble -- like when he scrambled up field on the first play of the game, took a big hit and lost the football. Middle Tennessee would score shortly thereafter to take a 7-0 lead. Whether the hit played a factor in Patterson's injury is unclear, but it's not a risk Harbaugh approves of either way.

He wants to see Patterson make better decisions when he's using his legs. 

"The first play of the game is not the time to be making a run where you’re trying to avoid, turn, twist, dive for extra inches or extra feet or even extra yards as a quarterback," Harbaugh said. "The thing is, you’re not a running back. You’re not used to taking those kind of hits, you’re not used to being in that position, so you’re not great at it. There will be a time when you’re in the heat of the game and it’s critical to pick up a third down and you have to lower the head and do everything you can to get past the down marker.

"The other thing, the obvious one is, as a quarterback you’ll get hit places when you’re trying to fight for those inches or feet. It could be the old funny bone, and the arm may tingle for a few plays. That doesn’t affect a running back as much because he doesn’t have to come back and make a third down throw. You get hit in your hand or your finger or your hip or your thigh, anywhere as a quarterback, that affects what you have to do for your job. So it’s important for those two reasons, not to fight for inches but to get down or get out of bounds, so you don’t take those nicks and hits and also so you don’t lose the ball." 

Other highlights from Harbaugh's interview on 97.1 The Ticket. 

On the debut of running back Zach Charbonnet: "He had a great game in a first game. It truly did not look like a freshman back that was out there. We had been seeing all those things in practice, from pass protection to the way he ran the ball to the way he caught the ball. I thought the pass protection was outstanding, he had nine pickups himself. All the backs never made one mistake the entire game in pass protection, so that was great."
On Ambry Thomas' return after missing most of training camp with colitis: "Ambry Thomas was our player of the game. Had the interception, the fumble recovery, tackle for loss, made some nice, physical tackles. Just a great, great thing for everybody who loves Ambry, his family, his football family. We know what he went through in the summer, extended hospitalization, and just the mental toughness he had, the resilience, the courage, it was great to see him have that kind of ballgame." 
On the potential of sophomore defensive end Aidan Hutchinson: "He’s long, he's fast. He’s great. When he starts really using that length and batting balls down, that’s really going to be something, kind of the way JJ Watt has such a feel for that, because (Hutchinson's) got that kind of length to be able to do that."
On the challenges Army's run-heavy offense will present on Saturday: "The QB is a really shifty type of guy. I wouldn’t really call it straight-up burner speed, but he can make people miss and really executes the offense extremely well. This is one of those offenses that’s so good that even when you know what they’re going to do, they’re really hard to stop. ... You can even see in the Oklahoma game last year that Oklahoma knew what they were doing and their guys were in the right spots and they still had a hard time getting Army off the field.

"They’re so good, such an effective way to play offensive football. They don’t turn the ball over, they don’t beat themselves, sometimes they can chew up 42 minutes on the clock. A mistake by your offense affects the game, whether it’s a turnover or you don’t convert on a series or you give them good field position. Even (if you) back them up, they still have the ability now to make it a long drive because they’re so tough to get off the field. There’s a reason they went to triple overtime last year with Oklahoma and they won 11 games and they won their bowl game (70-14 against Houston)."