Pro Football Focus (PFF) analyst Josh Liskiewitz was kind enough to swing by TheWolverine and discuss some of the latest topics surrounding the Michigan Wolverines' football team prior to its game at Wisconsin, most notably involving redshirt sophomore quarterback Dylan McCaffrey, and senior signal caller Shea Patterson's oblique injury.
Offensive coordinator Josh Gattis admitted last week that Patterson injured his oblique in the first half of the season-opening 40-21 win over Middle Tennessee State, and that it has bothered him ever since.
“He’s been banged up a little bit the last two weeks with an oblique, something he’s struggled with since the first play against Middle Tennessee,” Gattis confirmed.
As we analyzed last week, the change in offensive play calling that ensued following the first half of the MTSU contest certainly supports that notion:
• Patterson in the first two quarters against the Blue Raiders: 16-for-25, 197 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions
• Patterson in the six quarters (and two overtime sessions against Army) since: 20-for-33, 213 yards, zero touchdowns and no interceptions
The nagging oblique injury (which is defined as one of the outermost abdominal muscles, extending from the lower half of the ribs around and down to the pelvis) would serve as an obvious explanation as to why Patterson's pass attempts decreased so drastically following the first two quarters against Middle Tennessee State, a sentiment that Liskiewitz echoed to a tee.
