Clayton Tune’s spray chart against SMU shows a glimpse of why Dana Holgorsen is so high on him. The game plan called for working intermediate routes and taking a few deep chances. 13 of his 30 intended targets were between 10 and 20 yards, including six completions thrown 5+ yards and in the middle of the field.
As a reminder, we chart how far the ball is thrown and not the ultimate distance of a play:
In his three starts, the game plan has changed quite a bit. He went from easy, safe throws vs. UNT to more vertical vs. Cincinnati. Here it is game-to-game in gif form:
And here’s his total throws static:
Tune’s attempts, completions, and TD numbers are pretty similar to D’Eriq King’s through three games. There is a difference in yardage and INTs: King through fewer picks while Tune has thrown for more yards. Here’s the stat breakdown in their first three games this season:
King – 42/77 with 4 TDs and 1 INT. 434 yards passing.
Tune – 43/80 with 5 TDs and 4 INT. 715 yards passing.
The yardage difference is largely due to the fact that Tune is significantly better beyond 10 yards. Through 3 games, D’Eriq King had only completed 7 passes beyond 10 yards. Excluding balls thrown away, he was just 7/30 past 10 yards (23%) while Tune is 17/39 (44%).
Tune matches King’s total completions downfield just with throws outside the left numbers. Tune is 7/15 down the left side (but only 3/11 down the right sideline).
King had just two completions beyond 15 yards whereas Tune has 10. In the gif below, “through 3 games” is King’s first three starts (OU, PV, Wazzu).
In his first three games, King showed his sweet spot to be within 6 yards of the LOS; that’s where half of his attempts were thrown. Tune’s sweet spot extends out to the 13-yard line.
The charts show something that has been an issue for me. In Dana’s system, QBs throw too many balls down the sideline for my taste. Speedsters like Marquez Stevenson cannot use their athleticism to their full extent with those throws. Stevenson and Singleton need to be in space.
One more slight issue: the 4th quarter. Tune is 10/25 with 2 TDs, 3 INTs, and 2 sacks in the fourth quarter. He was 3/4 vs. UNT – meaning he’s 7/21 in the last two games with 3 picks.
Hopefully, that can be cleaned up as he gets back into game shape after 3 weeks of not practicing.
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