As you know that there are amino acids with same class. I mean there are set of hydrophobic amino acids , threre are hydrophilic., charged, etc.
So try to substitute amino acids in your analysis process and figure it out that the structural confirmation still shows lower global minima energy value . Try to simulate your environment to make sure that protein structure formed is stable after mutation .
The common amino acids when we substitute (mutate) the structure and still thy mutation has no major impact in the structural confirmation then those amino acids are called as substitutes specific to that structure.
The patterns u find for specific class of proteins are referred as substitutions patterns which implies that for example ,replacement of glycine in a keratin protein for two different species has no structural impacts ( consider it as an example)
I will call set of hydrophobic amino acids as in substitution patterns.
I hope I am right...
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