Playbooks
Quick Reference
Breakdown
Mtn Flood is a three-level flood concept out of I Form Y Off Close with 21 personnel, and the diagram shows pre-snap motion sweeping across the formation into a bunch look before the snap. The flood combo stacks the boundary with a deep clear-out route up the sideline, an intermediate corner/out breaking route sitting underneath it, and a shallow drag crossing the field, while the backside receiver runs a deep comeback to hold the far cornerback. On the strong side a TE or slot runs a seam that angles into an out at the numbers, giving you a high low read on any zone defender responsible for that flat to deep quarter area. This is a clear Cover 3 beater built to flood one side of the field with three route levels, and the primary read progression starts with the deep flood route to see if it clears out the corner, then works down to the intermediate out, then checks the shallow drag as the layoff option.
Defensive Reads
Watch the flood side cornerback pre-snap, if he is aligned deep with outside leverage he is likely playing a deep third and vulnerable to the underneath out route sitting in front of him. Track the flat or hook defender responsible for the intermediate route, since a linebacker or nickel defender sinking too far off the line opens up the shallow drag as an easy checkdown. Identify single high safety shells like Cover 3 or Cover 1, since this flood concept is designed to overload one side and beat a single deep defender who cannot cover three levels at once. Cover 2 with two deep safeties can shut this play down if the flat defender jumps the underneath route while the safety rotates over the top of the deep clear-out route, so be ready to check down to the drag. Watch for a user controlled defender sitting in a lurk position near the intermediate route, since aggressive human players will often bait the quarterback into throwing the out route and jump the route for a pick.
Usage Tips
Use the pre-snap motion to identify if the defense rotates or adjusts, since a rotation to the motion side tips zone coverage and a lack of rotation often signals man.
Key the flat defender and the deep third corner on the flood side, if the corner bites on the underneath out route throw the deep clear-out route behind him for an explosive gain.
This play shines on second and medium to second and long when defenses are more likely to sit in zone shells like Cover 3 or Cover 4 to prevent the deep shot.
Pair Mtn Flood with PA Deep Read or Mtn PA Counter in your play sequence, since both plays hit similar landmarks off run action and will keep linebackers honest against the flood side.
If you see man coverage indicators like tight press alignment on the outside receivers, consider hot routing the drag into a deeper crossing route to create more separation against man defenders trailing from depth.
Snap the ball quickly once you diagnose zone drop depth, because the deep flood route needs a clean vertical release to stretch the corner before he can sink into his zone.
