Playbooks
Quick Reference
Breakdown
Spot Option is a classic Cover 3 beater run out of Pistol Bunch TE with 11 personnel. The bunch releases two receivers on deep drag routes stacked at different depths to the same side while the inside bunch man runs an option route that reads the underneath defender and settles or breaks outside based on leverage. The backside X on the line runs a vertical to hold the deep defender, and the RB releases from the backfield on a swing/flare route to the flat as a checkdown and outlet against blitz. The primary read starts with the option route underneath, then works to the two drag routes crossing the field, with the RB flare as the final outlet.
Defensive Reads
Watch the linebacker assigned to the bunch side before the snap, if he is shallow and squatting on short routes the option route will break outside for extra separation. Key the flat defender post snap, since Cover 3 defenses rotate a corner or safety underneath and that man determines whether the drags or the option route come open first. If you see two deep safeties rotating hard to the play side, expect a Cover 2 or Cover 4 shell that clogs the drags, so user the shallow crosser to bait a jump and net the flare route open. Man coverage with no safety help over the bunch is where this play struggles most, since the option route has no natural rub help and can get chased down. A disguised blitz with the Mike stepping up killeaes the RB flare option, so if you see linebackers crashing downhill pre snap, get rid of the ball to the option route immediately before the pocket collapses.
Usage Tips
Presnap identify if the linebacker over the bunch is walked up or sitting deep, since that tells you how the option route will break. Against Cover 3 or Cover 1, key the option route first because it settles in the soft spot between the underneath zone and the flat defender. If the defense shows two high safeties before the snap, hot route the option route to a slant or speed up the drags to attack the seams before rotation. Use this play on second or third and medium since the drags take time to develop and you need a clean pocket. Pair this with HB Dive or HB Zone earlier in a series to set up light boxes, then come back to Spot Option once the defense starts cheating a linebacker into the run fit. Sequencing this after Stick or Cross Drag from the same set keeps the defense guessing between quick game and this deeper option concept.
