Playbooks
Quick Reference
Breakdown
Z Spot lines up in Pistol 12 personnel and attacks the underneath zones with a five man spot concept while the true X receiver runs a deep corner route to hold the deep third. From the diagram, the outside receiver to the left runs a quick out that sits at the sticks, the tight end on that side runs a flat route underneath it, the inline receiver over the ball runs a vertical corner route to clear out the deep zone, the slot receiver to the right runs a shallow crossing route back toward the formation, and the running back releases to the flat on the opposite side. This is a Cover 3 beater built to flood one side of the field with layered horizontal stems while occupying the deep defender with the corner route, and the primary read progression starts with the flat route underneath, works up to the out route sitting at the sticks, then comes back to the shallow cross before checking the running back in the flat as the outlet.
Defensive Reads
Key the deep third defender at the snap, if he stays flat footed reading the quarterback instead of retreating with the corner route, the underneath spot concept will have room to operate. Watch linebacker depth before the snap, shallow linebacker alignment signals they will jump the flat and shallow cross routes, which opens up the out route sitting at the sticks as the counter. Identify any user controlled defender lurking in the shallow cross window since a smart user can sit on that route and bait a turnover. This play struggles against Cover 3 Cloud or Cover 4 looks where the corner sinks and doubles the out route while the safety still has the corner route deep. Look for blitz packages that bring extra pressure off the edge, since the running back release to the flat becomes a hot read against overload blitzes and nano blitz pressure looks.
Usage Tips
Use this play on third and short to medium since the spot concept is built to convert against zone drops sitting underneath the sticks.
Pre-snap, identify if the defense is showing single high or two high safeties, this play is specifically designed to punish Cover 3 shells where the deep third defender has to respect the corner route.
If you see man coverage across the board, hot route the running back into a quicker option or check to a different play in the set like Curl Flats since man coverage can take away the layered spot combo.
Combine this with PA Boot Y Drag or PA Deep Cross earlier in a series so the defense respects the play-action shots, making the underneath spot concept even more effective against aggressive linebacker drops.
Watch for a user dropping into the shallow cross lane, if that user defender jumps the crosser, immediately reset to the flat route or the out route sitting at the sticks for a quick and easy completion.
