Playbooks
Quick Reference
In 1 playbook
Breakdown
Mtn Y Stick runs out of Pistol Weak Slot Open with pre-snap motion bringing the slot receiver across the formation before the snap. The diagram shows a classic Stick concept to the closed side: the outside receiver runs a corner/flag route up the sideline, the Y (tight end) sits down on a stick route at the sticks, and the motion man releases underneath into a shallow drag along the line of scrimmage. Backside, the far receiver runs a vertical seam to hold the safety while the No. 2 receiver clears out on a flag route, giving the QB a horizontal stretch read from the flat drag up through the stick to the corner. This is a man beater and zone beater built to attack the flat-to-curl area, with the stick route as the primary read and the corner and vertical routes serving as the window-shot answers against soft coverage.
Defensive Reads
Watch the slot corner or nickel defender before the snap, if he chases the motion man across the field it signals man coverage and the stick route becomes an easy high-percentage throw. If a linebacker widens with the motion man's shallow drag, that opens a soft spot in the underneath zone for the stick route to settle into for the QB. Cover 3 with a hard curl-flat defender can undercut the stick route, so check if that defender sinks into the throwing lane before releasing the ball. Two deep safety shells with press corners can bracket the corner route on the outside, so be ready to reset to the backside vertical seam or check down to the drag. A blitz off the edge or a nano blitz up front will collapse the pocket quickly, so identify extra rushers pre-snap and be prepared to get the ball out fast to the stick or drag as a built-in answer.
Usage Tips
Use the pre-snap motion to identify man versus zone before the snap, if the defender follows the motion man across the formation you are getting man coverage and can key the stick versus a hard-sitting linebacker.
Progression starts with the stick route from the Y, if the flat defender jumps the drag or widens with the motion man, hit the stick sitting in the vacated zone for an easy conversion.
Against zone shells with a deep half safety, look to the backside vertical seam to hold the safety and open a throwing lane to the corner route on the boundary.
This play excels on third and short to third and medium because the stick route provides a built-in conversion option even if the defense rallies quickly.
Pair Mtn Y Stick with Mtn Flood and Mtn Z Under from the same set, the similar motion and formation look disguises which concept is coming and forces linebackers to hesitate on their zone drops.
