Playbooks
Quick Reference
In 14 playbooks
Breakdown
Mtn Snag Under is a Snag concept built out of Bunch Spread Nasty, with a motion tag that shifts the bunch alignment before the snap. Off the diagram, the outside receiver runs a deep corner route stretching the sideline, the middle bunch receiver settles into a snag/hitch sitting underneath, and the inside receiver clears out to the opposite flat on a shallow crossing route, while the tight end or slot man runs a flat route underneath to the same side as the corner. This is a classic Cover 3 beater because it floods one third of the field with three levels (corner, snag, flat) forcing the deep defender to pick between the corner and the flat, and the primary read progression goes from the corner route to the snag sitting underneath to the shallow crosser as the checkdown.
Defensive Reads
Check the cornerback depth on the flooded side pre-snap, since a soft corner alignment signals Cover 3 or Cover 4 and tells you the corner route is live. Watch the flat defender after the snap, if he sinks with the corner route the snag route underneath will be wide open. Man coverage with no safety help over the top on the corner route is a shut down look, since the deep route can be undercut and jumped by a trailing corner. Beware a robber or lurk defender sitting in the shallow zone, since he can undercut the snag route if he reads the quarterback's eyes early. A blitzing linebacker crashing the flooded side signals man or zero coverage, which means the quick game (snag and flat) becomes the answer instead of holding for the corner route.
Usage Tips
Motion the bunch receiver pre-snap to identify if the defense rotates or bumps a defender, which reveals man coverage versus zone.
If the corner and safety on the flooded side hold their zone drops, the snag sitting underneath the corner route becomes the easy answer against Cover 3.
Use this on second and medium to third and short since the flat and snag routes give quick, high percentage throws underneath.
Pair this with Mtn Slot Under or Mtn Slot Hitch from the same set to keep the same formation look while attacking different levels, keeping defenders guessing on run fits versus pass drops.
Hot route the shallow crosser into a deeper drag if you see man coverage, since it can pull a linebacker or nickel across the field and create separation against tight man technique.
