Playbooks
Quick Reference
Breakdown
Mtn Snag Under is a Snag concept pass play out of Shotgun Bunch Spread with 11 personnel. Pre-snap motion collapses the bunch look, and at the snap the outside receiver runs a corner route to clear the deep third, the middle bunch receiver snags into a quick hitch at the sticks, and the inside receiver works an under route flat across the field underneath. The lone receiver away from the bunch runs an outside breaking route to hold that side of the defense, giving the quarterback a full-field progression that starts with the flat under route and works up to the corner. This is a zone beater built to attack Cover 3 by stretching the deep third defender vertically while sitting a receiver in the hole underneath.
Defensive Reads
Read the deep safety count before the snap, a single high safety confirms Cover 3 and tells you this concept has a clean vertical stretch on the sideline defender. Watch the flow of the linebackers after the snap, if they widen to trail the under route you have a natural throwing lane to the snag hitch sitting behind them. Key the cornerback depth on the corner route release, if he presses hard at the line the throw window on the corner shrinks and you should progress to the under route immediately. Be wary of Cover 4 or Cover 6 shells with two deep safeties since the corner route loses its vertical advantage and gets bracketed, check down to the under route in these looks. Watch for a linebacker blitz off the edge since the quick under route serves as a built-in answer against pressure, get the ball out fast if you see an extra rusher crashing downhill.
Usage Tips
Use the pre-snap motion to identify if the defense is playing man or zone, if the motion man is followed across the formation you are facing man coverage and should hot route the snag receiver into a quicker option.
This play is designed as a Cover 3 beater so look for a single deep safety alignment before the snap, that shell tells you the corner route will hold the deep defender and open the snag window underneath.
On third and medium to long, prioritize the under route first since it settles in the void left by a flowing linebacker, then progress to the snag hitch if the underneath defender sits.
Pair this call with Mtn Slot Hitch or Mtn Curl Flat Corner earlier in a series so the defense starts keying underneath routes, then hit this concept to attack the corner route once safeties creep up.
Against a user-controlled defender lurking in the shallow zone, throw the corner route on time since the deep third defender cannot cover both the flat and the vertical stretch.
