Playbooks
Quick Reference
Breakdown
Mtn Slot Flood is a flood concept out of Shotgun Bunch TE that overloads one side of the field with three levels of routes. Pre-snap motion brings a bunch receiver across to stack the coverage, then the flood side gets a deep out breaking route, a corner route sitting behind it, and a flat route underneath, while the backside runs a comeback and the running back releases to the flat on the opposite side for an outlet. This is a Cover 3 beater by design (it is even tagged as one) since it stretches the cornerback and outside linebacker vertically and horizontally on the same side, forcing a defender to choose between the flat and the corner route. Primary read progression starts with the deep out/corner combo on the flood side, works down to the flat route underneath, and comes back to the backside comeback or check-down to the running back if the flood side is taken away.
Defensive Reads
Key the cornerback aligned over the bunch at the snap, if he sinks with the corner route the flat is wide open underneath. Watch the flat defender and outside linebacker depth pre-snap, a shallow linebacker signals he is sitting on the flat route and the corner behind him will be the answer. Post-snap, track any user-controlled defender jumping the flat or the underneath crosser since that is the biggest threat to this concept in competitive play. This flood beats Cover 3 and zone shells that ask one defender to cover both the flat and the corner route. It struggles against Cover 4 or Cover 2 with two deep defenders who can split the flood, and against aggressive man blitzes that get quick pressure before the deep routes develop, so watch for the nano blitz look pre-snap and be ready to check into the flat or running back outlet.
Usage Tips
Use the pre-snap motion to identify if the defense rotates or bumps a defender, this tells you if you are facing man or zone coverage before the snap. Against Cover 3, trust the flood side full progression since the corner route and flat route stack the same defender and one of them will be open. Against man coverage, hot route the flat route runner into a quick out or speed out to create instant separation off the bunch traffic. Use this on early downs or third and short to medium since the flat and corner combo gives a high floor with the deep comeback as a big play backup. Pair this with Mtn TE Corner or Mtn Fork Y-Corner in your play-calling sequence since both use similar bunch alignment and motion, keeping the defense guessing on which route wins the flood before the snap.
