Playbooks
Quick Reference
In 13 playbooks
Breakdown
Mtn Speed Dig Under is a bunch formation pass concept out of Shotgun that uses a pre-snap motion to shift the bunch look before the snap. Post-snap, the outside receiver runs a deep dig across the middle while the inside bunch receiver clears vertically to the corner, and the two remaining receivers work an under route and a flat route to the opposite side, creating a horizontal stretch underneath the dig. There is no visible blocking assignment shown beyond the pass protection, confirming this is a drop-back man and zone beater rather than a run or screen. The primary read progression starts with the deep dig sitting down in the middle void, then works down to the under route crossing the field, and finally to the flat route as the checkdown against a hard blitz.
Defensive Reads
Watch the safety alignment pre-snap, if you see two high safeties holding depth the dig route should have a clean throwing lane in the middle of the field once the corner route clears out the deep defenders. Key the linebacker depth after the snap, if the middle linebacker sinks too deep on the dig he opens up the underneath crosser for an easy completion, so a shallow linebacker drop is critical to taking away the primary read. Man coverage on the motion receiver is a strong indicator the defense is in a man scheme, which means the dig route should be your primary target since it is designed to create separation against man defenders crossing the field. User a lurk defender in the shallow middle zone to jump the under route, this is the biggest post-snap threat that can bait the quarterback into a turnover if the dig is covered. A disguised blitz off the edge can collapse the pocket before the dig fully develops, so if you see extra rushers walked up pre-snap, be ready to hit the flat route quickly as your outlet instead of holding for the deeper route.
Usage Tips
Use the pre-snap motion to identify if the defense is playing man or zone, if the motion man gets followed by a defender you know it is man coverage and the dig should win against a linebacker or slower defender crossing the field.
This play excels on second and medium to third and long since the dig route needs time to develop and cross the field before the quarterback needs to reset his eyes downfield.
Hot route the flat route into a deeper out or speed out if you see the defense sitting in a shallow zone with a linebacker spying that area, this opens up more separation for the underneath checkdown.
Pair this play with Mtn Mesh Cross or Mtn China Cross in the same set to keep the defense guessing between mesh concepts and dig concepts out of the same bunch look, forcing linebackers to hesitate on their crossing route responsibilities.
Against zone heavy defenses, user the deep dig receiver manually as he crosses the field so you can sit him down in the exact void created by dropping linebackers rather than letting the AI run through the route.
