Playbooks
Quick Reference
In 11 playbooks
Breakdown
Z Spot out of Shotgun Bunch is a classic Cover 3 beater built around a five-man spot concept. From the bunch alignment, one receiver runs a corner route to the flat, another sits down on the shallow spot route working underneath, and the third bunch receiver clears vertically up the seam to hold the safety. The backside receiver runs a hitch/curl to balance the field, and the running back releases into the flat opposite the bunch as a checkdown or hot route against pressure. The primary read progression starts with the spot route sitting in the hole of the zone, then works to the corner route stretching the flat defender, before checking down to the running back or backside hitch.
Defensive Reads
Key the flat defender first, since the corner route and spot route both attack that zone and force a horizontal stretch he cannot cover alone. Watch for a user-controlled linebacker sitting in the shallow spot zone, that is the biggest threat to jump the route and take it back for a house call. If the defense shows two-high safeties pre-snap and rotates to Cover 2 or Cover 4 after the snap, the corner route becomes tougher to complete, so be ready to check down to the running back in the flat. Man coverage with underneath pressure from a nano blitz is the toughest look for this concept, since the spot route has nowhere to sit and the quarterback has less time to progress through reads. Look for late safety rotation post-snap, if the safety cheats toward the seam release from the bunch, the corner route to the flat should be open for an easy completion.
Usage Tips
Pre-snap, look for a single high safety shell to confirm Cover 3, since this concept is designed to attack the flat/curl defenders in that shell.
Use motion across the formation to identify man versus zone before the snap, if the defender follows the motion man it is likely man coverage and you should switch your primary read to the corner route working to the boundary.
Hot route the running back to a quick flat release against overload blitzes to give the quarterback a fast answer versus pressure off the edge.
Pair this play with Bunch Verts or PA Divide Wheels in the same personnel and formation to keep the defense honest against both shallow spot concepts and shot plays.
This play works best on early downs or third and short to medium, since the spot route sits at a reliable depth for the sticks.
