Playbooks

Mtn Z Dig

Shotgun·Normal Off Close Wk·11
ComebackPostOutSpeed OutPass Play

Quick Reference

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Breakdown

Mtn Z Dig is a Shotgun 11 personnel dig-based passing concept designed to attack the middle of the field with a Z receiver dig route sitting behind the linebackers and in front of the safeties. The route combo mixes a deep dig with underneath and vertical clear-out routes to stress zone defenders horizontally while giving you a hard man beater on a natural rub or pick if the defense plays press man. Your primary read is the Z dig, working from the deep safety to the dig window, then progressing to the underneath checkdown or backside route if the middle is jumped by a robber or lurking linebacker.

Defensive Reads

Read the middle linebacker depth at the snap since a shallow drop from him signals he is sitting on the dig and you should look to the backside or checkdown instead. Check for a robber safety cheating into the box before the snap, which tells you Cover 3 or Cover 1 robber is likely sitting in the exact window the dig wants to sit in. Watch cornerback press alignment on the Z receiver since hard press man usually means the dig will win clean against man coverage without a sink defender to help. Identify Cover 4 quarters shells by safety width, since quarters defenders can jump the dig late if they read the quarterback's eyes, so use pump fakes or look off the deep safety before committing. This play struggles against disciplined Cover 3 sink zones with a rangy middle linebacker or against zone blitz packages that drop a extra man into the dig lane, so have a hot route or checkdown ready if you see those blitz indicators.

Usage Tips

Attack this play on second and medium to second and long when defenses are more likely to sit in zone shells like Cover 3 or Cover 4.

Pre-snap, identify single high versus two high safety alignment since the dig sits differently against Cover 3 sink versus Cover 2 or Cover 4 hard corners.

If you see man coverage indicators like tight press alignment on the Z, trust the dig to break open across the field, especially against Cover 1 or Cover 0 blitz looks.

Hot route the underneath route to a spot or curl if you are getting user lurk pressure from a linebacker sitting in the throwing lane of the dig.

Pair this play with RPO Peek Slant or RPO Zone Peek earlier in a series to get the defense conditioned to zone drops before hitting the deeper dig window for a big gain.

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