Playbooks
Quick Reference
Breakdown
Z Spot out of Shotgun Split Close (20 personnel) is a classic Cover 3 beater built on the spot concept. The diagram shows the outside receiver running a corner route to clear the deep third, the tight end (red route) settling into the flat area with a quick pivot after an initial hitch, and the slot receiver running an underneath spot/settle route into the vacated hole behind the linebackers. On the backside, the far receiver runs a vertical dig/curl breaking outside, giving the quarterback a two-way go away from the trips concept. The primary read starts with the spot route sitting down in the zone window, then works to the flat, and finally to the backside breaking route if the underneath windows are clogged.
Defensive Reads
Read the middle linebacker depth at the snap, if he sinks too deep into a Tampa 2 style drop the spot route will have a clean throwing lane underneath him. Watch the flat defender, in Cover 3 he has to choose between the flat route and the spot runner settling behind him, creating a natural conflict you can exploit with timing. Identify any user-controlled defender lurking near the intermediate zone, since a smart user can jump the spot route and bait a costly interception if you stare it down. Against Cover 4 or Cover 2 Man, the corner route occupying the deep third can get taken away easily, so be ready to check down to the flat or backside breaking route instead. If the defense blitzes and shows man coverage, the flat route becomes the quickest outlet since the underneath defenders are removed from their zone landmarks.
Usage Tips
Pre-snap, check for two deep safeties or a single high safety to confirm if you are facing Cover 3 or Cover 4, since this concept is designed specifically to exploit the hole in Cover 3 zone behind the linebackers.
If the defense shows man coverage, hot route the spot runner into a quick out or use motion to create natural rub leverage against man defenders.
Use this on third and short to medium distance situations where the spot route sitting down at the sticks becomes an easy conversion throw.
Pair this call with Mesh Spot or Pivot Dig from the same set so the defense has to respect both quick game answers and the deeper dig concepts, forcing linebackers to hesitate on their zone drops.
Snap the ball quickly against blitz-heavy defenses since the spot and flat routes develop fast and give you a built in answer against pressure looks.
