Playbooks
Quick Reference
In 2 playbooks
Breakdown
Mtn X Spot is a Cover 3 beater out of Shotgun Split Twins Offset that uses pre-snap motion to help the QB identify the coverage shell before the ball is snapped. Off the diagram, both outside receivers run vertical routes up the numbers to clear out the deep thirds, while the underneath route (red) works a quick pivot/spot route to settle into the void the corner leaves behind, and the motion man (blue) runs a shallow drag across the field to hold the flat defender and give the QB an outlet. The primary read progression starts with the deep corner route on the boundary side to see if the CB bites on the spot route, then works down to the spot sit route in the void, and finally checks the drag as the safety valve against zone or if the underneath window closes.
Defensive Reads
Pre-snap, check safety depth and corner alignment on the boundary, a two high shell with corners playing off suggests zone drops that the spot route will exploit in the flat to curl window. Post-snap, watch for the corner sinking into the passing lane immediately after the snap, that is the tell for Cover 3 and confirms the spot sit route will be open underneath. If the defense shows man coverage with the motion defender mirroring across the formation, abandon the spot read and attack the vertical routes downfield since the underneath window will be clogged. Watch for user controlled linebackers sitting in the shallow drag lane, a smart defender will lurk that route and jump the spot concept, so have your QB ready to reset to the vertical routes if that happens. Blitz packages that send extra rushers off the edge can disrupt the timing of this play, so check protection or hot route the drag route into a quick option if you see pressure showing pre-snap.
Usage Tips
Use the pre-snap motion to diagnose man versus zone before the snap, if the defender follows the motion man across the formation you are likely facing man coverage and should look to the vertical routes for a big play shot.
Against Cover 3 or Cover 4 shells, trust the spot route sitting in the flat to corner void, this is the built in zone beater and the QB should be reading that window first if the corner bails deep at the snap.
Hot route the drag route into a deeper crossing route on 3rd and long situations to attack the intermediate middle of the field when linebackers are dropping shallow.
Pair this play with RPO Alert Swing or RPO Zone Bubble in your called sequence to keep defenses honest on run fits before dialing up Mtn X Spot to punish overaggressive linebackers biting on run action.
Best used on 2nd and medium or 3rd and short to medium, since the spot concept needs some cushion underneath but does not require a full field stretch like a true verticals package.
