Playbooks
Quick Reference
Breakdown
Mtn Replace is a route replacement concept out of Shotgun Spread Y-Flex with 11 personnel. Pre-snap motion brings a receiver across to stack the formation, and off the snap the outside receiver runs a deep corner while the inside slot man clears out with a corner route of his own to occupy the deep defenders. Underneath, the middle target runs a quick out to the flat that snaps back into a shallow drag, while the far side receiver runs a dig that breaks back toward the QB read window, replacing the vacated shallow zone once the flat defender bites on the corner routes. This is a zone beater built to attack the flat and hole defenders with the underneath drag and dig acting as the primary read progression, with the corner routes serving as clear outs.
Defensive Reads
Watch the flat and curl defenders at the snap since the drag and out combo is designed to sit in the void they leave when they widen to the corner routes. This play beats Cover 3 and Cover 4 zone shells because the corner routes stretch the deep defenders while the drag replaces the shallow zone. Man coverage with a physical underneath defender can disrupt the drag route timing, so look for press corners or a linebacker spying the middle of the field. Post-snap, be wary of a user lurking the shallow drag or spying the middle read since that defender can jump the route if the QB stares it down too long. A disciplined Cover 2 hole defender who does not bite on the corner route clear out will sit right in the drag and out passing lanes and take away the easy completion.
Usage Tips
Motion the receiver pre-snap to identify if the defense is playing man or zone based on whether a defender follows across the formation.
Key on the flat defender first since the underneath drag and out combo is designed to replace him once he widens with the corner route clear out.
Use this on second and medium or third and short since the shallow drag and dig give you a quick underneath answer against soft zone drops.
Hot route the backside dig into a deeper curl if you see a linebacker sitting in the drag lane, especially against Tampa 2 or Cover 3 sink shells.
Pair Mtn Replace with Mtn Sluggo Replace or Mtn Drive in your play sequencing so the defense has to respect both the deep clear outs and the quick underneath game, keeping linebackers honest.
