Playbooks

Mtn Curl Flat Corner

Shotgun·Spread Y-Slot·11

Quick Reference

FormationShotgun

In 2 playbooks

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Breakdown

Mtn Curl Flat Corner is a mountain concept out of Shotgun Spread Y-Slot that stacks a corner route over a flat route on one side while running a curl to the boundary, creating a natural high low read against both man and zone coverage. The corner and flat combo forces a defender to choose between the underneath flat threat and the deep corner breaking away from him, making this a strong zone beater against Cover 3 and Cover 2 shells, while the curl on the backside gives you a quick sit down answer versus off man coverage. Primary read progression starts with the corner route to see if the flat defender bites, then works down to the flat, and comes back to the backside curl as the check down against pressure or a covered corner.

Defensive Reads

Watch the flat defender post snap, if he sinks with the corner route you have an easy throw to the flat receiver sitting underneath him. Key the corner back or safety over the top, if he stays flat footed reading run or bites on the flat, the corner route will be wide open behind him. Against Cover 3, the deep third defender to that side has to choose between the corner and any vertical threat, so watch for him to widen and open up the intermediate window for the curl route. Man coverage with underneath linebacker help shuts this down quickly since the flat and curl routes have less room to operate, so check for banjo or match coverage calls presnap by watching linebacker depth and hip alignment. Beware of a nano blitz or overload pressure package from the defense, since the corner route takes time to develop and a fast interior rush can force you to check down before the deep route ever comes open.

Usage Tips

Identify the deep safety alignment before the snap because two high shells tell you the corner has a better chance to sit in the void between the flat and deep defenders, while one high shells mean you should prioritize the flat to corner high low read immediately.

Hot route the backside curl into a dig or speed out if you see the defense rolling into a hard boundary rotation, since that curl becomes your quick answer against blitz looks and off corners.

This play pairs well with Mtn Y Cross and Mtn Slot Out in your call sequence, since all three share the mountain shell but attack different levels, keeping the defense guessing on tendencies once you have shown the corner flat combo a few times.

Use this on second and medium to second and long situations where defenses are more likely to sit in zone shells, since the corner route needs a beat to develop and works best when the pass rush is not immediately collapsing the pocket.

Against man coverage, look to the flat route first if your slot receiver has a clean release, since the corner route from a stacked or bunch look often draws a natural pick against tight man technique.

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