Playbooks
Mtn Outside Zone is an outside zone run play out of the Shotgun Stack HB WK set, designed to get the HB to the edge behind zone blocking that flows laterally before the runner picks his crease. This is a run play, not a play-action or RPO, and it beats aggressive downhill defenses and light boxes by stretching the line horizontally, forcing defenders to fight through blocks or overrun the play. The primary read progression is backside cutback lane first, then the play-side edge, with the HB pressing the line of scrimmage before deciding to bounce outside or cut up inside the tackle's block.
Pre-snap, identify safety depth and count the box, if the strong safety cheats down near the line expect an eight man front that will outnumber your zone blocking. Watch linebacker depth and lean, defenders sitting too far off the ball or flowing hard to one side create the cutback lane this play is designed to exploit. Post-snap, key the play-side defensive end and outside linebacker reaction, if they crash down hard on the zone flow the backside cutback is wide open for a big gain. User-controlled defenders flying downhill to blow up the play at the mesh point are the biggest threat, so be ready to hit the cutback immediately rather than dancing behind the line. This play struggles against gap or man blitz fronts where defenders shoot upfield penetration gaps instead of flowing laterally, since that disrupts the zone blocking rhythm before it can develop.
Check the box count pre-snap and only trust this run against light boxes of six or fewer defenders since heavy boxes with eight in the box will win the numbers battle against your blockers.
Use the stack HB alignment to your advantage by reading the play-side flow of linebackers before the snap, if they are shaded hard to the strength you have a natural cutback lane already built in.
Manually control the HB after the handoff so you can press the line and set up the backside cutback instead of letting the CPU logic take the first crease it sees.
Pair this with RPO Zone Alert Screen and RPO Power Alert Screen in the same set so the defense has to respect the zone run every snap, making your pre-snap reads on the screen alert even more dangerous.
This is a strong early down call on first and second and short to medium yardage, and works well as a changeup after several reps of Mtn PA Shot or Mtn Divide to keep the defense honest on run fits.