Playbooks
Breakdown
Z Spot Dig out of Shotgun Tight Open runs a five man route concept built to attack Cover 3 and other zone shells. To the left the outside receiver runs a deep over route working from the backside all the way across the field while the slot receiver underneath him settles into a spot route in the shallow flat. On the right side the TE releases into a deep dig that sits over the middle of the field, the flanker (the red route) works an angle route breaking outside toward the sideline off the line of scrimmage, and the outside receiver on that side runs a flat route underneath. The primary read progression starts with the dig coming from the right since it settles into the void created by the spot concept on the other side, then works down to the spot and angle route combination underneath if the middle is capped.
Defensive Reads
Key the middle linebacker's depth at the snap, if he sinks too deep chasing the deep over route on the left, the dig route on the right will have a wide open throwing lane. Watch the flat defender on the right side, if he widens with the angle route or bites on the flat route, the quarterback can hit the dig sitting right behind him in the void. Against Cover 3, the strong safety rotating over the top is the key defender, if he cheats toward the deep over route, the dig has no help underneath. This play struggles against a hard inside blitz since the dig and spot routes both need time to develop, if the defense brings a nano blitz off the edge, expect the quarterback to be forced into the quick flat route as a checkdown. User controlled lurk defenders sitting in the shallow middle zone can jump the dig route, so if you see a user drop into that area post snap, take the deep over route or the angle route to the sideline instead.
Usage Tips
Use this play on second or third and medium when you expect zone coverage since the spot and dig combo is designed to sit in the soft spots of Cover 3 and Cover 4 shells.
Pre-snap identify if the safeties are showing a two high or one high shell, if it is one high with the corners playing off, the dig route will have a clean throwing window against the middle linebacker's drop.
If the defense shows man coverage, hot route the flat route on the right into a quick out or speed out to create instant separation since the angle route and flat route can get picked off by press corners in man.
Pair this play with Bench Z Spot or Mesh Spot in your play calling sequence so the defense sees similar route stems out of Tight Open and cannot key on the dig breaking across the middle.
On third and long, look to the deep over route on the left first since it stretches the field horizontally against zone drops that are focused on stopping the underneath spot concept.
