Playbooks
Quick Reference
In 12 playbooks
Breakdown
Mtn PA Slide is a play-action pass out of Shotgun Tight Slots with 11 personnel that sells a run fake before releasing three vertical stems into the route concept shown. The outside receiver runs a deep comeback/slide route breaking back to the sideline off the play-action boot, while the middle route works a deep dig that sits down after crossing the field, and the inside route pushes vertically before breaking outward. The offensive line executes a run-blocking look to hold the linebackers before the QB rolls or sets to throw, making this a man beater against aggressive linebacker flow with the comeback and dig serving as the primary read progression against zone drops underneath.
Defensive Reads
Read the strong side linebacker depth before the snap, if he is sitting shallow expecting run he will bite on the fake and open the throwing lane to the dig. Watch for a user controlled defender flowing hard downhill on the play-action fake, that flow creates the exact window the slide and dig routes are designed to exploit. Identify single high versus two high safety alignment, single high tells you the dig sits in the middle void while two high tells you to prioritize the sideline comeback route. Against Cover 3 zone drops, the flat defender rotating out late can undercut the shallow break, so time the throw before he fully sinks. This concept struggles against disciplined Cover 2 or Cover 4 shells with linebackers staying at depth, since the underlying zone beater elements get taken away when nobody bites on the run fake.
Usage Tips
Run this on early downs when the defense shows run support in the box, since the play-action fake plays off linebackers stepping up. Check the middle of the field pre-snap: if you see a single high safety, key the dig route sitting down in the void behind the linebackers as your first read. Against two high shells, look immediately to the comeback route on the sideline since the corner will likely be playing off with less deep help over the top. Use motion pre-snap to identify man versus zone, if the defender follows across the formation you have a man beater with the comeback and slide concepts working away from trailing defenders. Pair this play in sequence with Mtn HB Draw or Mtn Inside Zone earlier in a series so the play-action fake off similar run action keeps linebackers honest and opens the underneath windows.
