Playbooks
Quick Reference
Breakdown
Mtn PA Spinner is a play-action shot play out of Shotgun Tight Y Off with 11 personnel that sells a run fake before releasing three vertical stems into the secondary. The outside receiver runs a deep vertical to stretch the top of the coverage while the two inside routes work a spinner concept, cutting under and across the field on a deep in before turning back upfield, designed to hold linebackers and safeties on the play fake and then attack the void behind them. This is a man beater at heart, since the crossing spinner routes create natural separation against man leverage, though the vertical on the outside also gives you a zone beater shot if the safety bites on the run action. Primary read progression starts with the deep outside vertical for an explosive shot, then works back to the spinner routes crossing underneath as the play-action holds the second level.
Defensive Reads
Watch for a single high safety shell pre-snap, since Cover 1 or Cover 3 with aggressive run support gets exposed on the deep outside vertical route. If linebackers step up hard on the play-action fake, the spinner routes crossing underneath should come open quickly against man coverage. Beware of Cover 4 or Cover 2 shells with safeties staying deep, as this can take away the vertical shot and force you to rely solely on the underneath spinner concept. Post-snap, key the flow of the middle linebacker, if he bites on the run fake and vacates the middle of the field, the crossing route sitting down behind him becomes an easy completion. User-controlled defenders lurking in the shallow crossing lanes can jump the spinner routes, so be ready to reset to the deep vertical if you see a defender sitting in that window.
Usage Tips
Run this on early downs (1st and 10 or 2nd and short) when defenses are keying run to maximize the play-action hold on linebackers.
Check safety depth pre-snap, if you see a single high safety cheating toward the boundary, take the shot on the deep outside vertical route immediately.
Use the motion tag before the snap to identify man versus zone coverage based on how the defense reacts, then hot route the spinner routes to sit down against zone if the underneath defenders sink too deep.
Pair this play in a sequence with Mtn Spinner HB Inside or Inside Zone to sell the same run action pre-snap and keep the defense guessing between run and shot play.
Avoid calling this on 3rd and long since the deep developing routes take time to clear, exposing you to interior pressure if the protection is not clean.
