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Breakdown
Mtn PA Flood is a play-action flood concept out of Shotgun Trey Open HB Str that overloads one side of the field with three vertical stems at different depths. Off the play fake, the outside receiver runs a deep corner route, the inside slot climbs a vertical seam, and the flanker on the line sits down on a shallow flat route, creating a high-low-and-out stretch that stresses a single zone defender or rotated safety. The backside runs a dig and out combo while the RB chips protection before releasing, and this is a clear Cover 3 beater designed to attack the deep third defender with the corner-flat-seam flood. Primary read progression starts at the corner route, works down to the seam sitting behind linebackers, and checks down to the flat if the deep defenders sink.
Defensive Reads
Key the deep third defender on the flood side before the snap, since a single high safety alignment signals Cover 3 and tells you the corner route will have a soft window behind the corner. Watch the flow of the linebackers after the play fake, because if they bite hard on the run action the seam route will be wide open in the vacated middle zone. Identify if the defense shows two deep safeties pre-snap, which usually means Cover 4 or Cover 2 and forces you to prioritize the underneath flat and seam reads instead of the deep corner. Look for a user-controlled defender lurking in the shallow flat or seam area, since aggressive human players will often jump the underneath routes and bait a checkdown throw. This play struggles against Cover 4 quarters coverage with disciplined linebackers who sink into the flood zones, so avoid calling it against defenses that consistently show two-high shells with zone drops underneath.
Usage Tips
Use pre-snap motion to identify if the defense is playing zone or man, since the flood side receiver's release will tell you if a corner is pressing or bailing into a deep third. This play shines on second and long or third and medium when defenses are more likely to sit in Cover 3 or Cover 4 shells to protect against the deep shot. If you see man coverage with no safety help over the top, work the seam route immediately since it becomes a natural man beater against linebackers in coverage. Pair this call with RPO Zone Peek or RPO Peek Bubble earlier in a series so the defense respects the run action and bites on the play fake, opening up the flood routes. Hot route the flat defender's man to a quick out if you diagnose a Cover 2 shell, since the underneath flood route can get picked off by a sinking corner in that coverage.
