Playbooks

Mtn Slot Mid Screen

Shotgun·Trey Open HB Str·11

Quick Reference

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Breakdown

Mtn Slot Mid Screen is a screen play out of Shotgun Trey Open HB Str that gets the ball to the slot receiver working underneath the second level with a wall of blockers building in front of him. The offensive line and adjacent receivers set up screen blocks to spring the slot man once he settles into the middle void, making this a zone beater designed to punish teams sitting back in soft zone coverage or dropping into cover 3 and cover 4 shells. The primary read is simple: the QB looks to the slot receiver on the delayed screen release as the first and only real progression, only bailing off it if the play is jumped immediately.

Defensive Reads

Pre-snap, identify if the defense is in a two high shell with linebackers backed off the line, since that cushion is exactly what this screen exploits. Watch for a Mike linebacker or nickel defender sitting in a hook zone with eyes on the backfield, because a disciplined zone defender who reads screen quickly can jump the throw for a big loss. Post-snap, key on user controlled defenders spying the middle of the field or lurking in the shallow zone, as a smart user player baiting the QB will sit and wait to undercut the screen route. This concept gets shut down hard by aggressive man blitzes and nano blitz packages that collapse the pocket before blockers can set their screen, so avoid calling it against known blitz-heavy defensive playbooks. It beats soft cover 3 and cover 4 zone drops best, especially when linebackers flow with initial run action or bite on any play-action mesh point from earlier calls in the series.

Usage Tips

Call this out of Trey Open HB Str when you see the defense showing zone shells with linebackers backpedaling hard at the snap, since the natural cushion is what makes this screen hit. Use pre-snap motion or a hard count to bait linebackers into blitzing, because a delayed blitz off the edge or up the middle actually opens more room for the screen to develop behind the rush. Best run on second and medium to third and short when defenses expect a conventional pass and drop into zone rather than crashing downhill in run support. Pair this with RPO Zone Alert Smoke or RPO Peek Bubble earlier in a series so the defense starts respecting quick perimeter throws, which slows linebacker screen recognition on this call. Avoid calling this against aggressive man press teams that like to blitz off the snap, since a fast interior pressure look can blow this up before blockers get set.

Other Plays in Trey Open HB Str