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Quick Reference
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Breakdown
Mtn Triple Slants is a trips-side quick passing concept built to attack man and zone coverage with hard, downhill breaks. The three receivers to the trips side run staggered slants (a short slant from the inside slot, a mid-depth slant from the outside slot, and a deep slant from the outermost receiver) that stack the same passing lane at different depths, while the backside X releases on a vertical go route up the sideline. There is no run action shown, this is a straight dropback pass with the trips slants serving as the primary read progression from shortest to deepest and the backside vertical as a big-play alert if the defense sells out on the slants.
Defensive Reads
Pre-snap, check if the defense shows Cover 3 or Cover 4 with soft corners over the trips, since the staggered slants will find easy throwing windows underneath those shells. Watch the flat defender and underneath linebackers to the trips side, if they sit and read the quarterback instead of getting depth, the middle slant window closes fast. Man coverage with no safety help over the top is the biggest liability against this concept because the natural stagger creates a rub that beats press and off man alike. Look for a robber or lurking linebacker sitting in the shallow zone, that defender can jump the shortest slant if the quarterback stares it down too long. A single high safety who bites down on the trips side leaves the backside go route exposed, so defenders must respect run-off help before crashing down on the underneath routes.
Usage Tips
Use pre-snap motion out of Trips X Nasty Off Wk to identify if the defense is playing man or zone before the snap, since the trips bunch reveals blitz rotation and coverage shifts quickly.
Progress your read from the shortest slant out to the deepest slant, working through the stagger so you always have a throwing lane even if the underneath defenders jump the first route.
Against man coverage, throw the shortest slant with anticipation since the natural rub from the staggered releases creates instant separation.
Save the backside go route as your explosive shot play if the safety cheats toward the trips side, this is a great way to punish teams that over-rotate to stop the slants.
Pair this with Quick Fork Zig or Quick Short Post from the same set to keep defenses guessing between quick game and intermediate shots off similar formation looks.
