Playbooks

Mtn Bench Spacing

Shotgun·Wing Flex Offset·12

Quick Reference

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Breakdown

Mtn Bench Spacing is a horizontal spacing concept run out of Shotgun Wing Flex Offset with 12 personnel, designed to attack zone coverage by stretching underneath defenders from sideline to sideline. The concept combines a bench route (deep out breaking to the sideline) with underneath spacing routes at hitch and flat depths, creating natural high low reads against zone drops and picking apart soft spots in Cover 3 and Cover 4 shells. The primary read progression starts with the bench route against off coverage cornerbacks, then works down to the intermediate spacing routes if the deep out is capped, making this a zone beater first and foremost.

Defensive Reads

Check the cornerback alignment before the snap, off man or zone leverage corners give the bench route room to break open at depth. Read the flat defender first after the snap, if he widens with the running back or drifts outside he is opening the underneath spacing window for an easy completion. Watch linebacker depth at the snap, shallow drops mean the intermediate spacing routes will sit in soft grass, deep drops mean the bench route has more room to work outside. This concept struggles against Cover 2 with a hard corner jam since the bench route gets reroute and disrupted at the top of its stem. Beware of user controlled defenders sitting in the flat or lurking underneath, they can jump the spacing routes if the quarterback stares them down too long, so work through progressions with eye discipline.

Usage Tips

Use this play on second and medium to third and short situations where defenses are more likely to sit in zone shells rather than bring pressure.

Identify the coverage shell pre snap by checking safety depth, if you see two deep safeties with off corners this is a green light to work the bench route to the sideline.

Hot route the underneath spacing routes to sit down in soft zone windows if the linebackers are dropping to intermediate depth rather than staying shallow.

Pair this play with Mtn Inside Zone to keep defenses honest against the run and set up play action shots later in the drive out of the same formation and personnel look.

Sequence this concept with Mtn Mesh Spot or Ohio Spacing to give the defense multiple spacing looks that all hold underneath defenders in place while attacking different zone voids.

Avoid calling this against aggressive man press corners since the spacing routes lack immediate separation leverage against tight coverage.

Other Plays in Wing Flex Offset