Playbooks
Quick Reference
Breakdown
Mtn Inside Zone lines up out of Shotgun Wing Slot Wk with 12 personnel, putting two TEs on the line and a wing attached to the formation before a pre-snap motion shifts the backfield look. The diagram shows the classic inside zone blocking scheme with the offensive line stepping in unison and the HB taking a direct downhill path through the read gap indicated by the red arrow. This is a run play designed to attack light boxes, with the primary read progression starting at the play side double team and working through the first true bubble created by the zone steps, letting the ball carrier press the line and cut off the flow of the linemen.
Defensive Reads
Watch the play side linebacker depth before the snap, if he is stacked tight behind the double team he can crash the read gap fast. Identify single high versus two high safety shells, this run hits best against one high fronts with fewer second level defenders filling. Key the defensive tackle alignment on the play side, a shaded nose can blow up the double team and force a quick cutback. Post snap, look for user controlled defenders flowing hard to the play side, that opens the backside cutback lane behind the zone flow. Watch for a nano blitz off the edge, since inside zone blocking assignments can be slow to pick up a fast second level defender shooting the play side gap.
Usage Tips
Use pre-snap motion to identify if the defense is running with the motion man, which tells you if you are facing man or zone coverage before the snap.
Check the box count before the snap and only run this against 6 or fewer defenders in the box for a favorable numbers advantage.
Pair this with Mtn Read Option or Mtn Buck Sweep out of the same set so the defense cannot key on zone blocking flow alone.
On early downs, this play punishes defenses sitting in two high shells with light fronts, so call it on first and second down to stay ahead of the sticks.
If the defense shows heavy blitz looks pre-snap, consider hot routing the TE to a quick flat or checking to an RPO variant like RPO Zone Peek from the same set.
