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Quick Reference
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Breakdown
Mtn HB Slip Screen is an HB screen out of Shotgun Y Off Trio Close with pre-snap motion bringing a receiver across the backfield before the snap. The diagram shows two vertical clear-out routes from the outside receivers designed to pull cornerbacks and safeties deep, a shallow drag underneath from the motion man to occupy an underneath defender, and the offensive line releasing to set up a wall of blockers in front of the HB as he slips out into the screen lane. The primary read is the HB out of the backfield: the QB looks to freeze the defense with the vertical clear-outs, then dumps the ball to the HB behind the developing screen wall for a blocker-in-space play. This is a zone beater at its core, designed to punish defenses that drop into deep zone coverage and vacate the underneath area where the screen develops.
Defensive Reads
Watch the defensive line pre-snap: if you see edge rushers crashing hard off the ball, this screen is designed to exploit that aggression by letting them run themselves out of the play. Key the linebackers after the snap. If they sit and read instead of flowing to contact, they can blow up the screen before the blocking wall forms. As the user defender, spy the HB immediately after the snap instead of biting on the vertical routes upfield, since the ball is coming out quick to the screen. Man coverage with underneath defenders manned up on the motion man is the biggest counter, since it removes the natural pick and forces the screen blockers to work in tight quarters. Disciplined zone drops that keep a linebacker or nickel defender sitting in the short middle to intermediate area will sniff this screen out before the wall develops.
Usage Tips
Call this against defenses showing two-high or three-deep zone shells since the clear-out routes stress those exact defenders and open the underneath screen lane.
Use the pre-snap motion to identify man versus zone: if a defender follows the motion man across the formation you are likely facing man coverage and should consider audibling out of the screen.
Pair this with Mtn Inside Zone or Power O earlier in a drive to get aggressive linebackers flowing hard downhill, then hit this screen to make them pay for overpursuit.
Save this for third and short or second and medium situations where the defense is more likely to blitz or sell out against the run, since blitzing linebackers take themselves out of screen defense.
Sequence this after Mtn PA X Over or Mtn PA Cross Switch so the defense respects play-action first, softening their instinct to read screen quickly.
