Playbooks
Quick Reference
Breakdown
Mtn Outside Zone is an outside zone run play out of Shotgun Y Off Trio Wk with a jet/orbit motion man crossing the backfield before the snap to add horizontal misdirection to the front side. The line flows laterally with zone steps while the HB presses the edge and reads his blocks from the playside tackle out to the alley defender, cutting inside if the edge is sealed or bouncing outside if the flow overpursues. The two outside receivers run vertical clear out routes to occupy corners and safeties, so the primary read progression is HB one cut off the playside double team or reach block, with the motion man serving as a lead blocker or extra gap threat on the perimeter.
Defensive Reads
Watch the linebacker flow at the snap, if both linebackers flow hard playside with the zone steps you have a cutback lane behind the center, if they stay home and read their gaps the play is limited to the frontside alley. Key the safety over the top of the motion, a two high shell that rotates down into the box post snap signals run support and you should expect the play to be squeezed at the line of scrimmage. Man coverage on the outside receivers with a linebacker chasing the motion man usually means one fewer defender in the box, making this an efficient gap scheme run against Cover 1 or Cover 3 man variants. This play struggles against gap exchange run fits like a 3-4 odd front with disciplined edge defenders who stay square and force the ball back inside into pursuit, and it is vulnerable to a run blitz off the edge that beats the reach block before the HB can make his read. If the defense shows a heavy blitz look with the second level crashing downhill immediately, expect the cutback lane to disappear and be ready to check to a quick pass or draw counter from the same set.
Usage Tips
Use pre snap motion to identify if the defense is in man or zone, if the second level defenders follow the motion man across the formation you are getting man coverage and can expect the alley to be less crowded on the cutback. Run this on early downs, first and second and short to medium yardage, to keep the defense honest and set up your play action shots later in the drive. Hot route the backside receiver into a quick drag or slant if you see a defender sitting in the backside window, this gives you a checkdown answer against teams that crash hard on outside zone. Pair this with Mtn PA Deep Over or PA WR In from the same set since both plays start with the identical motion and formation look, forcing linebackers to respect the run fake before they commit to their zone drops. Against aggressive fronts that stack the box, bounce this outside quickly since the frontside double teams create natural cutback lanes if the defense flows too hard, but versus light boxes trust the interior double team and stick with the designed track for four to six yards.
