Playbooks
Quick Reference
In 2 playbooks
Breakdown
Mtn PA Portland is a play-action shot play out of Shotgun Y Off Trips Wk that uses pre-snap motion to shift the trips look and sell the run fake before attacking deep. The play action freezes linebackers and safeties on the mountain concept while a deep route stretches the field vertically as the shot play, paired with an intermediate breaking route underneath to hold off coverage rotation. Your primary read progression starts with the deep mountain shot route to see if the play fake bit and a safety cheated up, then works down to the intermediate crosser or breaking route if the top is capped, and finally checks down to the underneath option against a hard blitz.
Defensive Reads
Watch linebacker depth immediately after the snap because if they step up hard on the run fake, the middle of the field opens for the intermediate breaking route and the deep shot route behind it. Key the free safety pre-snap and post-snap since two high shells force you to check down quickly while single high alignments tell you the deep shot has a one on one matchup down the field. Identify man coverage by watching if a defender shadows the motion across the formation, which signals you can win with the deep route on a defensive back who has to fight through traffic. Recognize disguised blitzes by counting box defenders before the snap, since if the defense brings extra rushers off the edge you need to get the ball out on the underneath route before the pocket collapses. Beware of user-controlled lurk defenders sitting in the shallow middle zone who can jump the intermediate crossing route, so pump fake or double clutch to bait them before delivering the ball.
Usage Tips
Use pre-snap motion to identify man versus zone coverage before the snap since a defender following the motion man confirms man coverage and opens up your deep shot route. Look for single high safety shells presnap because this play thrives when there is only one deep defender to cover the vertical shot concept. Hot route the underneath checkdown to a flat route against known blitz-heavy defenses to give yourself an outlet if the play action fake does not get there in time. Call this on early down and medium to long yardage situations like second and seven or longer where defenses respect the run fake and bite on the mountain action. Sequence this with Mtn Y Cross and Mtn RPO Dive earlier in a series so the defense keys run action and linebackers get lazy stepping up, then hit them over the top with Mtn PA Portland once they overplay the quick game.
