Playbooks
Breakdown
Z Spot Goalline lines up out of a Singleback Bunch 11 personnel look and attacks the flat to intermediate window with a three-level spot concept on the right side. The inside receiver runs the corner route vertically up the seam (red route), while the two remaining receivers work an out and under combo, with one breaking flat to the sideline and the other sitting on the spot area underneath the corner route. On the backside, the lone receiver runs a deep in-cut across the field as a clearout or late-window option against zone rotation. This is a Cover 3 beater designed to stress the flat defender and hole player by combining a flat route, a spot/curl sit, and a corner route stacked in the same third, with the primary read starting on the spot sitter underneath before working up to the corner route if the flat defender jumps the shallow route.
Defensive Reads
Watch for Cover 3 shells with the corner sitting outside, this leaves the spot and flat combo wide open underneath for an easy completion. If the defense shows Cover 1 or Cover 0 with no deep safety help, the corner route up the seam becomes the biggest explosive play threat. Key the flat defender post-snap, if he widens with the flat route the spot sitter will have a clean throwing lane underneath him. Beware of a hard inside blitz or nano blitz look from the bunch side, since the quarterback needs a full progression read and extra rushers can collapse the pocket before routes develop. Man coverage with a linebacker in a lurk spot underneath can bait the quarterback into a risky throw on the spot route, so check the middle of the field before committing to that read.
Usage Tips
Use this near the goalline or in short yardage red zone situations where Cover 3 and Cover 1 are common defensive calls.
Presnap, identify the flat defender and hole player, if the corner shows outside leverage on the bunch, the spot sitter should come open quickly underneath.
Hot route the backside receiver into a quick out if you see man coverage with no safety help over the top, since the deep in-cut needs time to develop.
Pair this play with Z Mesh Goalline in the same set to give defenders a similar initial release look before breaking the concept differently, keeping linebackers and corners guessing.
Combine with HB Slam or HB Dive on early downs to set up defenders expecting a run look, then hit Z Spot Goalline off a similar formation to catch aggressive box defenders cheating up.
