Playbooks
Quick Reference
Breakdown
Mtn PA Boot Screen is a play-action screen out of Singleback Deuce Close 12 personnel that uses a mountain motion pre-snap to shift numbers before the boot action hits. Off the fake, one outfield route climbs vertically and breaks back outside while another wheels straight up the seam, holding the deep defenders and safeties while the offensive line and a lead blocker set up a screen in the flat behind the fake. The primary read is the screen in the flat first, using the vertical seam and corner breaking route only if the defense sells out hard on the screen and the pocket blockers get beat upfield.
Defensive Reads
Watch the mountain motion defender before the snap, if a linebacker or defensive back follows him across the formation you are in man coverage and the screen should hit clean. Key the edge defenders and defensive ends after the snap, aggressive upfield rushers who ignore the flat are the biggest liability against this concept. Zone defenses that sink linebackers under the vertical routes but keep outside contain disciplined can shut down the screen lane, so check for a linebacker spying the flat. Man coverage with press corners jumping the seam or wheel route can bait the quarterback into a bad throw, so the screen read must come first. Blitz packages that send extra rushers off the edge without accounting for the screen blocker are the most vulnerable, since the fake pulls those defenders further upfield and out of position to recover.
Usage Tips
Use the mountain motion pre-snap to identify man versus zone: if the defender follows the motion man across the formation you are getting man coverage and the screen has a numbers advantage. Call this after running a few standard play-action boot passes so the linebackers and edge defenders are already keying on the pass-action fake and bite on the run-pass conflict. Best used on early downs or second and short when defenses are geared up to stop the run or crash down on play-action boots. Hot route the flat blocker to release slightly wider if you see aggressive edge defenders crashing hard upfield, since that widens the throwing lane for the screen. Pair this with PA Boot Corner Post or PA Boot Slide in the same drive so the defense respects the boot fake and starts biting on every play-action look, setting up the screen as the counterpunch.
