Playbooks
Quick Reference
Breakdown
RZ Mtn PA Crossers is a play-action pass out of Pistol Strong 21 personnel that uses pre-snap motion to shift the box before selling a run fake. The route concept stacks two crossing routes underneath (red and light blue) working opposite directions across the field, with a deep yellow corner/go route stretching the field on one side and a blue out route breaking to the flat on the other, creating a natural high low and horizontal stretch on zone defenders. The primary read progression starts with the deep yellow crosser breaking the top of the coverage, then works down to the two crossing routes underneath which serve as the man beater combo against man coverage, with the blue flat route as the checkdown or hot route answer versus blitz.
Defensive Reads
Pre-snap, key the safety depth and alignment to determine if the defense is in a two high shell that can handle both crossers or a single high shell that leaves the crossers open underneath. Watch the motion man closely, if a linebacker or defensive back follows him across the formation it signals man coverage and confirms the crossing combo as the go to read. Post-snap, identify if linebackers step up on the run fake, since their aggressive pursuit opens throwing lanes for both crossing routes and the deep yellow route behind them. This play struggles against a hard inside blitz that gets home before the play-action fake finishes, so check for stacked box alignments or blitz indicators like linebackers creeping toward the line pre-snap. Cover 3 with a sound underneath zone drop can take away the crossing routes, so if you see a single high safety with three deep defenders, prioritize the deep yellow route or blue flat route instead.
Usage Tips
Use the motion pre-snap to identify if the defense is playing man or zone based on whether a defender follows the motion man across the formation.
If the linebackers bite on the play-action fake, immediately look to the deep yellow route or the crossing routes sitting behind them for a big play window.
Hot route the blue flat route to a quicker option like a slant if you diagnose a blitz, since it is your built in checkdown against pressure.
This play works best on second and medium or third and long situations near the red zone where defenses are more likely to sit in zone shells expecting a run.
Pair this play with HB Power or HB Off Tackle earlier in a series to sell the run fake harder and make defenders bite quicker on the play-action next time you call Mtn PA Crossers.
