Playbooks

Jet PA Cross

Shotgun·Ace Offset·12
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This play belongs to no NFL team or scheme playbook, so it may not appear in the in-game builder.

Quick Reference

FormationShotgun

In 1 playbook

Franchise Offense 4thsunofoctOffense

Breakdown

Jet PA Cross is a play-action shot play out of Shotgun Ace Offset that uses jet motion to freeze linebackers before selling the run fake. The route concept features a deep crossing route as the primary read paired with an over route and a flood concept underneath, giving you a true man beater against man coverage since the crosser creates natural rub separation while also stretching zone defenders horizontally. Blocking is play-action protection with the jet man in motion selling outside run action, and the progression starts with the deep cross, works to the intermediate crosser sitting in the void, then checks down to the underneath flood route if both are covered.

Defensive Reads

Read the middle linebacker and safety depth at the snap, if they crash hard on the jet motion or run fake, the deep cross will be wide open behind them. Cover 3 with a sinking flat defender struggles to cover the deep cross since the corner is occupied with a deep third and the crosser sits in the seam. Man coverage with no safety help over the top gets beaten badly by the crossing route rubbing off underneath traffic, look for the corner trailing on the pick. Cover 2 shells with two deep safeties can squeeze the crosser late, so check the underneath flood route as your zone beater outlet. Watch for a spy or a linebacker sitting in the intermediate crossing lane, that is a lurk defender designed to jump this exact route and will bait a turnover if you force the throw.

Usage Tips

Use the jet motion pre-snap to identify if the defense follows the motion man, which tells you if you are facing man coverage before the snap even happens.

Best called on second and medium to long or third and long when defenses are more likely to sit in zone shells and bite on the run fake.

Hot route the underneath flood route into a flat route if you see Cover 2 to give yourself an easy zone beater outlet against the corner sinking deep.

Pair this with Inside Zone and HB Punch earlier in a series so linebackers respect the run fake and bite harder on the play-action, opening up the deep cross.

Against aggressive user blitzers, throw the deep cross quickly off the fake since the play-action protection can break down if extra rushers are not accounted for.

Sequence this after Quick Slants or Curl Flats to condition the defense to expect quick underneath throws, then hit the deep shot when they jump the short routes.

Other Plays in Ace Offset