Playbooks
Quick Reference
In 2 playbooks
Breakdown
Cheat Slot Cross is a man beater out of Shotgun Bunch Wide that uses a deep crosser as its foundation, with the yellow route working from the bunch on a shallow drag into a wheel up the sideline, the light blue receiver clearing out on a deep out and up, and the red route running a deep crossing route from the opposite side of the formation. The far side receiver runs a corner route to occupy the boundary and hold safety help. Primary progression starts with the deep crosser (red) working across the field, then works to the wheel route (yellow) as a home run shot if the corner gets picked off in traffic, with the deep out (light blue) as a late outlet against zone drops.
Defensive Reads
Pre-snap, check safety depth and count defenders to the bunch side, since a rotated safety to the trips indicates zone coverage that favors the wheel route over the crosser. Watch for a defender aligned tight on the motion man before the snap, since that man defender following across the formation confirms man coverage and tells you the crosser is live. Post-snap, key the flow of underneath linebackers, since a linebacker sitting in the crosser's window signals zone coverage and shuts down the primary read, forcing a check to the wheel or deep out. User-controlled defenders sitting in the deep middle or lurking at the crosser's depth can jump the route, so be ready to climb the pocket and reset your eyes to the wheel route if you see a user closing on the crosser. Cover 3 with an aggressive underneath robber tends to bait quarterbacks into the crosser, so recognize that trap and hold the ball longer to let the wheel route develop behind it.
Usage Tips
Use pre-snap motion out of the bunch to identify if the defense is playing man or zone, since a defender following the motion man confirms man coverage and sets up the crosser to win easily against trailing technique.
Look to hit the deep crosser on early rhythm timing against man coverage, especially versus Cover 1 or Cover 3 man where the crosser creates natural rub traffic through the bunch.
If the defense shows Cover 2 or Cover 4 shells, progress to the wheel route since the natural pick action from the bunch alignment often springs it open behind zone drops.
This play hits best on second and medium to second and long, giving you a explosive crosser shot without full commitment to a deep shot on third down.
Pair this with Cross Screen or Curl Flat from the same set to keep defenses guessing between quick game and deep shot concepts, forcing linebackers to hesitate on their run fits and crosser drops.
