Playbooks
Quick Reference
In 2 playbooks
Breakdown
Mtn PA Crossers is a play-action pass out of Shotgun Bunch Wide with 11 personnel that uses two deep crossing routes from the bunch side and an under route from the backfield to attack man and zone coverage horizontally. The play-action fake with the running back releasing on a shallow drag holds the linebackers, while the two bunch receivers cross deep at different depths, one breaking hard away at intermediate depth and the other stemming vertically before turning across the field. The primary read is the deep crosser breaking away first, working to the shallow drag underneath if the middle of the field is clogged, giving you both a levels concept and a scrape defender conflict built into the same design.
Defensive Reads
Pre-snap, check safety depth and alignment since single high shells invite the deep crossers to work into soft spots vacated by the rotating safety. Watch the linebacker depth at the snap, if they bite hard on the run fake it opens a big throwing window on the shallow drag underneath. Post-snap, key any user-controlled defender sitting in the middle of the field or lurking in the crosser lanes, that is the biggest threat to this concept and forces you to hold the ball and climb the pocket. Against man coverage, the natural crossing traffic creates rubs that should spring at least one receiver open, so read leverage of the defenders trailing across the field. Cover 3 and Tampa 2 shells with disciplined hook defenders can shut this down if the underneath defender sits patiently, so have a hot route or check ready if the drag is taken away immediately.
Usage Tips
Use pre-snap motion to identify if the defense is in man or zone before the snap, since the crossing routes create natural rubs that stress man coverage defenders trying to fight through traffic. Against zone shells, work the underneath drag as your first look because it settles in the void created by the two crossers pulling linebackers vertically. Call this on early downs or second and medium when defenses are more willing to sit in base zone looks, since the play-action fake needs run respect to fully open the crossers. Pair this with Mtn Inside Zone Split and Jet Pull Shallow earlier in a series so the defense commits to run support, making the play-action window bigger on this call. If you see a user spy or lurk defender sitting in the shallow drag lane, immediately reset your eyes to the deeper crosser breaking opposite the fake.
