Playbooks

Z Shallow Cross

Shotgun·Bunch Y-Flex·11
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Quick Reference

FormationShotgun

In 1 playbook

Franchise Offense SlotteamOffense

Breakdown

Z Shallow Cross out of Bunch Y-Flex is a man beater built around a shallow crosser working underneath the bunch traffic to create natural rubs and separation against man coverage defenders trying to fight through the wash. The Z runs the shallow drag while the bunch releases create combo routes higher up the field, giving the quarterback a clear low to high progression. Primary read starts with the shallow crosser, then works to the intermediate crossing route, and finally climbs to the deep route if the defense sits on the underneath stuff.

Defensive Reads

Pre-snap, check if the safeties are showing two high or rotating to one high, since Cover 2 and Cover 4 shells force you to rely on the deeper crossing route rather than the shallow drag Watch the flow of the linebackers after the snap, if they run with the shallow crosser in man coverage you have an easy completion, if they sink into zone drops you need to reset your eyes downfield User lurk defenders sitting in the shallow zone are the biggest threat to this concept, if you see a defender spying the crosser lane, hold the ball a beat and look to the underneath backside option instead Cover 3 sky and Cover 3 cloud with an aggressive nickel or slot corner can jump the shallow route early, so be ready to climb the progression quickly rather than forcing the first read Blitz heavy looks like a nano blitz off the edge will pressure this play fast since the shallow route takes time to develop, so have a quick check to a hot route or throw the shallow immediately off the snap if you diagnose the blitz pre-snap

Usage Tips

Attack man coverage first since the bunch alignment naturally picks defenders on the shallow crosser, making this one of the best answers to Cover 1 and Cover 3 man match looks

Check the middle linebacker depth pre-snap, if he is sitting shallow in a Tampa 2 or robber look, hold the ball and let the crosser work to the opposite hash before hitting him

Use hot routes to convert the backside receiver into a quick out if the corner is playing hard inside leverage, this gives you an outlet against aggressive press man

Pair this play with Mtn Double Cross or Mtn Cross Out from the same set so the defense has to respect multiple crossing concepts and cannot sit their linebackers on the shallow route

Best called on second and medium or third and short since the shallow crosser gets easy yardage after the catch versus man and can still pick up chunk yards versus zone if the flow opens a crease

Other Plays in Bunch Y-Flex