Playbooks
Quick Reference
In 14 playbooks
Breakdown
PA Deep Cross out of Shotgun Deuce Close (12 personnel) sells the run fake first to freeze linebackers before attacking downfield with a deep crossing route that stretches the field horizontally against man and zone shells alike. The deep cross works in tandem with an over route and an underneath flat or drag option, giving you a true three-level stretch off the play-action fake. Primary read starts with the deep cross working across the field, then progresses to the intermediate crosser sitting down against zone, with the checkdown underneath as your last resort against pressure.
Defensive Reads
Pre-snap, identify two deep safeties versus one deep safety to determine if you are facing zone or man coverage behind the play action fake. Watch linebacker depth at the snap. Linebackers who bite hard on the run fake open up the deep cross window immediately behind them. Post-snap, key any user-controlled defender lurking in the middle of the field, since a spying linebacker or safety can undercut the deep cross if he reads the quarterback's eyes. Cover 3 with a hard-charging strong safety on the run fake is the most vulnerable shell, since the deep cross exploits the vacated middle third. Man coverage with press corners and no safety help over the top can shut this down quickly if the corner sticks with the crosser through traffic, so be ready to check down against tight man alignments.
Usage Tips
Run this on early downs (1st and 10, 2nd and short) when the defense expects run based on personnel and formation tendencies, since the play action sell is most effective against aggressive run fits.
Check safety depth before the snap. Two deep safeties sitting at 10-12 yards signal you should trust the deep cross to work into the void behind the linebackers. A single high safety or safety creeping into the box tells you man coverage is likely, so key the crosser against man leverage instead.
If you see Cover 3 or Cover 4 shells, hot route the underneath drag into a shallow drag or spot route to give yourself a quick answer against zone drops while the deep cross clears out top.
Pair this play with Mtn Stick or RPO Read Mtn Stick earlier in a series to set up the same run action look, then hit PA Deep Cross once the defense starts biting on the play fake.
Avoid calling this on 3rd and long against zone-heavy defenses since the play action hold can eat into your throwing window versus a four-man rush with extra underneath defenders.
