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Breakdown
H Shallow Cross out of Shotgun Doubles Offset Wk sends both outside receivers vertical up the seams to clear out deep coverage while the H runs a shallow crosser underneath from one side of the formation to the other. The slot receiver runs a quick in/drag that mirrors the shallow but stays shorter, and the backfield player runs an angle route underneath as a checkdown option, giving this the look of a classic shallow cross man beater with built in zone beater flood underneath. Primary read progression starts with the shallow crosser working across the field, then works down to the underneath angle route if the crosser is taken away by a shortened defender, with the two verticals serving as a window clear out or big play option against busted deep coverage.
Defensive Reads
Watch for user controlled defenders sitting in the shallow zone or lurking in the middle of the field, since a good user will jump the shallow crosser and undercut the route. Press man coverage on the outside receivers can disrupt the timing of the vertical clear outs, forcing the quarterback to hold the ball longer. Zone coverage with linebackers sitting at a shallow depth will clog the crossing route, so look for defenders dropping to a spot rather than chasing receivers man to man. Cover 3 or Cover 4 shells with safeties staying deep can be exploited if the shallow cross draws underneath defenders out of position, opening the angle route. Blitz packages that send extra defenders through the middle of the field can disrupt the shallow crosser's landmark, so recognize interior pressure pre-snap by checking linebacker depth and alignment.
Usage Tips
Pre-snap, identify if the defense is showing man or zone by checking if the slot defender shades inside or plays off, since the shallow crosser is the primary man beater against man coverage.
Use this play on third and short to medium situations where the shallow crosser can pick up the sticks quickly against man coverage or sit in soft spots against zone.
If you see a two high safety shell, key on the shallow cross versus zone defenders sitting underneath, working the angle route as your checkdown if the crosser is jumped.
Combine this play with Four Verticals and PA Digs from the same set to keep defenders honest, since the mirrored vertical releases on the outside look identical pre-snap.
Against aggressive user blitzes, get the ball out quickly on the shallow crosser since it is designed to beat man coverage in space before pressure arrives.
Pair this with RPO Peek Slant or RPO Alert Bubble on early downs to disguise your intentions before dialing up the shallow cross concept later in a drive.
