Playbooks
Quick Reference
In 2 playbooks
Breakdown
Ohio Triple Cross lines up in Shotgun Doubles Y-Flex with 11 personnel and floods the field with three horizontal crossing routes stacked at different depths. The backside X runs a deep dig that crosses the field, the Y-Flex works a deep crosser that breaks upfield into a corner route, and the slot runs a shallow drag underneath while the HB releases into a flat route as a check down. The RB stays in initially to help protect before releasing, giving the quarterback a layered crossing concept that stresses zone defenders horizontally and creates natural picks against man coverage. The primary read progression starts with the deep crosser breaking to the corner, works down to the intermediate dig coming across the field, and ends with the shallow drag and HB flat as the outlet against a blitz.
Defensive Reads
Watch for cornerbacks pressed at the line pre-snap, since man coverage gets exploited by the natural picks created by the stacked crossing routes. Identify robber or lurk defenders sitting in the middle of the field post-snap, as they can jump the shallow drag or intermediate dig if the quarterback stares down the crossers too long. Look for two-high safety shells pre-snap, which can bracket the deep corner route off the crosser and force the quarterback to work the ball underneath instead. Key on linebacker depth at the snap: shallow zone drops from linebackers can undercut the drag route, so use the HB flat as a checkdown if the underneath area gets clogged. Beware of blitz packages that bring extra rushers off the edge, since the RB releasing late into the flat can get picked up quickly by a spying linebacker if the defense times the blitz well.
Usage Tips
Use this against teams that lean on man coverage since the layered crossers create natural rub picks that spring the underneath drag and slot routes wide open.
Check the safety alignment pre-snap: if you see two high safeties sitting deep, prioritize the intermediate dig since the corner route on the deep crosser will have less room to work with.
Hot route the HB to release immediately as a flat route if you anticipate a blitz, this gives the quarterback a fast answer against pressure looks.
Pair this play with Curl Flats or Stick from the same set to keep defenses guessing between quick game and this deeper crossing shot, forcing linebackers to respect both the shallow drag and the underneath curl reads.
Run this on second and medium to second and long situations where the defense may sit in zone shells expecting a shorter throw, since the crossers stress the seams between zone landmarks.
