Playbooks
Quick Reference
Breakdown
Y Shallow Cross out of Empty Base Flex Shotgun spreads five eligible receivers wide with no back in the backfield. The Y runs a deep shallow crosser from the left slot all the way across the formation underneath, the outside receiver from that side sits down on a hitch/comeback near the sticks, and the three receivers to the right all vertical release, with the outermost of that trio bending into a deep out toward the boundary. Read progression starts with the shallow crosser working left to right, then the hitch as your check down, and finally the outside vertical as the shot play if the safety bites underneath, making this primarily a man beater that exploits leverage and picks against man coverage while still holding zone drop defenders with the vertical stem.
Defensive Reads
Identify if the defense is in man coverage pre-snap by checking corner alignment and safety rotation, since Cover 1 or Cover 0 man leaves the shallow crosser wide open against trailing defenders. Watch the middle linebacker or nickel defender at the snap, if they immediately widen to carry the shallow crosser, that confirms man coverage and you should trust the crosser to separate. Against zone coverage such as Cover 3 or Cover 4, look for underneath defenders sitting in the shallow's crossing lane, this indicates a zone shell that clogs the crosser and forces you to the hitch or vertical routes. Key the deep safeties post-snap, if they stay deep and let the shallow develop, expect a zone drop scheme that bites on the hitch route instead. Beware of blitz packages that bring extra rushers off the edge, since the empty backfield offers no chip protection, forcing a quick decision to the shallow crosser or hitch before the pocket collapses.
Usage Tips
Use this against known man coverage teams since the shallow crosser is designed to rub off traffic and separate from trailing defenders in man match ups.
Pre-snap, check for man alignment such as press corners or a single high safety showing Cover 1, which tells you the shallow will have room to work across the field.
If the defense shows two high safeties and off man or zone, hot route the shallow into a deeper drag or look immediately to the sticks hitch route since the crosser may get clogged by underage zone droppers.
This play pairs well with Stick and RPO Q Stick Draw in your play calling sequence, since both threaten the same shallow area and force linebackers to widen or sit, opening up the shallow crosser or the outside vertical shots.
Best called on second and medium to third and long, where the shallow crosser picks up chunk yardage after the catch and the deep verticals keep safeties honest against overplaying the crosser.
Watch for a user controlled linebacker sitting in the shallow's path, if you see this, use pump fake or move to your hitch or vertical progression instead of forcing the crosser into a jump.
