Playbooks
Breakdown
X Cross is a five man route concept out of Empty Chips Nasty that stresses the field horizontally and vertically at the same time. Both outside receivers on the boundary run go routes to clear the top of the coverage and hold the deep defenders, while the receiver stacked inside runs a deep crossing route (the X Cross) that works from one side of the field all the way across the opposite hash. Underneath, the slot receiver runs a corner breaking route to occupy the flat or hook defender, and the interior receiver settles into a shallow drag underneath the crosser to give the quarterback a built in checkdown. Since this is Empty personnel there is no run blocking to key on, so it is a pure pass concept: the primary read is the deep crosser working from the numbers to the opposite hash, with the shallow drag as the outlet if the crosser is taken away.
Defensive Reads
Presnap, check safety depth and spacing, because two high shells with tight zone drops can undercut the deep crosser if the linebackers sink quickly enough. Post snap, key any user controlled defender sitting in a lurk spot in the middle of the field, since that defender is the biggest threat to jump the crossing route. Watch linebacker and nickel depth at the snap, if they bail into deep zone drops immediately it usually signals Cover 3 or Cover 4 match, which means the shallow drag becomes the higher value read. Against man coverage, look for the corner or safety trailing the crosser without help underneath, that leverage tells you the throw is there as soon as the receiver clears the traffic in the middle. Be alert for disguised blitzes off the slot or nickel defender, since Empty formations can bait extra rushers, and a free rusher off the edge with no adjustment to protection can force a quick checkdown to the drag route.
Usage Tips
Presnap, identify whether the defense is showing single high or two high safeties, since the deep crosser needs a lot of grass to work with and single high safety rotation can jump the route late.
Against man coverage this play is deadly because the crosser creates natural rub traffic against the underneath defenders, so trust the crosser even against tight man alignment.
If you see zone match concepts like Cover 3 or Cover 4, hot route one of the two outside go routes into a hitch or comeback to punish a soft cushion instead of forcing the deep crosser into a sinking zone defender.
Use this on early down and medium to long yardage situations where you have time to let the crosser develop, since it takes a few extra beats to clear across the field.
Pair X Cross with Post Cross or Dagger from the same set so the defense has to respect both a deep crossing action and a vertical post shot, which opens up easier completions on this play once the defense starts jumping the crosser.
