Playbooks
Quick Reference
Breakdown
Y Shallow Cross out of Shotgun Split Offset lines up with a receiver running a deep vertical up the left seam, the outside receiver on that side working a quick out at the top of his stem, and a shallow crosser dragging all the way across the formation underneath. On the right side the backside receiver runs a deep corner route while the flat receiver releases outside then climbs up the sideline late, giving the play a two level stretch on both edges. This is a man beater built around the shallow drag pulling defenders horizontally to open up the vertical seam and corner routes behind it, with the primary read starting on the shallow crosser before working up to the seam and out route combo.
Defensive Reads
Man coverage defenses struggle with this concept because the shallow crosser drags defenders into traffic near the line, so look to see if your linebackers are staying attached through the rub instead of trailing wide. Zone coverage shells like Cover 3 or Cover 4 can shut down the crosser by sitting a linebacker underneath, so watch for a defender spying the shallow route depth at the snap. Cover 2 shells are vulnerable to the deep corner and seam combo since the safeties are forced to choose between the vertical threat and the sideline break, so key the safety rotation post snap. Blitz packages that bring extra rushers off the edge can be an issue since the shallow crosser is the checkdown against pressure, so identify if the defense is showing five or six man pressure looks before the snap. User controlled defenders sitting in a lurk position over the middle of the field are the biggest threat to the shallow crosser, so scan for a user dropping into that shallow zone before committing to that read.
Usage Tips
Start your presnap read on the middle linebacker depth and safety alignment to identify if you are facing man or zone coverage before the snap. If you see man coverage, key the shallow crosser first since he creates natural rub and separation against man defenders trailing across the field. Against zone shells, work the seam route and out route combo since the crosser will just be sitting in a linebacker zone drop. Use this play on second and medium to third and medium situations where the horizontal stretch from the shallow drag can pick up a first down on its own. Pair this play with Mesh or Slot Cross earlier in a drive so linebackers start cheating toward shallow crossing routes, then hit them with Tight Deep Cross or PA Deep Cross to punish that overaggression downfield.
