Playbooks
Quick Reference
In 2 playbooks
Breakdown
Mtn Z Cross is a five man route concept out of Shotgun Spread Dbl Flex with 11 personnel that uses a deep crosser as the focal point of the passing attack. Off the diagram, the backside receiver runs a deep dig that breaks all the way across the field while the outside receiver on that side clears vertically to hold the safety, and the boundary receiver runs an out breaking flat route away from the crosser. On the strong side, the TE or slot man releases on a corner route to attack the deep third while the flat route underneath creates a natural high low with the crosser. The primary read starts with the deep crosser working from the backside, then progresses to the corner route if the crosser gets picked off by underneath defenders in zone.
Defensive Reads
Identify single high safety alignment pre snap since that tells you the crosser will have a soft spot in the middle of the field once it clears the hash. Watch linebacker depth at the snap: if the Mike and Will sink hard into zone drops, the crosser will get walled off and you need to work the corner route or flat instead. Cover 3 with a sky safety squeezes the crosser hard, so look for the flat route as the built in answer against that shell. Man coverage with no help over the top is where this play hits its ceiling, since the crosser naturally rubs off defenders working through traffic. Beware disguised Cover 2 with a lurking linebacker sitting in the crosser lane, since that is the biggest coverage counter to shut this route down before it develops.
Usage Tips
Use this play on second and long or third and medium when you need a defense stressing horizontal route to convert against zone coverage. Check the middle of the field pre snap: against MOFO shells the crosser has room to work between the hashes, against MOFC shells you need to be ready to check it down. Hot route the flat route into a shallow drag if you are seeing a heavy blitz look, since that gives you a quick underneath outlet against man pressure. Pair this call with Mtn Curls H-Sluggo or Mtn Fades H-Choice earlier in a series so the defense respects vertical shots, which opens up the crosser as defenders sit and bite on double moves. Lead with your eyes on the crosser and drag your aiming point through the throwing window rather than staring it down, since user linebackers will jump the route if you telegraph it.
