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Breakdown
H Shallow Cross out of Shotgun Spread Y-Slot sends the backside outside receiver on a deep vertical clearout while the three receivers to the trips side work a shallow drag, a corner route breaking outside, and an out breaking to the sideline underneath it. The H back releases from the backfield on a shallow crosser working all the way across the formation, and the tight end runs a deep in breaking route from the right side to occupy the middle of the field. This is a man beater built on the shallow drag creating natural rubs and picks against man coverage, with the primary read progressing from the shallow crosser underneath, to the deep in breaking route, then to the corner route if the middle opens up.
Defensive Reads
Pre-snap, identify if the defense is showing press man on the outside receivers, since that confirms the shallow crosser will have a favorable rub opportunity. Watch the middle linebacker depth at the snap, a shallow drop signals zone coverage where you should progress quickly to the deep in breaking route instead of the drag. Key on any user controlled defender sitting in a shallow hook or curl zone, as this is the primary threat that can undercut the crossing route and bait a turnover. Cover 3 with a hard flat corner can squeeze the out route, so be ready to work back to the shallow crosser working away from that leverage. Cover 2 shells with two deep safeties tend to open a throwing lane for the deep in breaking route working behind the underneath zone defenders, making it the better target against that shell.
Usage Tips
Look for man coverage indicators pre-snap like press corners or a single high safety before calling this, since the shallow drag thrives on picks against trailing defenders. Use motion across the formation to confirm man coverage by watching if a defender follows the receiver across the field. On third and medium, this play is ideal because the shallow crosser and deep in route both sit at conversion depth. Pair this with Y Shallow Cross or Mesh in your play calling sequence so the defense has to respect multiple crossing concepts and cannot key on the same shallow route every snap. If the defense starts jumping the shallow drag with a linebacker spy or lurk defender, hot route the deep in breaking route earlier in your progression to attack the vacated middle.
