Playbooks
Quick Reference
Breakdown
Inside Cross is a Shotgun Spread 10 personnel pass play built around a deep crosser out of the slot and a stacked shallow route combo underneath. The outside receiver at the top of the diagram runs a corner-post breaking route to hold the deep safety, while the slot receiver on that side works a deep in route across the field as the primary crosser. On the other side, the boundary receiver and the tight-look slot both run drag routes underneath at different depths, with the inline receiver on the far left running a short out or flat route to occupy the underneath defender to that side. This is a man beater at its core, using the deep crosser to create natural rub traffic and separation against man defenders, though the layered shallow drags also give it zone beater utility versus soft zone shells. The primary read progression starts with the corner-post to hold the safety, moves to the deep crosser as the main target, and works down to the shallow drags if the crosser is taken away underneath.
Defensive Reads
Watch the slot cornerback at the snap, if he opens his hips and runs with the deep crosser in man coverage, expect natural rub traffic to spring him open against man to man defense. Key the single high safety, if he bites on the corner-post route the middle of the field opens up for the deep in route to sit down for a big gain. Against Cover 3 or Cover 4 zone shells, look for the flat defender to widen with the outside out route, which creates a throwing lane for the shallow drag behind him. Beware of user-controlled linebackers sitting in the shallow crosser lanes, since a lurking Mike or Sam linebacker can jump the underneath drags and bait a turnover. Blitz packages that bring extra pressure off the edge can disrupt the timing of the deep crosser, so check protection and consider hot routing the flat route into a quick outlet against known blitz tendencies.
Usage Tips
Pre-snap, identify whether the defense is showing man or zone by checking if the slot corner is aligned tight or has a cushion, since the deep crosser thrives against man leverage.
If you see a single high safety, throw the corner-post first to hold him and let the crosser work into the vacated middle of the field.
Use hot routes to convert the flat route into a flat sit or option route against teams that clog the shallow drags with linebackers.
This play works best on second and medium to long third down situations where you need to move the chains with a intermediate to deep completion.
Pair Inside Cross with Y Cross or Mesh in your play-calling sequence to condition the defense to sit on shallow crossers, then hit Inside Cross for the deeper shot when they jump the underneath routes.
