Playbooks
Quick Reference
Breakdown
Mtn Fk Cross is a five man route concept out of Shotgun Tight Doubles that stacks a deep crosser with an intermediate dig and a shallow drag underneath, while the backside receiver runs a flat clearout route. The outside receiver to the strong side pushes vertically before breaking hard across the field on the deep crossing route, the slot runs a dig that sits down over the middle, and the backside X clears out on a flat route to widen the underneath defenders. Protection looks to be a standard five man slide with the RB releasing on a check route into the shallow crossing pattern, making this a man beater designed to create natural picks and rubs against man coverage while giving the QB a horizontal stretch versus zone drops. Primary read starts with the deep crosser, works down to the dig, and settles on the shallow drag or RB check route if the initial reads are covered.
Defensive Reads
Watch for linebackers sitting at intermediate depth, which signals zone drops designed to jump the dig and crosser combo. If you see man coverage with no safety help over the top, the deep crosser is live and can be user picked by a rangy defender. Key the slot defender at the snap, since a hard flat drop shows Cover 3 zone intent while a man turn and run shows man coverage. Nano blitzes up the middle can disrupt this play since the shallow drag and RB release rely on the offensive line holding up on the slide protection. Cover 2 shells with deep half safeties can squeeze the dig route, so be ready to work the shallow crosser or flat route instead of forcing it deep.
Usage Tips
Use this on second or third and medium when you need a chain mover but still want explosive play upside off the deep crosser.
Motion the backside receiver pre-snap to identify man versus zone based on whether a defender follows across the formation.
If the defense shows single high safety, prioritize the deep crosser since it will typically stress the linebackers and safety in coverage.
Hot route the RB into a checkdown or flat route against zone heavy shells to give yourself a safety valve if the crossers are jumped.
Pair this play with Mesh Spot or Z Spot in the same set so the defense has to respect both shallow crossing traffic and deep in cuts, keeping linebackers honest.
