Playbooks
Quick Reference
In 2 playbooks
Breakdown
Y Cross Flood out of Shotgun Trey Open Offset attacks the field with a three level flood concept to the closed side while the backside receiver runs a deep clear out. The Y (tight end) works a shallow crosser underneath from the trey side toward the open side, the flanker off the ball runs a corner route to the flat, and the true outside receiver on that side sprints vertical to stretch the deep third, creating a high low read on any flat defender. On the backside, the single receiver runs a deep post/skinny route to hold the safety, while the RB releases into the flat as a checkdown or blitz alert. This is a classic Cover 3 beater that also holds up against man coverage due to the natural rub created by the crosser, with the primary read starting on the flood side (corner to flat) before working back to the Y crosser.
Defensive Reads
Watch the flat defender on the flood side immediately after the snap, if he sits on the corner route the crosser will be wide open behind him. Key the backside safety, if he bites on the deep clear out route it opens a passing lane for the Y crosser to work into space. Man coverage with underneath help can suffocate this concept if the defense uses a linebacker in a shallow zone to wall off the crosser, look for a defender sitting flat footed in the middle of the field. Blitz packages that bring pressure off the edge can disrupt timing on the deep flood routes, so identify overload blitzes pre-snap and be ready to check down to the RB in the flat. Cover 4 or quarters shells with aggressive corners jumping the flat route can bait a costly throw, read the corner depth at the snap before committing to the flood side.
Usage Tips
Pre-snap, identify whether the defense is showing a single high safety or two high shell, since this concept is built to punish Cover 3 rotation on the flood side.
If the corner over the flood receiver is playing off or bailing early, target the corner route for a quick pickup before the safety can rotate over.
Use the Y crosser as your primary answer versus man coverage or if you see a linebacker spy sitting in the shallow zone, since it clears space behind the flood.
Pair this call with Strong Flood or Levels Switch on early downs to keep the defense guessing between flood concepts on either strength, then hit them with Y Cross Flood when they start jumping the flat routes.
Best used on second and medium to long or third and medium, where the combination of the crosser and flood routes gives you multiple layers to move the chains against zone drops.
