Playbooks

Y Cross

Shotgun·Trey Open·11
Likely unavailable in the playbook builder
This play belongs to no NFL team or scheme playbook, so it may not appear in the in-game builder.

Quick Reference

FormationShotgun

In 1 playbook

Air Raid Classic OffenseOffense

Breakdown

Y Cross out of Shotgun Trey Open 11 personnel is a man beater built around the tight end running a deep crossing route from the strong side to the weak side of the field. The three receiver bunch to the trey side creates natural spacing and picks against man coverage while the backside receiver runs a dig or comeback to occupy the flat defender. Your primary read starts with the Y crosser working across the field, then progresses to the backside dig if the crosser gets picked up by a trailing linebacker or safety.

Defensive Reads

Watch the middle linebacker at the snap, if he sinks to a deep zone drop the crosser is likely covered and you should reset to the backside dig Check safety alignment pre-snap, single high safety usually means man coverage underneath which favors the crosser winning across the field Against Cover 3 or Cover 4 zone shells, the crosser can get picked up by a robber or hook defender sitting in the middle third, so be ready to check down Look for a user controlled defender lurking in the shallow middle zone, this is the biggest threat to the crossing route and will bait a turnover if you force it Blitz heavy fronts with man coverage behind them are ideal for this play since the crosser clears out the vacated middle before pressure arrives, but a well timed A gap blitz can collapse the pocket before the route fully develops

Usage Tips

Motion the fullback or slot receiver pre-snap to identify man versus zone by watching if a defender follows across the formation

Against man coverage, trust the Y crosser to separate off the natural rub from the trey bunch release

If you see two high safeties sitting deep, look to hot route the underneath route to a quick out or hitch to attack the space the crosser opens up

Best called on second or third and medium since the crosser needs time to develop across the field

Pair this with Mesh or Mesh Dig from the same set so linebackers have to respect the crossing traffic on every snap, then hit Four Verticals to punish them for cheating underneath

Use play action shot plays like PA Read or PA Slot Under after establishing Y Cross to keep safeties honest against the run action

Other Plays in Trey Open