Playbooks
Quick Reference
Breakdown
Titans Cross Flood is a pass play out of Shotgun Trey Y-Flex that creates a three-level flood to one side of the field. The backside receiver runs an isolated deep out breaking away from the formation for a quick outlet, while on the strong side the flanker pushes vertical then bends into a deep crossing route that clears out to the far numbers, the slot runs an intermediate crosser underneath that settles into the void, and the back releases on a shallow angle route to the flat. This is a Cover 3 beater by design, using the flood concept to stretch the deep third defender and the flat defender vertically and horizontally, with the crosser working as the primary read against zone drops and the flat route serving as the man beater outlet versus press or blitz looks.
Defensive Reads
Pre-snap, identify the safety alignment first, since a single high safety signals Cover 3 or Cover 1 and tells you the deep crosser will have room to work against the deep third defender. Watch the flat defender's depth and width at the snap, because if he sinks too deep chasing the crosser he opens up the shallow flat route to the running back for an easy completion. Key the middle linebacker's drop, since a slow or shallow drop leaves the underneath crosser wide open in the soft zone between the levels of the flood. If the defense shows two high safeties pre-snap, expect the deep crosser to be taken away by a defender sitting in the middle of the field, so be ready to check down to the flat route or backside out quickly. Beware of user-controlled defenders lurking in the shallow zone or spying the crosser, since a smart user can jump the underneath route and turn it into a pick if the quarterback stares it down too long.
Usage Tips
Use pre-snap motion or a quick glance at the strong safety to confirm if you are facing a single high shell before the snap, since this play is built to punish Cover 3 rotations.
Your primary read progression starts with the deep crosser working from the strong side numbers back toward the middle of the field, then works down to the underneath crosser sitting in the zone void, and finishes with the flat route as your check down against pressure.
If the defense shows man coverage with the linebackers walked up, hot route the backside isolated route into a quick hitch or speed out to get an instant answer versus blitz.
Pair this play with Titans Flood Switch or Empty Y Cross in the same set to keep the defense guessing on which side the flood and crosser combo is coming from.
Run this on second or third and medium situations where you have time to let the deep crosser develop, since the route takes time to clear the underneath zone defenders.
