Playbooks
Quick Reference
Breakdown
Mtn Slot Cross is a five man route concept out of Shotgun Trips HB Wk that sends the backside outside receiver on a deep crosser all the way across the field while the two inside trips receivers run a deep out and a corner route to clear space underneath the crosser. The HB releases from the backfield on a shallow drag that mirrors the crosser underneath, giving the QB a layered read from shallow to deep. This is a man beater built around natural rub and pick action created by the crosser working through traffic, with the primary progression starting on the HB drag in the flat, moving to the shallow crosser, and finishing with the deep out and corner combo if the defense sinks its underneath coverage.
Defensive Reads
Watch the middle linebacker depth at the snap, if he sits shallow to jump the HB drag the shallow crosser will have a natural crease behind him. Key the flow of the strong side safety, if he rotates down to help on the corner route from the slot it opens up the deep crosser for a big gain. Identify press man corners pre-snap on the trips side, this concept is designed to beat man coverage with the crosser rubbing off defenders working across the field. Against Cover 3 or Cover 4 zone shells, the underneath linebackers dropping to intermediate depth can squeeze the crosser and out route windows, so be ready to check down to the HB drag. If you see a user controlled lurk defender sitting in the shallow crossing lane, this play gets shut down quickly, so recognize that threat and be ready to reset with a different concept from the set.
Usage Tips
Use pre-snap motion if available to identify man versus zone before the snap, since the crosser is the key beater against man coverage.
Look for single high safety shells and press man corners on the trips side, this tells you the deep out and corner combo will have room to work against off man or Cover 1.
Hot route the HB drag into a flat route if you are facing heavy underneath zone traffic so he does not sit in a crowded area near the line.
Combine this play with Mtn Slot Curls or Dragon Stick in your play calling sequence so the defense has to respect both the deep crosser and quick underneath sit routes from the same formation look.
Best called on second or third and medium situations where the defense is more likely to play zone match concepts, since the crosser and out combo stress zone defenders horizontally.
