Playbooks
Quick Reference
Breakdown
Mtn PA Crossers is a play-action pass out of Shotgun U Off Stack with 12 personnel that sells the run fake before working two deep crossers and a shallow drag. The stacked receivers to the left run a dig that settles underneath a deep crosser breaking to the opposite sideline, while the inline receiver on the right runs a deep crossing route from the strong side all the way across the field, and the backside receiver runs a flat route along the line of scrimmage as the checkdown. The play action fake occupies the front seven and linebackers, opening throwing lanes for the crossers against man coverage, with the primary read progression starting on the deep crosser working left to right, then working down to the underneath dig, and finally checking down to the flat route if the crossers are covered.
Defensive Reads
Pre-snap, identify if the defense is stacking the box to sell run support, since that tells you the play action fake is likely to freeze linebackers and open the crossers. Watch for a single high safety alignment, which usually means man coverage underneath and favors the deep crosser rubbing off the stack release. Post-snap, key the flow of the linebackers on the play fake, if they bite hard downhill on the run action, the underneath dig route will have a wide throwing lane. Be wary of Cover 3 or Cover 4 zone shells with a lurking underneath defender, since that defender can sit in the passing lane and undercut the shallow drag or the dig route. If the defense shows a two high safety look with disciplined linebackers who do not bite on the fake, the crossers will take longer to develop and you should be ready to check down quickly to the flat route.
Usage Tips
Use this on early downs or second and medium when defenses are willing to bite on run action out of 12 personnel.
Check the box count and safety depth before the snap, if you see one high safety or a linebacker cheating up into the box, the play action fake has a better chance of holding the defense.
Hot route the flat route into a deeper option if you are facing zone heavy shells like Cover 3 or Cover 4, since the flat route is the weakest part of this concept against zone drops.
Pair this with Mtn PA Switch Flood or Mtn PA Y-Leak in your play calling sequence so the defense sees the same run action but has to defend different route combinations, keeping linebackers and safeties guessing.
Against man coverage, prioritize the deep crosser first since the natural rub from the stack alignment creates immediate separation versus man defenders trying to trail across the field.
