SE Cross out of Singleback Y Trips 11 personnel is a man beater built around a deep crossing route from the backside X receiver that stretches all the way across the field to the opposite boundary. The three trips receivers to the strong side run a vertical seam, a short hitch, and a corner or vertical release to stack the coverage vertically and hold the safety, while the running back checks protection and releases into a flat route as a built in outlet. The primary read progression starts with the deep crosser working from the far side against man coverage, then moves to the seam and finally the check down flat route if the crosser is taken away.

Defensive Reads

Pre-snap, identify if the corners are playing press man or sitting off in zone, since the deep crosser only wins big against man coverage or matchup zones with slow flat footed defenders. Watch the middle linebacker and any user controlled defender sitting in the intermediate middle zone, because a lurking defender can jump the crosser's path and turn it into a pick six. Key the safety rotation after the snap, if both safeties bail to deep halves or thirds it signals zone coverage and the crosser should be checked down early rather than forced. Look for blitz packages that bring extra rushers off the edge, since the quarterback's protection on the backside is minimal and a nano blitz or edge pressure can collapse the pocket before the deep crosser develops. If the defense shows Cover 2 with corners jamming at the line, the underneath hitch route becomes a quick answer before the crosser fully clears traffic.

Usage Tips

Use this play on second and long or third and medium when you need a chunk play against man coverage. Pre-snap, check for man alignment with corners lined up tight on the trips side, since the crosser has a huge advantage against man because it creates natural separation running across the defender's face. If the defense shows Cover 3 or Cover 4 with deep zone drops, hot route the crosser into a shorter dig or hitch to avoid throwing into a sitting zone defender. Motion the trips receivers pre-snap to bait the defense into showing man or zone rules before the snap, then confirm with the leverage of the corner over the number two receiver. Pair this play with Y Trail or Mesh in the same set so you can run similar crossing action from different personnel angles and keep the defense guessing on which crosser to take away. Against aggressive user blitzes, the running back's flat route becomes your answer, so keep an eye on the middle linebacker's depth at the snap.

SE Cross

Quick Reference

In 2 playbooks

Receiver routes

Read progression

Breakdown

Defensive Reads

Usage Tips

Other Plays in Y Trips