Playbooks
Quick Reference
In 2 playbooks
Breakdown
Backs Cross out of Pro Split Backs lines up both running backs in the offset backfield with a TE attached to the line, and sends the two backs on a crossing shallow/dig combo underneath while the TE runs a deep corner route up the right sideline. The two backfield crossers work opposite depths (one shallow drag, one shallow dig sitting behind it) to create natural rub traffic against man defenders, while the TE's corner stretches the deep third and pulls a safety away from the crossing traffic. This is a man beater built around the backfield rub, and the primary read progression is TE corner first for an explosive shot, then work down to the crossing backs underneath if the deep route is capped.
Defensive Reads
Man coverage without safety help over the TE is the biggest tell that the corner route is about to win deep, so user up on the TE early if you are on defense. Watch for the backfield rub, if the offense is in man match your defenders need to trail tight through the crossing traffic instead of jumping the initial route. Cover 2 or Cover 4 shells with two deep safeties take away the corner route by capping the sideline, forcing the quarterback down into the shallow crosses. Zone linebackers sitting too shallow will open passing lanes for the dig route, so linebackers need to widen and match depth with the second crosser instead of squatting on the flat. A blitz that removes underneath zone defenders is risky here since both crossers will have wide open grass, so bring pressure with man coverage behind it rather than a zone blitz look.
Usage Tips
Use this on early downs or second and short so the deep TE corner is a live vertical option instead of a checkdown-only play.
Pre-snap, check for man coverage indicators like a corner shaded outside with no safety help over the TE, then take the shot to the corner route immediately.
If you see two deep safeties (Cover 2 or Cover 4), hold the ball and let the crossing backs develop since the rub concept underneath will still shake free against zone linebackers.
Hot route the backside crosser into a quick out if you are facing a hard blitz look, giving yourself a faster underneath answer than waiting on the developing corner route.
Pair this play with Curl Flat or Texas from the same Pro Split Backs set to keep the defense guessing between quick underneath concepts and the deeper crossing shot, forcing linebackers to hesitate on their drops.
