Football Library · Plays
Y-Cross· 7v7 Flag
advancedaka Y Crossaka Y-Cross Concept
Inside receiver (Y/slot) runs a deep crosser at 14-16 yds + deep clear + flat outlet.
The design
How Y-Cross works
- An inside receiver — TE/Y in tackle, the slot in 5v5/6v6/7v7 flag — runs a DEEP crosser at 14-16 yds, paired with a deep clear-out (Post or Go) on top and a flat/drag underneath.
- Triangle stretch — high (clear), medium (deep cross), low (flat) on the same side.
- QB reads the safety, then the LB.
- Beats man and zone equally.
- Air Raid + West Coast staple.
Coach the details
Every player's job
- : 15-yard cross inside — release through traffic and climb across; stair-step, flatten, or settle only as coverage dictates.
- : 14-yard post inside — plant hard at the break, separate from the safety.
- : 4-yard flat to the sideline — release flat — outlet for the QB.
- : 18-yard go — full-speed release, ball goes over the top.
- : 3-yard drag inside — shallow cross, find the void in zone.
Call sheet
When and where to run it
- Defensive lookBig-play call vs Cover 1 — the crosser becomes a 1-on-1 with a linebacker on a deep angle.
- Game planBest on 2nd-and-long when you need a chunk.
- Game planVs single-high, use the clear-out to occupy the post safety and throw the crosser on the move.
- Game planVs two-high, settle the crosser between the safeties if the window opens.
- PressureBuild in a fast flat or drag outlet against pressure, and shorten the crosser proportionally on flag fields while keeping it above the linebackers.
Pre-snap to post-snap
Read the defense
Best against
- Cover 1 — Crossers and mesh — natural rubs spring a man defender
Keys to watch
- Big-play call vs Cover 1 — the crosser becomes a 1-on-1 with a linebacker on a deep angle.
- Vs single-high, use the clear-out to occupy the post safety and throw the crosser on the move.
- Build in a fast flat or drag outlet against pressure, and shorten the crosser proportionally on flag fields while keeping it above the linebackers.
- QB reads the safety, then the LB.
Be ready to change the answer
- Cover 0: Anything that develops slowly — pressure gets home first Better answers: Four Verticals, Mesh, Slant-Flat, Smash
- Cover 2: The flats — the corner squats and jumps anything quick outside Better answers: Smash, Four Verticals, Flood
- Tampa 2: The deep middle — the Mike runs it, so a straight seam is contested (unlike base Cover 2) Better answers: Smash, Flood
- Cover 3: Deep outside — the three-deep shell caps outside verticals Better answers: Curl-Flat, Slant-Flat, Smash, Flood, Four Verticals, Snag, Dagger, Stick
- Cover 4: Deep shots — four deep defenders make it very hard to win over the top Better answers: Stick, Snag, Slant-Flat, Curl-Flat, Mesh
Troubleshooting
What can break the play
- Avoid Y-Cross when protection cannot survive the deep crosser's development or when a disciplined robber is sitting in the crosser's destination window.
- In a short red-zone field the route runs out of horizontal and vertical space, reducing the three-level stretch to a crowded middle read.
- Crosser makes a hard square-in turn and becomes a Dig instead of bending across the formation; it may adjust to coverage, but it must preserve cross-field intent.
- No underneath outlet route; the play falls apart vs pressure and the QB has nowhere to go.
- Post + Cross stack at the same depth on the same side; depth and side differentiation is what stretches the safety.