The Slot Cross is a great play that allows you to get rid of the football when in the pocket before the pressure can get to you. The best thing about this play is that it absolutely kills man to man defense. You will be able to attack every part of the field, making it impossible for someone to manually guard all of your options. Watch as SportsGamer gets another in-depth look at one of the plays used by one of the Madden greats known as "Da Secret".
Shotgun Twin TE Trips - Slot Cross
Console(s)
XBOX / PS2
Playbook(s)
New England
Quick Setup
Step 1 - Come out in the Strong-I Normal Double Flares. Also, make sure that the Shotgun Twin TE Trips Slot Cross is in your audibles.
Step 2 - Audible to the Shotgun Twin TE Trips Slot Cross.
Step 3 - Formation shift it to the Shotgun Normal formation (formation left).
Step 4 - Steal your running back's route from the Strong I Normal formation (Y up, then Y up again on the XBOX / Triangle up, then Triangle up again on the PS2). Put your (X receiver on XBOX and Square receiver on PS2 on a streak).
Step 5 - Pick your tight end up off the line and motion him to the right. Then, smart route your (B receiver on xbox and O receiver on ps2). The only way that you can smart route your #1 receiver's route is to pick up your tight end off the line. The reason you are only able to smart route the #1 receiver's route after motioning your tight end out is because it places him on the line of scrimmage. After you have smart routed his route, then put the tight end back to his orginal spot.
Step 6 - Send your running back in motion to the left and hike the ball once he has cleared the line.
Making Your Reads
#1 - Look to throw to the running back if your opponent is in man to man defense, or not guarding the running back manually.
#2 - Your next read will be the unbumpable route coming across the middle from the receiver on the far right side of the field. This route is always open against man to man, and will also be open against some zones.
#3 - Lastly look to throw to the tight end who is on an all cross route towards the right sideline.
Play Breakdown
Image 1 - In this picture you can see that I've placed the Shotgun Twin TE Trips Slot Cross in your audibles. However, the play that you will want to come out of the huddle in is the Strong-I Normal Double Flares.
Image 2 - Here you can see the offensive assignments for the Strong-I Normal Double Flares play. The reason I come out of the huddle in this play is because I like to steal the route that running back Brian Westbrook (L1) is running.
Image 3 - The defense is called the Nickel 3-3-5 2 man under. Also, they have made changes to the play by adding a QB spy, playmakering one defender in the flats, and another in a purple zone.
Image 4 - The first step I take is audibling to the Slot Cross play in the Twin TE Trips formation.
Image 5 - Next, I formation shift to the Shotgun Normal formation.
Image 6 - The next move I make is stealing the running back's route from Strong-I Normal Double Flares by pressing (Y up, then Y up again on the XBOX / Triangle up, then Triangle up again on the PS2). Also, I put wide receiver Todd Pinkston on a streak on the far left side of the field to give me a deep threat.
Image 7 - One of the last two changes I make before beginning the play is picking tight end L.J. Smith up off the line of scrimmage and sending him in motion to the right. Then, the second change I make is smart routing wide receiver Reggie Brown's crossing route over the middle of the field. The only way that you can smart route your #1 receiver's route is to pick up your tight end off the line. The reason you are only able to smart route the #1 receiver's route after motioning your tight end out is because it places him on the line of scrimmage. After you have smart routed his route, then put the tight end back to his orginal spot.
Image 8 - In this image you can see that I've sent the tight end back in motion to the left to his original spot on the field. The last step I like to take before beginning the play is motioing the running back out of the backfield and to the left. The reason I do this is not only to give me an option underneath, but also to distract my opponent from my two other reads on the opposite side of the field.
Image 9 - I have sent my RB in motion to the left and I snap the ball before he sets. You don't have to send your running back in motion to the left before the snap to get him open. When playing against man to man defense, your running back will almost always beat the defender to the flats on the opposite side of the field because of his speed.
Image 10 - Westbrook continues running to his left underneath the coverages downfield.
Image 11 - The defenders try to make up ground asquarterback Jeff Garcia's pass approaches.
Image 12 - Westbrook hauls in the pass and looks to scamper down the sidelines.
Image 13 - On this particular play I have decided to try throw to Brown moving over the middle of the field on his unbumpable route.
Image 14 - Immediately after the snap, Brown swiftly avoids the bump and gets to the inside of the defender.
Image 15 - Brown already has the defender beat by a couple of steps as we prepare to deliver the football.
Image 16 - We make the throw with Garcia just as Brown moves into the open area in the middle of the field.
Image 17 - Brown is preparing to make the catch over the middle with a little bit of traffic.
Image 18 - Brown is surrounded by defenders as he leaps in the air to make the catch.
Image 19 - In this image you can see that Brown is open, but lets imagine that he isnt and the person you are playing is manually guarding Westbrook on the left side of the field. Now we are forced to move to our third read on the field as we look to hit our tight end moving towards the right sideline.
Image 20 - I have rolled out a bit to the right with Garcia, giving me a better angle to make the throw to my tight end.
Image 21 - Smith has plenty of separation from the defense as the ball closes in.
Image 21 - I have successfully completed the pass to LJ smith along the sideline. On this throw you may want to try to learn to click on the receiver and attempt to make the reception manually to ensure that your player remains in a good position to catch the football.
Final Thoughts
The Slot Cross play is a great play to mix into your offense in the New England playbook. I use is because it's good against the pressure and it will usually result in about a 10 yard gain. Also, if you are at a high level in madden competition I would like to recommend that you lift up the screen right before you call hike on this play. Lifting up the screen allows you to see what the outside corner does. If the cornerback backs up or jams the receiver, then you will know it is safe to throw to the running back everytime. When you lift up the screen you can easily see if they are in cover 2 or not. When you catch them in cover 2, then that's when you throw a streak to the #2 receiver. I like this play because it is very simple and it attacks every part of the field, making it impossible for your opponent to manually guard everything.
