It can be done and lots of folks do it, but it isn’t the natural fit. A Cover 1 defense is an excellent defensive alignment to run, and just about every team should have some form of it in their playbook, no matter what level of football the team is. Cover 6 has the disadvantages of both Cover 2 and Cover 4. Allows OLBs to play tighter inside the box. A defense that is dependent on solid technique in the secondary, Cover 1 allows teams to create eight-man fronts (strong safety drops into the box) with … In  football video games, Cover 2 Man Under is called 2 Man Under. There are two players at linebacker depth playing linebacker technique, and then three defensive backs. Defensive coaches lean on the Cover 4 scheme because it allows the defense to essentially create a nine-man box versus spread sets. Cover 3 Sky coverage is a traditional Cover 3 defense that has the FS rotating over the deep middle, while the RCB and LCB drop back in deep zone coverage on both sides. Typically these are offensive “skill” players – any combination of running backs, wide receivers and tight ends. Any type you here Cover 0, it means no safety help deep. Near the goal line, offenses will often remove wide receivers in favor of jumbo packages featuring multiple running backs and tight ends (such as 22 or 23 personnel). 3-4 Defensive Formation. Like Cover 3, the corners have help inside – from linebackers for short routes and safeties deep – but the corner effectively plays a lot of man concepts. It is a two-high split field coverage concept where defenders distribute routes tightly, running with receivers, even across the field in their hip pocket. Four defenders play zone coverage underneath while four defenders dropping back in deep zone coverag3. This combination has made it popular in recent years, most recently when the Seahawks rode a modified Cover 3 to the Super Bowl XLVIII Championship. Great call in Goal line situations. Since the man defenders usually play “trail” technique in this set (following behind the receivers, since they have help in front), they’re facing away from the line of scrimmage with their backs turned. This is a zone defense where the two deep safeties each occupy one deep half of the field’s width. Safeties are in good position to converge on the inside run, Balanced coverage on both sides of the defense. Can be used in any situation. There two types of Cover 4 coverages, they are Man/Zone and Zone. I get so excited every time I see a post by Dave. For more information on these positions, see the descriptions of individual coverage shells. Trips unbalances the coverage and forces the defense to make a choice. The Cover 6 combines elements of the Cover 2  and the Cover 3. Weaknesses of the Cover 3 Zone . However, unlike Cover 3 the field is not split equally. With four deep men, the Cover 4 is a safe coverage, but with only three underneath defenders it is vulnerable to runs and short passes. At the minimum it is a six man pass rush in most cases. Here, the Broncos employ the best Cover 3 beater of all, which is Four Verticals.Simply, all four receivers run go routes. Strong run support from the strong safety against off tackle and the outside running game toward the strong side. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Cover 6 has the disadvantages of both Cover 2 and Cover 4. The cornerbacks cover a flat or curl zone underneath, with the linebackers occupying underneath zones. At the most it can be an eight man pass rush. Looks identical to Cover 2 zone coverage. In man coverage, linebackers most frequently cover running backs and tight ends, though they may also cover slot or wide receivers at times. To start, understanding pass defenses requires knowing there are eleven players for each team. The two Corners have the deep outside 1/3 and the Safety has middle 1/3. Of all the types of zone coverages, Cover 3 is used the most. The strong safety has perhaps the least-defined role in the pass defense; he’s often a “Swiss army knife” that can perform many functions. This can upset the designed timing of the play. That forces the defense to make a decision as to whether to use another defensive back to cover that tight end or another linebacker for run defense. I have still not been disappointed. Shown below is a diagram of the basic 3-5-3 defense. Even for teams that play a lot of zone, Cover 1 is a common third-down defense, as the reward (forcing a punt with a stop) outweighs the risk (giving up a big play). Also, by having your corners jam the wide receivers, you can slow up the deep routes with support over the top. X's O's Football is not affiliated or associated with EA Sports, the NFL, or their license. One is where the corners and linebackers play in man coverage and the one is where the corners and linebackers play in underneath zones. Relies on a 3 or 4 man pass rush to apply pressure on the quarterback. Against teams that like to run Singleback, Against the quarterback that takes deep drops. I have been receiving many emails about youth football defenses. In this X’s Os Football breakdown we take a look at common types of football pass coverages that you will encounter when watching and playing the game. Flood concepts can easily be Cover 3 coverage. The safeties don’t need as much range as in one-deep safety sets, since each only covers his half of the deep zone. Usually results in big plays if the pass rush fails. Your email address will not be published. Instead, one of the safeties covers half the field deep (as in Cover 2) while the other safety and one of the cornerbacks combine to cover the other half of the field (as in Cover 4). When faced with more than two receivers, defenses typically substitute (hence “sub defense”) a slot corner (see above section on “Cornerbacks”) for a linebacker. The cornerbacks cover the full length of the sidelines, while the safeties handle the two deep zones in the middle. Some situations are more ambiguous, such as a two tight-end set where one of the tight ends has elite receiving skills. The Cover 2 Man Under is much like the Cover 2 Five Underneath Zone. This most common sub defense is called the nickel, and the slot corner is often called a “nickel back.” A slot corner is better able to cover a third receiver, so this matches up better against 11 personnel, or 12 personnel where one of the tight ends is a dynamic receiving threat. Cover 6 refers to three deep defenders, which looks like Cover 3. This is straight-forward – each pass defender will be assigned an offensive player to cover. Peyton Manning reads the leverage of the corners and the steps of the free safety. The FS can play a hard read technique while reading the run first. A dime defense has one more substitution than the nickel, swapping a second linebacker out for a sixth defensive back or “dime back.” With only five players in the defensive front, the dime is light against the run, so this is typically only used to match up with offensive personnel of four receivers and/or zero running backs (such as 10, 02, or 01 personnel) or in situations that force the offense to pass (late in the half, or 3rd and long). The limitation of the 3-5-3 Defense is that it really fits with Cover 3, and running it with Cover 4 or Cover 2 is more difficult than doing it with the 3-4 Defense (or the 4-3). Typically these are offensive “skill” players – any combination of running backs, wide receivers and tight ends. Every defense has a chink in its armour. Who came up with it: Buddy Ryan is said to be the innovator of the 4-6 defense Strengths: Brings tons of pressure to the QB, lots of potential blitz packages, solid against the run. The cornerbacks generally funnel the outside receivers toward the inside with all of the pass defenders. He might play a linebacker-type role in run support or even blitz. Multiple receiver sets (Trips, bunch) to one side of the field. Cover 6 is really just a combination of cover 2 and cover 4. Any deep inward breaking route from #1 paired with out route from #2. In Cover 4, the corners drop back and are responsible for a deep quarter of the field, along with the safeties. On runs, the field side may be spread by a tight end and 2 receiver formation, offering an advantage on the edge. The defense in cover 3 becomes a little vulnerable to short passing routes because the cornerbacks are bailing out of their usual positions to play deep in their zones. Many of the zone blitz schemes found in football video games can be found with Cover 3 coverage behind them. Flats are generally left wide open when zone blitz schemes are used with Cover 3 behind them. There’s the old “spot-drop” method of playing it, where defenders drop to a spot, read the quarterback and break on the pass. Like any defense, it has it's weaknesses, and one of, if not the most glaring weaknesses … He will fit hard and fast on run plays.If pass, he then will play vertical patterns/. Sometimes called “2-Man” or “Cover 5,” this is a defense where the two safeties split the deep part of the field (as in Cover 2), but the linebackers and corners all match up in man coverage. It’s a four-deep, three-under zone defense in which the three linebackers are responsible for splitting the underneath section of … COVER 6: Cover 4 to passing strength side of the coverage and Cover 2 to the weak side. https://wingt-coach.com/attacking-the-6-2-defense-with-the-wing-t This eliminates some of the seams in the zones, but requires a linebacker with safety-like speed. The boundary side is soft behind the corner to the sideline, as well as in the seam between corner and linebacker. The field side corner can be left in single coverage deep as well. With five man defenders and the free safety – assuming a four-man rush – the defense has an extra unassigned man. There are two types of Cover 2. There are also pockets of empty space or “seams” between zones that offenses can exploit. The two deep Safeties converge on deep middle and outside passes. Also the free Safety cannot help both corners, thus using this defense on the hash mark can be ideal as one corner can use the sideline for help. The linebackers and strong safety play zone coverage underneath. That’s the case with any 8 man front. In general the defense will allow the underneath patterns and never allow any route to be completed behind them. And many of the emails ask about specific weaknesses of the 6-2 and 7 Diamond Defenses. The other safety and corner take the wider “field” side. This scheme is normally used with teams that have slower corners and teams that are trying to defend the short passing game. The “Tampa 2” defense (so named because it rose to prominence in the 1990’s under Buccaneers head coach Tony Dungy and defensive coordinator Monty Kiffin) divides the deep part of the field in thirds, with a middle linebacker dropping back to cover the deep middle. In Cover 6 the field safety and field corner cover fourths of the field, and depend on a field outside linebacker to support underneath them. Mirrored Passing Routes: Double Curl Flat, Flanker Split End Shallow Cross Pass Concept, Madden Guides Returns to the Virtual Gridiron. It is less susceptible to deep attacks than Cover 1, but because there’s no extra underneath defender it can be vulnerable to outside runs. Cover 4 Zone Defense Weaknesses. The right corner plays a quarters deep coverage and reads the split end or widest receiver to his side of the field. Linebackers will typically cover underneath zones, though the middle linebacker may take a deep zone in a “Tampa 2” defense (discussed below). He might play an underneath “robber” zone even in man defensive sets, lurking to disrupt routes crossing the middle of the field. The modern NFL is much more pass-heavy than it has been historically, and teams often find themselves in sub defense 50-70 percent of the time. Most teams use this type of coverage to prevent the deep ball or against an end of the half pass. © 2019 X's O's Football. Safeties run/pass conflict. “Underneath” zones are closer to the line of scrimmage, typically 5-15 yards off. This coverage works very well when you are protecting a lead in the last minutes/seconds of the game. Unlike it’s Tampa 2 counterpart, there is no middle run through to cushion the deep middle third. He might “shade” closer to a dangerous receiver before the play begins, or he might see a corner is beaten and move to intercept the receiver and/or the throw. In rare instances, they may be asked to drop into coverage, usually a shallow zone, in an effort to deceive the offense through surprise. The weakness of this man coverage is obvious, the void in the deep middle of the field. Does a good job against  any vertical release by a 3rd receiver from the field side. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Required fields are marked *. The most important rule of man-to-man coverage (which is also known as man coverag… The field side corner can be left in single coverage deep as well. In Cover 0, there are no safeties deep. Understanding the different types of pass coverages is essential when watching or playing football. The two, three, or four linebackers (so named because they play “back” of the defensive line) are set up in a rough box ranging from the line of scrimmage to a few yards behind the D-Line, and extending laterally a few yards outside the linemen in either direction. This is zone coverage but normally played by reading the release of the #2 eligible offensive players. In the image above, there are five defenders in man coverage. In off man, the pass defender will line up anywhere from 2 to 12 yards away from the receiver, depending on the situation and play call, and attempt to mirror his actions and stick with him in space. Cover 0 allows a defense to assign 5 defenders to cover those 5 players man-to-man. Strong against corner routes ran by slot receivers or tight ends. I am blown away by the clarity of the writing and the depth of knowledge. Crossing concepts such as the double cross. That player (usually a linebacker or strong safety) can blitz the quarterback, “bracket” (double-team) a dangerous middle-of-the-field receiver, or play a “robber” role by lurking in an underneath zone and reading the quarterback. Deception and misdirection are two fundamentals of NFL defense. But while Cover 1 is a man-to-man defense, Cover 3 is a zone defense. COVER 4: Four deep defenders with three underneath defenders. If you plan on running Cover 0, you will need to have a pair of shutdown corners who can cover their man in one on one coverage. In modern defenses, teams have code words that allow defensive players to “pass off” assignments to each other, incorporating zone concepts to disrupt route combinations designed to defeat man coverage. Yes, you can run quarters with the 3-3-5 Defense. The three linebackers playbook hook zones underneath. Cover 4 or “quarters” has four deep defenders, but rather than a strict zone like Cover 2 they play something of a man/zone hybrid. The field side is generally soft on flat coverage unless a defender drops in the curl to flat area. Swing passes out of the backfield could be tough to defend. Both safeties generally split the field in half, sideline to goalpost and prevent any receiver to get deeper then them. It is rare in other situations, as the risk of giving up a big play is great with no safeties deep. The 3-4 formation places three linemen on the line of scrimmage and four linebackers in the area behind those linemen. The FS plays the deep middle of the field and MLB plays a hook zone. The zone assigned to a player can be of various depths. Linebackers may be in a mismatch against backs out of the backfield. The most balanced defensive coverage in the game because all the receivers are covered, plus help over the top from the safeties.