Football is a game of strategy, and teams memorize and practice plays like the one diagrammed on this while individual skill is. Only the goalkeeper is permitted to handle the ball and may do so only within the penalty area surrounding the. It was designed by then head coach tony dungy, defensive coordinator monte kiffin, and then linebackers coach lovie smith. A look into the cover2 scheme and how it works with the.
Cover 4, as the term implies, simply means that four defensive backs each take a deep quarter of the field. In cover 2, both safeties freestrong are responsible for the deep halves of the field and fill the alley between cornerback and edge of formation versus the run game. 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. Cover 2 zone defense is a good coverage scheme that is popular on the high school profession level of football. How you play the free safety, or how good he can be, is a major determining factor in the success of the defense if you are going to be a 1high, cover 3 or cover 1 defense. Cover 2 zone defense for youth football, zone pass coverage. Apr 25, 2014 in cover 2, both safeties freestrong are responsible for the deep halves of the field and fill the alley between cornerback and edge of formation versus the run game. Teams that play cover 2 shells usually subscribe to the bendbutdontbreak philosophy, preferring to keep. The communication is the vital part of the equation. Cover 2 man man under twodeep this coverage is mantoman with help over the top in the two 2 deep zones.
In addition to this the areas where cover 2 is weak down both sidelines from 1720 yards deep are very hard for youth league quarterbacks to throw to. Understanding the cover 2 zone in youth football zone defense. Apr 20, 2018 put another way, the free safety shifts sideways to his cover 2 position, the corner drops back to be the other cover 2 safety, and the box safety moves over to play as a cover 2 corner. Jobe lewis is a high school football coach and a former ncaa division i football player for new mexico state university. The idea is to widen the cb in cover 1 or cover 3 3deep, 4under and work the ball to no. The objectives of the study were to capture the emotions of being a football fan and to compare the feelings, expressions and behaviour of fans associated with support of their football teams. Below are diagrams that demonstrate cover 6 against a pro formation and a spread offense formation. Onegap 34 defense keeps offenses on their heels afca insider. Thus the field side of the coverage is quarters, and the boundary side is cover 2. Brown writes and edits smart football, which is dedicated to football analysis, strategy, philosophy and history. In split safety coverages, by contrast, there are two apex players and only one hook player. The psr is based on the alignment of the cs on the wide receivers. In the simplest terms, it is a 44 defense that removes 2 lbs for an additional 2 safeties.
He is the author of the art of smart football and the essential smart football. Most of the popular zone coverages such as cover 2, cover 3, and cover 4 will run out of a baseline 43 formation. How to understand nick sabans pattern match cover3 defense. Download football tutorial pdf version previous page print page.
Understanding the cover 2 zone in football cover 2 can be a great coverage because it can break down players responsibilities into clear roles. All told, the 43 defensive alignment is something every coach should have in his or her defensive playbook. The basic philosophy behind the cover 3 zone is to provide a good balance of run and pass defense. American football teams defenses employ two types of pass coverage. The rpo game has been one of the biggest issues for 425 defense, rpos and playaction, because they trigger the defenders that are trying to use speed and. Kenny ratledge via coaches choice football coaching library. The cover 2 defense gets its name from the two deep safeties, serving as the last line of defense between the offense and the end zone. Aug 28, 2012 the 425 defense is a strong defense against the run, while its more athletic outside linebackers or overhang safeties will provide more support against the pass.
Understanding the 425 defense january 8, 2017 by the 4. This is the last group of examples well showcase for cover 2 pattern reads, and over. Jan 21, 2019 the basic philosophy behind the cover 3 zone is to provide a good balance of run and pass defense. Jul 21, 2018 while joining espns college football live desk and reflecting on the national title game, nick saban noted, im still trying to figure out, after 40 years, how to play cover 2. With a fourman pass rush, that leaves five defenders, typically cornerbacks and linebackers, to divide the underneath area into zones.
Cover 2 defense football coaching guide includes images. Cover 2 can be run from any sevenman defensive fronts such as the 34 and the 43. The 2 in cover 2 comes from the two safeties that are responsible for the two deep zones, or halves, starting at. It could be an intentional or unintentional act by the player.
It could be closer to the left hashmarks or the right hashmarks. Understanding the cover 2 zone isnt very difficult. We are going to continue our look at various passing concepts, this time with 2x2 and mirrored passing concepts. The tampa 2 is typically employed out of a 43 defensive alignment, which consists of four linemen, three linebackers, two cornerbacks, and two safeties. Jan 20, 20 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. The diagram on the right combines the fadeout and doublehitch combination. In this post we are going to trim out the concepts that are designed to attack the middle of the field and put those into a separate post. Teams have won with the 43 defense at every level, from youth football to high school, college and the nfl. Football, game in which two teams of 11 players, using any part of their bodies except their hands and arms, try to maneuver the ball into the opposing teams goal. So now we turn to some of the mechanics for these keys. The socks made for football are very long and they are meant to cover the shinguards. Versus a 3x1 formation the backers should slide towards the trips.
The cover two defense was devised to stop the west coast offense, which relies on short passing routes and running backs coming out of the backfield to catch passes. This coverage is mantoman with help over the top in the two 2 deep zones. The football passions report summarises extensive sociological research across 18 countries in europe. The tampa 2 is a defensive strategy that was popularized by the tampa bay buccaneers football team in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The free safety covers the boundaryside deep half and the boundary corner plays the flat. Tampa 2 is a hybrid of cover 2 and cover 3 see below where the deep safeties have responsibility only for the deep zone outside the hashes, while the middle linebacker drops into the middle quarter of the field, covering deep passes between the hash marks. Rather than cover receivers man to man, the defensive side of the field is divided into zones, with each zone the responsibility of a safety, cornerback, or linebacker. We do play some cover 2 zone, but our base coverage is cover 3. Because the defense is presenting a 2high shell, you could be playing a cover 2, 4, 7, or 8 concept, but when you drop the safety down, you have to have a fast and efficient way to communicate which safety is dropping and how the backers away from the drop will respectively handle their threats. Cover 2 is a zone defense where two deep safeties each occupy one deep half of the fields width. To the average fan, cover 4 may sound like a passive, preventtype defense, while to the more nuanced fan, it may seem like an aggressive coverage.
The 425 defense is a strong defense against the run, while its more athletic outside linebackers or overhang safeties will provide more support against the pass. Cover 3 cloud is a situational coverage for defenses that want to play threedeep in the secondary while using cover 2 technique at the line of scrimmage to jamreroute a toptier wide receiver. Have you ever heard an analyst say that term, but wondered what exactly it means. Cover 6 is a mixed coverage, with one half of the field being covered by 1 player cover 2 and the other being covered by 2 players cover 4. Both coverages have many variations and combinations, but the core of every defenses coverage begins with either the mantoman concept or a zone concept. This coverage allows the defense to bracket or double two 2 receivers. These safeties are hybrid type players that are part safety, part olb.
As a cornerback in cover 2, its your job to cover the flat the blue oval. Football trick plays incorporate trick plays into your offense part 2 basic trick plays. If the offense decides to run your way in cover 2, its your job to either blow up the ball carrier or force the play back in. Cover 2 can also be paired with underneath zone schemes. By providing more deep defenders than the cover 2 zone, this defensive scheme makes it more difficult for teams that focus on long passes to come up with big plays down the field. Mantoman coverage in football simply stated, mantoman coverage is when any defensive back, or maybe even a. Put another way, the free safety shifts sideways to his cover2 position, the corner drops back to be the other cover2 safety, and the box safety moves over to play as a cover2 corner. This is the last group of examples well showcase for cover 2 pattern reads, and over the summer we plan to touch on pattern reading a. Press coverage drills the defensive back press coverage drills develop foot movement and lateral movement and quick reactions to the receivers moves. The 43 defense has been one of the most successful defenses over a long period of time in the history of football. We are probably one of the few youth football teams that use zone coverage. Nick sabans alabama pass coverages rileykolste football. Aurorastrasse 100 8032 zurich switzerland telephone.
I will not go into the rules of these coverages, i have discussed this in a. While joining espns college football live desk and reflecting on the national title game, nick saban noted, im still trying to figure out, after 40 years, how to play cover 2. His job is to fill up space, remove the cb and allow the qb to target no. Only the goalkeeper is permitted to handle the ball and may do so only within the penalty area surrounding the goal. Its somewhat easy to install and is a very good coverage in youth football. May 02, 2014 cover 3 cloud is a situational coverage for defenses that want to play threedeep in the secondary while using cover 2 technique at the line of scrimmage to jamreroute a toptier wide receiver. While playing football, opponent players try to injure players by kicking in the shin area.
Alignment vs 2x2 versus doubles in the middle of the field, the alignment is simple. May 10, 2012 cover 4, as the term implies, simply means that four defensive backs each take a deep quarter of the field. Cover 4 defense coverage at its most basic, cover 4 plays as a four deep, three under defense. Football is a game of strategy, and teams memorize and practice plays like the one diagrammed on this while individual skill is important, chalkboard. The sam linebacker to that side gets the under call and knows he is a hook defender and has to get depth and does. This is why a cornerback in cover 2 is also called the force corner. The 425 defense is one of the most popular defenses run at the high school and college levels. Again we have options vs cover 2 fadeout and cover 3 doublehitch but more importantly we have a good pass vs. The readside would be in cover 2 robber and the away side is in blue coverage. The team receiving the ball then tries to advance the ball back down the field in the direction from which it was kicked. But even mantoman coverage against the pass is effective out of the 43. The cover 2 zone is a defensive scheme that is implemented by many high school, college, and nfl teams. Dec 30, 2018 jobe lewis is a high school football coach and a former ncaa division i football player for new mexico state university. In the example diagrams ive created here, ive assumed a standard cover 2 zone scheme where the fs and ss or a nickel back play the 2.
448 1102 1596 931 308 423 447 1452 1211 1572 1048 920 1216 736 946 741 88 191 1589 1213 1106 398 366 809 365 1492 1575 1521 295 648 1469 146 815 329 377 874 1235 833 1361