Again we have options vs cover 2 fadeout and cover 3 doublehitch but more importantly we have a good pass vs. It was designed by then head coach tony dungy, defensive coordinator monte kiffin, and then linebackers coach lovie smith. 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. The sam linebacker to that side gets the under call and knows he is a hook defender and has to get depth and does. The tampa 2 is a defensive strategy that was popularized by the tampa bay buccaneers football team in the late 1990s and early 2000s. With a fourman pass rush, that leaves five defenders, typically cornerbacks and linebackers, to divide the underneath area into zones. Teams have won with the 43 defense at every level, from youth football to high school, college and the nfl. 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.
Cover 2 is a zone defense where two deep safeties each occupy one deep half of the fields width. 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. Download football tutorial pdf version previous page print page. The tampa 2 is typically employed out of a 43 defensive alignment, which consists of four linemen, three linebackers, two cornerbacks, and two safeties. Dec 30, 2018 jobe lewis is a high school football coach and a former ncaa division i football player for new mexico state university. 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. Mantoman coverage in football simply stated, mantoman coverage is when any defensive back, or maybe even a. 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. 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. Versus a 3x1 formation the backers should slide towards the trips. All told, the 43 defensive alignment is something every coach should have in his or her defensive playbook.
In the simplest terms, it is a 44 defense that removes 2 lbs for an additional 2 safeties. 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. While playing football, opponent players try to injure players by kicking in the shin area. It could be an intentional or unintentional act by the player. 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. 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. We do play some cover 2 zone, but our base coverage is cover 3. Kenny ratledge via coaches choice football coaching library. 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. The psr is based on the alignment of the cs on the wide receivers. This is the last group of examples well showcase for cover 2 pattern reads, and over. 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. Understanding the cover 2 zone isnt very difficult. Cover 2 zone refers to 2 safeties with deep responsibility but now the cbs and lbs drop back into specific coverage zones where they defend passes only in their assigned area.
The team receiving the ball then tries to advance the ball back down the field in the direction from which it was kicked. How to understand nick sabans pattern match cover3 defense. Cover 2 zone defense is a good coverage scheme that is popular on the high school profession level of football. American football teams defenses employ two types of pass coverage.
The 43 defense has been one of the most successful defenses over a long period of time in the history of football. The basic philosophy behind the cover 3 zone is to provide a good balance of run and pass defense. Its somewhat easy to install and is a very good coverage in youth football. Jobe lewis is a high school football coach and a former ncaa division i football player for new mexico state university. Cover 2 can also be paired with underneath zone schemes. The idea is to widen the cb in cover 1 or cover 3 3deep, 4under and work the ball to no. 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. May 10, 2012 cover 4, as the term implies, simply means that four defensive backs each take a deep quarter of the field. Football trick plays incorporate trick plays into your offense part 2 basic trick plays. I will not go into the rules of these coverages, i have discussed this in a. The football passions report summarises extensive sociological research across 18 countries in europe. His job is to fill up space, remove the cb and allow the qb to target no.
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. Jan 21, 2019 the basic philosophy behind the cover 3 zone is to provide a good balance of run and pass defense. 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. A look into the cover2 scheme and how it works with the. Nick sabans alabama pass coverages rileykolste football. Below are diagrams that demonstrate cover 6 against a pro formation and a spread offense formation. Cover 2 man man under twodeep this coverage is mantoman with help over the top in the two 2 deep zones. But even mantoman coverage against the pass is effective out of the 43. Cover 2 zone defense for youth football, zone pass coverage. These safeties are hybrid type players that are part safety, part olb. Have you ever heard an analyst say that term, but wondered what exactly it means. We are probably one of the few youth football teams that use zone coverage. This coverage is mantoman with help over the top in the two 2 deep zones. The cover 2 zone is a defensive scheme that is implemented by many high school, college, and nfl teams.
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. In split safety coverages, by contrast, there are two apex players and only one hook player. Both coverages have many variations and combinations, but the core of every defenses coverage begins with either the mantoman concept or a zone concept. 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. The 425 defense is one of the most popular defenses run at the high school and college levels. 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. 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. Onegap 34 defense keeps offenses on their heels afca insider. The diagram on the right combines the fadeout and doublehitch combination. As a cornerback in cover 2, its your job to cover the flat the blue oval. Most of the popular zone coverages such as cover 2, cover 3, and cover 4 will run out of a baseline 43 formation. Cover 4 defense coverage at its most basic, cover 4 plays as a four deep, three under defense. The socks made for football are very long and they are meant to cover the shinguards. The latest news and updates in cover2 hs football brought to you by the team at khon2.
Thus the field side of the coverage is quarters, and the boundary side is cover 2. Only the goalkeeper is permitted to handle the ball and may do so only within the penalty area surrounding the. 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. The free safety covers the boundaryside deep half and the boundary corner plays the flat. 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. 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. This is why a cornerback in cover 2 is also called the force corner. 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. Teams that play cover 2 shells usually subscribe to the bendbutdontbreak philosophy, preferring to keep. 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. We are going to continue our look at various passing concepts, this time with 2x2 and mirrored passing concepts. This coverage allows the defense to bracket or double two 2 receivers. 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.
Press coverage drills the defensive back press coverage drills develop foot movement and lateral movement and quick reactions to the receivers moves. The 2 in cover 2 comes from the two safeties that are responsible for the two deep zones, or halves, starting at. 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 tampa 2 is an american football defensive scheme popularized by and thus named after the tampa bay buccaneers national football league nfl team in the mid1990searly 2000s. 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. 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. Aurorastrasse 100 8032 zurich switzerland telephone. Brown writes and edits smart football, which is dedicated to football analysis, strategy, philosophy and history. I have not seen much cover 2 zone defense at the youth level.
Alignment vs 2x2 versus doubles in the middle of the field, the alignment is simple. 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. It could be closer to the left hashmarks or the right hashmarks. Only the goalkeeper is permitted to handle the ball and may do so only within the penalty area surrounding the goal. Understanding the 425 defense january 8, 2017 by the 4. Football is a game of strategy, and teams memorize and practice plays like the one diagrammed on this while individual skill is. The readside would be in cover 2 robber and the away side is in blue coverage. But this belies the aggressive nature of the coverage.