Cover 3 Pattern Match

[Caleb59seal]

I know there are some on here that know football so I would love to get your opinion. I know the basic rules relating and te like but I want the fine tuning. So give me a run through....

 

[UTblood4life]

A mantra comically repeated within the circles of "Air Raid" offenses is, "everything works against Cover 3", meaning whatever the concept, you can pass at will against most cover 3 defenses. With natural voids in the defense in the flats and in the seams, the four underneath defenders are typically the lynch pin of how successful a cover 3 defense will be.

The easiest threat to victimize cover 3 is the #2 receiver in the seam. The defense must be able to account for this threat or it will spend much of the game seeing the free safety 'wrong' on a 4 vertical threat

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[UT Hill Man]

Well, you got to match a row to the row below using the seam lines as a guide, pin right sides together,
and machine stitch using a straight stitch and ¼ inch inseam.

Anything bigger than a 1/4 inseam is gonna turn out looking like sh*t.

 

[RollerVol]

cover 3...just don't even think about it...

GO VOLS...BEAT HUSKERS!

 

[GAVol]

That extra defender in the back also tends to open up the flats a little since the shallow defenders have to read the curls and slants first

 

[Vol8188]

I've been a secondary coach for years and I've also coordinated both offenses and defenses. I'll give a detailed answer later today. I've been using 2, 3, and 4 read (pattern matching zone coverages) since 2009

 

[Vol8188]

I base out of cover 4. I teach my safeties and corners how to play flats so that we can move in and out of cover 3 or 2.

Most defenses will either have 0, 1, or 2 deep safeties (unless in a prevent mode). From their you can do one of four things.

You can play man. You can play banjo (a man defense that swaps assignments when wide receivers cross). You can play pattern match/pattern read coverage (a zone where drops are based on patterns, typically the pattern of the slot wr). Or you can play zone coverage (often called spot dropping).

So banjo and pattern match/read are coverages that blur the lines between man and zone.

Will give more details soon.

 

[Vol8188]

The issue with man is that defenders can be picked off on rub routes. Banjo is designed to give defenders the best leverage to play a give route (the guy outside of the two WRs will take any outside cut and the guy inside will take any inside cut).

The issue with true zone (spot dropping) is that I can flood your zone and put more players in it than you can defend. This is where route reading becomes advantageous and teaching players to recognize and react to common route combinations.

 

[AllVols]

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[Vol8188]

So how does route reading help against flood routes?

We still do have aiming points (spots to drop to), but defenders are assigned wr progressions. For example my inside lb's in our base 3-4 is that they play from 3-2-1 on the strong side and 2-1 on the weak side.

My corners play from 1-2.

Flat defenders play from 2-1.

Safeties play 2-1.

I probably won't have time today (gotta entertain relatives this evening), but if you'd like I can draw exact diagrams and show how we play common routes.

 

[Vol_0311]

So how does route reading help against flood routes?

We still do have aiming points (spots to drop to), but defenders are assigned wr progressions. For example my inside lb's in our base 3-4 is that they play from 3-2-1 on the strong side and 2-1 on the weak side.

My corners play from 1-2.

Safeties play 2-1.

I probably won't have time today (gotta entertain relatives this evening), but if you'd like I can draw exact diagrams and show how we play common routes.

I'd definitely enjoy reading/seeing more on this

 

[Vol8188]

My inside lbs are dropping to the hash marks with a desired depth of 12-15 yards.

While dropping he's reading the WRs from 3-2-1 (2-1 if on the weak side). When I say 3, I mean the third man from the sideline on his side of the football. 2 is the second man from the sideline. 1 is the man closest to the sideline.

If 3 sits down or goes vertical, we go with him up to 12 yards. If he breaks inside or outside we turn our eyes to 2. If he's inside, he's ours. If he's outside or vertical, we turn our eyes to 1. If he's inside he's ours. If he's vertical or outside he's not.

The whole time we are working 12-15 yards and to the hash.

 

[Vol8188]

When I teach it to players, I don't always get that detailed. We start out by saying "get your eyes to your nearest threat while dropping 12-15 yards to your spot". That's the wr closest to your zone.

If he breaks away from you, find your next threat

 

[Vol8188]

Our OLB has a similar job. He's the flat defender. He will always line up inside of #2 if we are in cover 4.

So his first threat (closest man to his zone) is number 2. We never look back inside (only outside) unless we get a cross call to let us know someone is coming from the opposite side.

So he's reading 2-1 (second man from the sideline to the first). If 2 is deep we will follow until 1 breaks inside or sits down(if they're both deep we will stay deep on 2 unless the rb swings to the flats).

If two breaks inside, we attack one.

If two breaks outside, he's in the flats so we run with him (flats are the outter underneath zone the inner underneath zones are called the curl and hook zones).

 

[Vol8188]

If our safeties are in the flats, they play exactly like the outside linebackers.

If they're deep, it's similar to the flats (makes teaching easy). Except they don't break up on things in the flats. They simply play 2-1 deep. If 2 breaks off his route (sits down, runs inside or outside), we immediately attack 1.

 

[Vol8188]

Our corners play 1-2. If 1 is deep the corner plays him.

If one sits down or breaks off his route, we check 2. If 2 is deep we stay deep. If two breaks outside to us, he's ours. If 2 is inside, we will chase 1 until something breaks back out to us (think double slant).

 

[Vol8188]

Playing the flats for the corner is just like how he normally plays, except he only runs deep if both wrs are deep.

So if he's playing deep, he's deep if either one of the two are deep.

If he's playing flats he's only deep if both men are deep.

 

[Vol8188]

So what separates match/read from banjo and true zone?

A true zone wouldn't have underneath defenders (flat, hook, curl) run deep with plays even if they don't have another player in their zone.

A banjo team wouldn't pass off crossers. They would run with them.

With that in mind, we do run with a backside crosser. So when one inside lb gives the other a cross call, he will find and run with that crosser.

And everyone runs with their second crosser. Everyone passes up the first crosser (unless he's from backside) and everyone runs with their second crosser.

 

[Caleb59seal]

So what separates match/read from banjo and true zone?

A true zone wouldn't have underneath defenders (flat, hook, curl) run deep with plays even if they don't have another player in their zone.

A banjo team wouldn't pass off crossers. They would run with them.

With that in mind, we do run with a backside crosser. So when one inside lb gives the other a cross call, he will find and run with that crosser.

And everyone runs with their second crosser. Everyone passes up the first crosser (unless he's from backside) and everyone runs with their second crosser.

Thank you man I am an upcoming coach and love talking X and O's this board makes it hard to find sometimes.... So what do you do with china/ smash concept? Does Corner drop smash and drop to corner route? Or do you have the flat player (linebacker or nickle) take #7 route all the way and corner drops down and cuts the curl or smash route?....

Also what about crossers I think I understand but which LB takes the crosser would it be the weak side of the crosser so you don't make them run with the crosser as soon as he breaks because that would automatically take you from a less then advantageous postion with more of a trail technique with a backer on a slot or X/Z receiver....

Do you make a push call or "under" call when one breaks to let them know one is going so one is coming?

Or what do you do if trips.... I like the Mable check because it gives you a push call so it's four defenders on three receivers with the weak side backer taking the 4/1st crosser?

 

[Guyute]

So what separates match/read from banjo and true zone?

A true zone wouldn't have underneath defenders (flat, hook, curl) run deep with plays even if they don't have another player in their zone.

A banjo team wouldn't pass off crossers. They would run with them.

With that in mind, we do run with a backside crosser. So when one inside lb gives the other a cross call, he will find and run with that crosser.

And everyone runs with their second crosser. Everyone passes up the first crosser (unless he's from backside) and everyone runs with their second crosser.

Part eleventy in the thirty party series:
"Football Coverages: I'll Tell You More When I Damn Well Get Around To It"

I'm serious when I say that is some seriously football stuff. Thank you!

I should really get back to reading angry people fight about a winning season, now.

 

[Vol8188]

Thank you man I am an upcoming coach and love talking X and O's this board makes it hard to find sometimes.... So what do you do with china/ smash concept? Does Corner drop smash and drop to corner route? Or do you have the flat player (linebacker or nickle) take #7 route all the way and corner drops down and cuts the curl or smash route?....

Also what about crossers I think I understand but which LB takes the crosser would it be the weak side of the crosser so you don't make them run with the crosser as soon as he breaks because that would automatically take you from a less then advantageous postion with more of a trail technique with a backer on a slot or X/Z receiver....

Do you make a push call or "under" call when one breaks to let them know one is going so one is coming?

Or what do you do if trips.... I like the Mable check because it gives you a push call so it's four defenders on three receivers with the weak side backer taking the 4/1st crosser?

1. Defending the smash route depends on the coverage. In 4 or 3 we never let the safety go 1 one on one with the slot deep (safety plays post cut and corner plays flag cut). So in 4, if either player is deep, the corner is deep too. So the corner and safety play the corner route and the underneath route goes to the lb (or roll down safety).

If playing it from cover 2, then the corner will sit on the flat route (he's only deep in cover 2 if everyone is deep). The outside linebacker would run with corner route until he saw the China/flat route break.

Crossing rules are universal to all 3 versions of zone that we play. The backside lb runs with first crosser. Inside and outside lb's take second man to cross their face. If both wr's are inside, the corner will chase until something crosses his face (but never beyond the TE/Ghost TE, he doesn't want to cross the field, just help with double slants).

 

[GAVol]

How much of this are you really running within a game? I always wonder how exotic high school DCs are or even have to be with coverages.

 

[Vol8188]

How much of this are you really running within a game? I always wonder how exotic high school DCs are or even have to be with coverages.

I'll run 2, 3, 4 and man (regular or banjo) in the course of a game.

Regular man or banjo is a check between the safety and the corner. I just call our man color. That tells them to play man, but they'll then make a banjo or lock call before the play based on how close the WRs are to each other (close WRs are more likely to cross and require a banjo call).

Cover 4 is our base but sometimes a formation will dictate we have to roll a safety down to one side to prevent the offense from out flanking or out numbering us(11 or 12 personnel 3x1 sets for example).

Cover 2 is something I'll call from time to time as a change up because of how soft a cover 4 team is in the flats. You try to call it in when you their tendencies tell you they'll try to throw to the flats (3rd and 4 for example) in hopes of picking one and scaring them away from the weak spot in our base defense.

Cover 3 and 2 are also used for blitzing. If I blitz from one side, I'll normally roll the safety to replace the blitzers zone (cover 3). If I blitz from both sides I'll drop both corners (cover 2).

I'll normally only use man when I'm sending 6 or more (goalline or 3rd down).

 

[Caleb59seal]

How much of this are you really running within a game? I always wonder how exotic high school DCs are or even have to be with coverages.

Ya I don't know how much you keep up with high school football but their has been a lot more complexity to both sides of the ball in the past five years that I know of.... As opposed to line up and play man.

 

[Caleb59seal]

1. Defending the smash route depends on the coverage. In 4 or 3 we never let the safety go 1 one on one with the slot deep (safety plays post cut and corner plays flag cut). So in 4, if either player is deep, the corner is deep too. So the corner and safety play the corner route and the underneath route goes to the lb (or roll down safety).

If playing it from cover 2, then the corner will sit on the flat route (he's only deep in cover 2 if everyone is deep). The outside linebacker would run with corner route until he saw the China/flat route break.

Crossing rules are universal to all 3 versions of zone that we play. The backside lb runs with first crosser. Inside and outside lb's take second man to cross their face. If both wr's are inside, the corner will chase until something crosses his face (but never beyond the TE/Ghost TE, he doesn't want to cross the field, just help with double slants).

Gottcha I am more of a cover 3/ cover 1 guy myself.... But I also have the talent to do it.... We also have rules as does everyone with zones schemes that second through means you leave with him....

I just wondered if on trips you check to cover 2 or 4 automatically or you keep cover 3 and slide or "push" your coverage to where you have 2 H/C, flat, and Corner or 1/3 player to one side and backside converts to cover 1 with the will or Weak safety becoming responsible for 4/1st crosser?

Sounds like you like cover 4 a lot? What is your go to and why?