Cover 3 defence football book

Defense swanlakelibra 11 nfl brothers you didnt know exist odell beckham jr, cam newton, rob gronkowski duration. Tackles, ends, inside linebackers, outside linebackers, and secondary. 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. The offense might pass, and when you have 8 in the box you can more or less choose between cover 3 zone and cover 1 man. The majority of youth football teams play man to man coverage, which is the case in my league as well. The cover 3 zone is a standard defensive scheme for the secondary and linebackers in all levels of football, from youth teams to the national football league. Thats because the seahawks variant requires a lot of physicality up front, even if the defensive backs are playing zone. Cover 2 read takes away the things that usually attack cover 2 like smash, fadeflat and slant because of the rules and techniques that the corner is taught to play. To help you recognize different defensive strategies, here are a handful of common lineups that defenses use to keep the offense in check. The column, as its name suggests, comes in three phases. Apr 17, 2015 the 4 across, or quarters zone 5 on 5 flag football defense is a staple goal line defense that many teams use when they are able to cover 510 yards in depth, and pass off slants, drags and other crossing routes to their teammates. Unless a team is desperate, they wont try to throw deep. Upon the snap the strong safety can either manup, cover the flat, cover deep third or cover deep quarter. Zone coverage also referred to as a zone defense is a defense scheme in gridiron football used to protect against the pass zone coverage schemes require the linebackers and defensive backs to work together to cover certain areas of the field, making it difficult for the opposing quarterback to complete passes.

Today, lets look at the classic version of the 3 deep, 4under defense that is played at all levels of football, but still has a home in the nfl. Agile and quick, great cornerbacks have natural instincts for the game, specifically on how to cover, read, adjust, and break on the ball, which makes them the anchors of pass defense plays where their effectiveness greatly influences the success of the overall defensive strategy. The seahawks have to run cover 1 because every defensive scheme has holes and if the seahawks played cover 3 all game, teams would run the same cover 3 beaters all game long. How the washington redskins play their unique cover 3 squat coverage.

In this book, how to read a football defense, coach renner explains the process of dividing the defense into. There are two players at linebacker depth playing linebacker technique, and then three defensive backs. In a basic 4 3 or 3 4 defense, there are four defensive backs on the field 2 cornerbacks cb, 1 strong safety ss, and 1 free safety fs. The defensive backfield is in a cover 3 which means the dbs each have 1 3 deep coverage. His base, or at least the foundation, of his defense is largely a twohigh, trap coverage. Many teams have won the super bowl with the 34 defense as its base defense, most recently, the green bay packers in 2011. Introducing mqs first fulllength book, cautious aggression.

The two cornerbacks are the pass coverage experts on football teams defensive lines. Onegap 34 defense as teams begin to get faster, more spread out, and more pass heavy on offense, a way many defenses are counteracting this is by moving to a 34 defense. Cover 3 beaters learn how to adjust to and beat cover 3. Enter your mobile number or email address below and well send you a link to download the free kindle app.

American football monthly maximizing your down lineman in. Defense is based on two standard formations, the 623, and the 533. Jan 03, 2011 however, if youre running a 4 3 and you want to run cover 3, then you have to work some stuff out, such as cloud or sky coverage, roll strongweak, etc. Just like most secondary units it consists of two safeties and two cornerbacks. The t immediately became football s stateoftheart offense and remained so for decades. Cover 4 is the same idea as cover 3, but there are four dbs deep instead of three.

Historically, there are two significant variations of the 52 defense in professional and college football. How to recognize cover 1 man free 1 under defense in football duration. It is often said that necessity is the mother of all invention. Coaching footballs 43 defense and millions of other books are available for amazon kindle. Dec 23, 2012 the 4 3 defense has been one of the most successful defenses over a long period of time in the history of football. James alder is an expert on the game of american football, blogs for the new york times, and appears on radio shows. Jun 15, 20 onehigh defenses cover 3 and cover 1 have the corners vacating with deep pass responsibility, leaving an outside linebacker and one of the safeties responsible as the force players.

Defense is based on two standard formations, the 62 3, and the 5 3 3. A 3 3 5 is often confused with a 3 4, but not all 3 linemen schemes are. When you see that a defense is called cover and then a number, that number is referring to the number of deep coverage responsibilities. The 4 3 under can be run with any combination of secondary assignments, the cover 1, cover 2, cover 3, and even the cover 4, and the seahawks run different zone coverages at. The defense is based on each lineman being responsible for one gap and controlling that gap. In todays installment of the nfl 101 series, former nfl defensive back matt bowen breaks down the basics of the 3 4 defensive front to give you a better understanding of the pro game. Instead theyll try to use the coverage to their advantage by exploiting the weaknesses in the zone. The 46 defense is an american football defensive formation, an eight men in the box defense, with six players along the line of scrimmage. You can see how it got its name from a mix of cover. In cover 3 youre playing the deep third of the field, along with the other corner and the free safety. Wave practice back 3 defensive shape gk and back 3 defend the goal for 4 minutes. Do the math yes that is a lot of defense and we adjusted every single defense to offensive motion and tight end trade. Mar 27, 2020 the 43 is a more conservative defense, but thats not always a bad thing.

Includes all of the terminology necessary to install the entire system, with detailed explanations and over 150 illustrations of how to stop football s most explosive running play with the 3 3 5 defense. Cover 1 is simply man to man coverage with one safety covering everything deep. The alignment features three down linemen and four linebackers in the front seven, thus the name 3 4 defense. Onegap 34 defense keeps offenses on their heels afca insider. Then you can start reading kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer no kindle device required. Cover 3 zone defense the majority of youth football teams play man to man coverage, which is the case in my league as well. Stopping the run with a cover3 base defense big cat country. If youre a 46 defense, youd better be running manfree or some variation of cover 3, such as 3 deep 3 under fire zone. Paul brown describes the defense as having a tight five man line. When you are playing a traditional zone defense where defenders drop to a spot on the field and then break on the pass after it is thrown, nfl passing offenses tear you apart. Mar 28, 2014 in todays installment of the nfl 101 series, former nfl defensive back matt bowen breaks down the basics of the 34 defensive front to give you a better understanding of the pro game. Cover 0 straight man cover 1 manfree all man with the exception by the free safety cover 2 half coverage cover 3 thirds coverage cover 4 quarters coverage cover 6 quarter, quarter, half one safety is half coverage. If you master this system and become efficient at it, you are not going to see a ton of cover 3.

This means stopping the run can potentially be more effective than with a 34 defense, as a 43 team utilizes two defensive tackles. We know we need to give you an under front, a bear front a 5 3 front and we will get to all of these eventually. No matter what you call it, there is no denying that it has become a popular defense to defend against the spread offenses on. Dec 06, 20 notice how i altered the terminology of cover 3 zone to cover 3 press. The 2 in cover 2 comes from the two safeties that are responsible for the two deep zones, or halves, starting at. The two corners have the deep outside 1 3 and the safety has middle 1 3. But, if they stay in cover 3, smell the blood in the water. The target players then change with the attacking team. The safeties are designated as either strong to the sam linebacker or free while most of the time cornerbacks are responsible for given sides. Understanding the cover 3 defense talk about the falcons.

These two offset linemen read the blocking combinations of the offense and attempt to make the tackle or the sack while their teammates try to break down the offenses blocking patterns. In cover 3, the two corners and free safety each have responsibility for a deep third of the field, while the strong safety plays like a linebacker. How to understand nick sabans pattern match cover3 defense. As the name implies, the cover 3 zone deploys three deep defensive backs to cover their respective thirds of the field see figure. Since cover 2 usually leaves a hole down the middle where neither safety is playing, cover 3 is a different scheme so that the hole is taken away. Coaching footballs 43 defense tim simons, mike freeman on. This is a great coverage when your primary goal is to defend the run. Includes all of the terminology necessary to install the entire system, with detailed explanations and over 150 illustrations of how to stop football s most explosive running play with the 335 defense. There ability to switch from a 4down to a 3 down without subbing made the scheme a perfect fit for the multiple sooners. Aug 15, 2014 although technically a cover 3 defense, the seahawks press cover 3 is a lot like the cover 1 scheme that was discussed earlier because it calls for the cornerbacks to be more aggressive early in. Within our onegap 34 defense, our cover 3 coverage is a traditional cover 3 with sky force call to the strength of the formation.

Often a teams last line of defense, defensive backs are indispensable. Three defenders split the top of the defense into deep thirds, while the four underneath players take care of the flat, the curl and the middle hook. Mar 22, 2016 coach hicks explains the particularities of a 4 3 base cover 3 defense in canadian football. 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 is a weekly feature column written by s tampa bay buccaneers beat writer trevor sikkema published every tuesday. The 3 4 defense is a basic football defensive formation that is used by several nfl teams. The same basic principles apply when it comes to making it work for you. I wouldnt recommend it as much in the open field until youre backed up to the endzone to defend, unless it. The national football league plays on a field that is 53. Cover 3 is the most popular and most basic defensive coverage in football. Best 5 on 5 flag football defense strategy guide flagspin. I highly recommend steve axmans book attacking coverages with the. Versus a runheavy oklahoma team, the cyclones relied on a modified 4down defense to defeat the sooners in norman. Such has been the case with the trend of the 3 5 3 or the hybrid 3 3 5, or odd stack defense.

Although technically a cover 3 defense, the seahawks press cover 3 is a lot like the cover 1 scheme that was discussed earlier because it calls for the cornerbacks to be more aggressive early in. In todays installment of the nfl 101 series, former nfl defensive back matt. How to recognize cover 3 defense in football youtube. Jun 20, 2019 within our onegap 3 4 defense, our cover 3 coverage is a traditional cover 3 with sky force call to the strength of the formation. The ball is thrown based upon what the key does within the qbs line of sight. How to recognize cover 2 defense in football duration. The 34 defense has become more popular in recent years with both nfl and college defenses. In american football, the 5 3 defense is a defensive alignment consisting of five down linemen and three linebackers. In the 43 the linebackers play more behind the line, and the team will rely on its four defensive linemen to get the job done up front. In addition to playing cover 3, the seahawks play their plethora of cover 1.

During the 1970s and 1980s the 34 defense was the most widely used defense in the nfl. This coverage is great against runheavy teams because it makes the football spill toward the strong safety. Features a complete playbook for the 335 defense, capable of dealing with all of the problems that may confront a modern defense. Alabama football coach nick sabans pattern match cover3 defense is wildly successful, but also very complex. The only commonality ive noticed is that it usually explains some variation of cover 2. Quarters to the passing strength with 2 deep coverage on the other side. Jan 15, 2015 defensive coordinators football handbook is a complete guide for football coaches. The 5 defensive schemes that dominate joe daniel football. This book describes the 20 gap defense in detail with full chapters explaining all positions.

Zone coverage schemes require the linebackers and defensive backs to work together to cover certain areas of the field, making it difficult for. This also includes showing motion across the formation and returning back to. Michigan state runs a 4 3 over cover 4 base, while the seattle seahawks run a 4 3 under cover 3 base. Ive seen cover 5 mean cover 2man, cover 2pattern read, tampa2, etc. Of course, this scheme puts extra pressure on the two cornerbacks, who are expected to be able to take the oppositions two best receivers mantoman and shut them down without any help. May 08, 2014 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. Football 101 returns with a look at how a quarterback reads a defense presnap. They will have to do something different if you keep shredding them.

In american football, the 53 defense is a defensive alignment consisting of five down linemen and three linebackers. For example, on a strong side route the psr must identify the ss. Cover 3 is a threedeep, fourunder zone defense run out of both base and. Some people call it the 30 stack defense, others will refer to it as the 3 3 stack defense and still some will call it the 3 5 defense. Shut down the modern pass game with simple coverage rules. On the technical level, its a very basic play coverage. Joe daniel is the founder of joe daniel football and the host of the football coaching podcast. The 46 defense was originally developed and popularized with the chicago bears by their defensive coordinator buddy ryan, who later became head coach of. How earl thomas and the seahawks defense use the cover3. The dallas 43 defense uses the scheme cover four or four across in the secondary. This defense has a great potential for the underdeveloped athletes success. We had instances or situations where we would play a mixture of man to man and zone coverage.

Jobe lewis is a high school football coach and a former ncaa division i football player for new mexico state university. If defending team win the ball they aim to score at opposite end. An american football team has a variety of defensive strategies. Zone coverage also referred to as a zone defense is a defense scheme in gridiron football used to protect against the pass. We are one of the few teams that actually use cover 3 zone defense with our youth football team. Some people call it the 30 stack defense, others will refer to it as the 33 stack defense and still some will call it the 35 defense.

In that regard, the dvd details the advantages of playing cover 2 and cover 3 zone coverages within the 34 defensive scheme, as opposed to a 43 defensive. In this book, how to read a football defense, coach renner explains the process of dividing the defense into three parts to read the best area to attack. Shown below is a diagram of the basic 3 5 3 defense. The information contained in the book has been compiled by leo hand during 47 years of coaching championship teams at both the high school and collegiate levels. Jul 18, 2007 cover 3 means there are 3 men back, each defending a third of the field, and is more successful against deep passes down the middle, where the reciever would have split the cover 2 in half. A look at the responsibilities of a defense in a cover 3 zone with some variations on a 34 defense. Here is a list of coverage diagrams well show on the following pages. The cover 2 zone is a defensive scheme that is implemented by many high school, college, and nfl teams. Published on mar 22, 2016 coach hicks explains the particularities of a 43 base cover 3 defense in canadian football. In its current form, it has survived over 30 years of change on the offense side. Their major function is to cover fast receivers and stop plays that slipped past the linebackers. Coach renner used the same method of reading a football defense to call his plays during those years. He has lambasted a too frequent use of quarters coverage, while still incorporating many of the elements that make cover 4 a favorite of many defensive coordinators across college football. This defense was prominent in the national football league from the late 1940s through the middle 1950s and was a precursor defense to buddy ryans 46 defense.

Ive also seen teams simply use it to mean there are five players covering underneath with their base deep zone behind cover 3 or cover 2. This book is the product of bob altshulers 20 gap defense and my own experience with this defense. Cover 3 is a zone defense where three defensive backs. The defending team have to try and stop the other team scoring and pass into the target players. Cibolo texas steele high school, bases out of a presstwo coverage. No matter what you call it, there is no denying that it has become a popular defense to defend against the spread offenses on the high school level. Coaching cover 3 coverage for the 425 defense youtube. The attackig team have 4 players who try to score in te goal. Teams have won with the 4 3 defense at every level, from youth football to high school, college and the nfl. Steve owen, my kind of football, david mckay, 1952, p. This is referred to as a mofc middle of field closed coverage that utilizes a post defender middle third player.

In 1941, clark shaughnessy of stanford university, ralph jones of lake forest college, and george halas published a book titled the modern t formation with maninmotion. In the 4 3 there are four linemen each with a specific alignment and role. Since the basics of a 3 4 defense went over well, lets move on to the next 3 down lineman scheme. Essentially, we are going to build this based on how a. Features a complete playbook for the 3 3 5 defense, capable of dealing with all of the problems that may confront a modern defense.

Attacking players can move anywhere across both field. So in cover 4 you play the deep 14 of the field on your side. This coverage is great against runheavy teams because it makes the football spill toward the. The defense lines up differently, for example, when its making a goalline stand or when its defending against a long pass. The first is the defense created by earle greasy neale. Remember that if the offense senses a deep coverage, theyll try to beat it with short, underneath passes. The defensive line in the 4 3 its critical that the defensive line is able to control their gap. Now lets look over on how cover 3 is schemed to defense against the pass.