Robber vs. Cover 3

2 GOOD ARTICLES - SORRY DIAGRAMS WON'T COME THRU:

Robber Coverage Out of an 8-man Front

By Marvin Sanders
Defensive Back Coach, Nebraska

On behalf of Frank Solich and the entire University of Nebraska Football family, I would like to say that it is an honor and privilege to be asked to write an article for American Football Monthly. As a firm believer in trying to gain knowledge from any source available, I have found American Football Monthly to be a valuable asset.

Throughout my career I have had the fortune to be a part of some good programs and learn from a lot of great football coaches. Hopefully there will be something in the proceeding section that you may find beneficial to you.

Today I would like to discuss a coverage out of an eight-man front defense. Eight-man fronts are good defenses versus the run, but when implementing this type of defense you must develop a coverage that will not make you vulnerable to the play action pass. Cover 5 Robber, as I have called it in the past, is a two-deep coverage with a Safety being a Robber off the No. 2 Wide Receiver.

Let us start by showing the base alignment of the eight-man front versus a base pro formation. Once we have discussed the basic alignment and assignments versus basic 21 Personnel Formations we will look at some adjustments for when teams begin to break from the basic 21 Personnel Sets.


Diagram 1.


Diagram 2.

Defensive Line (Diagram 1):
Weak Side End = 5 Technique
Weak Side Tackle = 2I Technique
Strong Side Tackle = 3 Technique
Strong Side End = 7 Technique

Linebackers (Diagram 2):
Sam = 40 Alignment - Head up on the strong side Offensive Tackle approximately 5 yards deep. (Could align Sam in a pressure alignment - on heels of the defensive line)

Mike = 20I Alignment - Inside shade of the Weak-Side Guard approximately 5 yards deep. (Could align Mike in a pressure alignment - on the heels of the defensive line)

Whip = Loose 5 Alignment - Pressure Alignment on the heels of the 5 Technique Defensive End.

Rover = Loose 9 Alignment - Pressure Alignment slightly outside of the Tight End on the line of scrimmage.

How we have described the linebackers alignment is based off an equivalent to the defensive line numbering system with a "0" added for the depth of the linebackers.

Alignment for the secondary will adjust against different formations. This coverage is best used in 21 Personnel Group (2 backs, 1 TE) situations. By knowing what coverage calls are best versus certain personnel groups, you allow for very minimal adjustments.

Alignment vs. Pro Formations


Diagram 3.


Diagram 4.


Diagram 5.

Corners = 8 yards off WR with inside leverage - Adjust versus various WR splits (Diagram 3)

Free Safety = 10-12 yards off TE - Approximately aligned over OT (Diagram 4)

Now that we have the base alignments to the eight-man front, let us take a look at the actual coverage. To properly execute the Robber Coverage, first we must understand the roles of the underneath coverage players. 5 Robber is a coverage that could be either a Five-Under Two-Deep coverage or a Four Under Three-Deep Coverage. The determining factor into which set-up you will be in will be determined by the action of the number two wide receiver/tight end.

The Whip and Rover are "Buzz" defenders. They are responsible for pushing underneath the No. 1 Wide Receiver to their side while reaching their landmark. The landmark for the Rover and Whip is the top of numbers approximately 12 yards deep (Diagram 5). Getting to this landmark will not always be accomplished but it gives the Rover and Whip aiming points. Even if the ball is positioned on the hash, the landmarks remain the same. Both the Whip and Rover must have an understanding of where their landmark is in relation to the position of the ball. The ball on the hash will force the field side player to really have to expand and the boundary side player to adjust his drop to more straight back instead of wide.


Diagram 6.


Diagram 7.


Diagram 8.


Diagram 9.


Diagram 10.


Diagram 11.

The Rover and Whip are considered 1 to 2 defenders. They will both push underneath the No. 1 Wide Receiver until No. 2 threatens the flat zone. When this happens the Rover and Whip must jump No. 2 in the flat (Diagram 6). If the split of the No. 1 Wide Receiver is wide, the Whip and Rover may be able to hold off the Curl Zone a little longer in order to buy time for either the Free Safety or the Mike to expand to the Curl. If the No. 2 Wide Receiver runs a wheel route (Out/Up) the Rover and Whip must run with him (Diagram 7).

Sam is a 3-to-1 defender strong. Sam must drop on top of No. 3 in the hook zone. If No. 3 leaves the zone, Sam must expand to the No. 1 Wide Receiver (Diagram 8). If the No. 3 Receiver decides to push deep through the hook zone, Sam is responsible for carrying this receiver deep (Diagram 9).

Mike is a 2-to-1 defender to the weak side. Mike must drop over top of the No. 2 Wide Receiver in the Curl Zone. If No. 2 pushes flat, Mike must expand to No. 1 (Diagram 10). If the No. 2 Receiver pushes deep through the weak curl zone, Mike is responsible for carrying this receiver deep (Diagram 11).

Corners are half-field defenders. They are responsible for all deep throws to the No. 1 Wide Receiver. A key coaching point for Corners is to understand they will have help on all underneath routes (12 yards or less) by the No. 1 Wide Receiver (Diagram 12). Corners should stay on top of underneath breaking curl and deep out routes. Due to the depth of the drops of the underneath defenders, corners should be in position to intercept any over throws by the quarterback. Corners should play very aggressive on all deep routes by the Wide Receiver.

The Free Safety is a 2-to-1 defender. The Free Safety will carry the No. 2 Wide Receiver or Tight End on all vertical and inside sit-down routes (Diagram 13). If the No. 2 WR/TE goes flat, the Free Safety must Rob the curl of No. 1 (Diagram 14). If the No. 2 and No. 3 Wide Receivers are in a potential immediate exchange position (No. 3 can go flat now), the Free Safety and the Sam can give each other a "Switch" call and exchange responsibilities based on the immediate action of No. 2 and 3. If No. 3 immediately goes flat, declaring himself as the new No. 2 Wide Receiver, the Free Safety in a "Switch" call will expand to the curl and the Mike will now sit on top of the new No. 3 (Diagram 15).


Diagram 12.
Diagram 13.

Diagram 14.
Diagram 15.

The adjustment versus 21 Personnel will be against a slot formation. The only difference comes between the Sam and Mike Linebacker. Versus a slot formation Mike, who is now aligned to the passing strength (2 Wide Receiver side), must adjust his alignment to a 40 and he becomes the 3-to-1 defender. Sam now must align in a 20, as he is the Inside Linebacker away from the passing strength, and becomes the 2-to-1 defender. The Corner on the backside should align in the C gap approximately 9 yards deep. Although the Corner aligned on the closed side does not have a true No. 1 WR, he is still responsible for all deep breaking routes by the TE (Diagram 16).


Diagram 16.


Diagram 17.


Diagram 18.

These alignments and assignments help form the base responsibilities for 5 Robber. Once teams begin to break from the core 21 personnel formations a few adjustments need to be made. The two main breaks from the core 21 Personnel formations are 3x1 and 2x2 set. First, let us take a look at a 3x1 formation where the Fullback or the Tailback has aligned outside the core to the Z Wide Receive side (Diagram 17).

When the Fullback or Tailback align in this displaced position, the defense must slide strong to adjust. The first adjustment comes from the strong side Defensive End. The DE moves to a 9 technique (Diagram 18). Rover must adjust out to the displaced back just as he would in a slot formation. The pass responsibilities for the Rover remain exactly the same (1-to-2 defender). Sam moves to a 50 alignment and remains the 3-to-1 defender to the strong side. Mike must adjust his alignment to a strong side 00 alignment. His pass responsibilities remain the same (2-to-1 defender). The Whip can loosen his alignment approximately 2 yards. Pass responsibilities remain the same (1-to-2 defender).

Two-by-two formations pose a little different threat for Cover 5 Robber. These types of formations give the offense a better chance to stretch the defense. If a team was giving a heavy dose of 2x2 formations with 21 Personnel, I would recommend going to whatever you would use versus 11 Personnel groupings. For an occasional adjustment, Cover 5 Robber still is okay to execute.


Diagram 19.


Diagram 20.


Diagram 21.

Base alignment versus a 2x2 formation will depend solely upon one's preference. In the past I have made the front call to the passing strength. This adjustment allows for better gap integrity and puts the Linebackers in a better position to cover their pass responsibilities. This adjustment puts your call side Defensive End, and Tackle in one-on-one pass rush situations. The Sam now moves to a 20 alignment and the Mike to a 30 (Diagram 19).

Pass responsibilities to the slot side remains the same for the Corner, Rover, and Free Safety. To the slot side, the Rover must now be aware that the No. 2 Wide Receiver can get to the flat a lot faster and should adjust his alignment accordingly. The Robber Coverage to the Slot side remains essentially a three-on-two situation. This should give a little advantage to the defense (Diagram 20).

The TE/Z receiver side is the side that the offense has a chance to stretch the defense. The No. 2 (TE) is already in a threatening position. The TE has the ability to immediately stretch the defense vertically. Due to this threat, the Mike and weak-side Corner must communicate a "Stretch" call. This indicates to the Corner that the TE is in a threatening position and the Corner should be prepared to help out over the top of a vertical route. To adjust to this threat, the weak-side Corner should adjust his alignment slightly deeper and more inside of the No. 1 Receiver. The Mike should also deepen a step to better position himself to cover underneath the vertical of the TE (Diagram 21).

Cover 5 is not an answer all, but it is a coverage that has been very efficient versus 21 Personnel groupings. There are a lot of strengths in running a coverage such as this. One of the most evident strengths is that it allows you to put eight defenders into the box to stop the run. You can and will gain a ninth defender in run situations when the TE blocks. The Free Safety who is reading the TE/No. 2 Wide Receiver, becomes an immediate run defender once he reads a block by the TE. Versus a team that is predominately a 21 Personnel passing team, Cover 5 Robber allows for 3-on-2 and 2-on-1 situations for the defense. One final advantage is always having the threat of pressure off the edges by the Whip and Rover.

As with all defenses, Cover 5 has some weaknesses. The one glaring weakness to Cover 5 is that it is not very good versus teams who will attempt to stretch the defense. As stated earlier, if teams are breaking from the core 21 Personnel sets (pro and slot), I would advise that you go to your 11 Personnel defensive options.

About the author
Marvin Sanders

Marvin Sanders became a member of Frank Solich's Husker coaching staff after two seasons as the secondary coach at Colorado State. Sanders will tutor the defensive backs at his alma mater, the same position he played at Nebraska in the late 1980s.

Sanders will be one of three new assistants on the Husker defensive staff, headed by coordinator Bo Pelini. Pelini was involved in Solich's selection of Sanders as the Husker defensive backs coach.



Robber
A great coverage scheme vs. spread offenses

By Nick Rapone
Defensive Backs Coach, Temple University

With today's high-flying passing attacks getting all the national acclaim, here is quite arguably the finest mode of counter-attack. So many times defensive coordinators have to change their entire defensive package just to deal with a one dimensional aerial circus, but here is the way in which you can pressure their protection schemes, all the while baiting the quarterback to throw into a mine field known as Robber coverage. The following is an outline of the Robber coverage package we run at Temple and our positional checklist of fundamentals.
Our No. 1 coverage that we run with our eight-man fronts is Robber. The main reasons for running this coverage are as follows:

* Able to get FS to both sides of the ball.

* Able to get control of the TED on any vertical routes.

* Able to have immediate sky support from our two outside safeties.

* Lets inside LB play run because No. 2 is always controlled vertically to the TE side.

* Able to use five DBs as a base package, which gives us better team speed.

* Alignments blend in with playing our other two coverages, which are man free and 0 coverage, which is a blitz coverage.

Our checklist for each position are as follows:

* Fundamentals of coverage
A. Stance
B. Alignment
C. Keys
D. Run Responsibilities

Flow To
Flow away

E. Pass Responsibilities
Drop Back
Full Flow Strong
Full Flow Weak

F. Adjustments to Formation
G. Field Position and How it Affects Your Formation
CORNERS

A. Alignment = 2 yards inside - 9 yards deep - No. 1 Receiver

B. Key = QB

C. Run Responsibility = 2nd Contain - Alley Support.

D. Pass Responsibility = Must stay inside No. 1 (C.P. - If you are the corner to the FS side, you can play much tighter because the free safety is controlling No. 2. The split end side corner must be aware of No. 2).

FS

A. Alignment = 8 yards deep, inside foot back.

B. Key = No. 2

C. Run Responsibility = We teach 3 run reads.

D. Pass Responsibility = We teach 3 reads.

SS & OWL (Outside LBs)

A. Alignment = SS aligns to the TE- 2 yards outside, 2 yards deep, Owl aligns to split end - 2 yds. outside of off. tackle, 2 yds. deep

B. Key = Triangle - (Flow - TE - QB)

C. Run Responsibility = SS - Flow To - sky support, Flow Away - check reverse, then fold

D. Owl = Flow To - sky support (unless both backs flow into B-Gap, then you must fill B Gap), Flow Away - B Gap

E. Pass Responsibility = SS & OWL

Once you read pass, work the #'s. He has the flat, and any No. 2 receiver that goes flat and up.

INSIDE LBs

A. Alignment = Mike is in a 10, 4.5 yards deep, Will is in a 30, 4.5 yards deep

B. Key = Flow to Guards

C. Run Responsibility: Mike - Flow To - Stack C-Gap, unless both backs are in A. Flow Away - A Gap front side. Will - Flow to - B Gap. Flow Away - Front Side A-Gap

D. Pass Responsibility = Mike reads No. 3 (Back).

Back Expands - Mike expands to look up No. 1. Back Goes Vertical - Mike must take him man-to-man. Back Blocks - Mike works to Front Side Hook.

Will Reads No. 2 (Back)

Back Expands - Will Expands to look up No. 1. Back Goes Vertical - Will must take him man-to-man. Back Blocks - Will works straight back to Hook.

OVERVIEW OF ROBBER

We feel that fundamentals are of true importance to our success in the secondary. There are many different drills that one can utilize to increase the quality of performance. I have enclosed how we back pedal, take on blocks and two drills we use for competition.