Zone Coverage Corner Technique

We teach our corners to open their hips to the QB way before the receiver even threatens their cushion. They backpedal out at the snap but open their hips after a couple of backpedal steps. The backpedal is to be able to break on a quick 3-step route such as a hitch, 5 yd out, or slant. Once the 3-step threat is gone, the hips open and the corner gains depth reading the QB. It is more of a side run that accelerates as the receiver closes the gap. If we are in cover 3, we are probably willing to give up the short routes and rally to the ball and so we maintain a pretty comfortable cushion. Because he is not threatened vertically immediately, he is able to keep the WR in his peripheral as well. This has helped us to have much better success defending the fade b/c the corner sees the ball thrown and isn't relying on the receiver to give him the read. Hope this helps.

ander02 - I would worry in Cover 3 that if you are overly concerned with the 3 step game - you will be vulnerable to the SMASH (WR hitch - with a corner route behind him)! It can be throw off 3 steps as well as 5. Who would cover the deep 1/3?

Two ideas if you are getting beat by the 3-step game out of cover 3 (or "loose" man)

1) Have your corners focus on the back shoulder of the QB. The back shoulder will drop much further on 5 or 7 step drops. Conversely, a higher back shoulder is a tip off to a three-step throw.

2) On occasion, rotate your coverage on the snap in a predetermined direction. True, if you guess wrong you will give up a completion, but if you guess correctly, you have a very good chance at an int. As Deac14 and I have been discussing, you can show (and send) blitz from the side your are rotating towards to bait the QB into throwing that way. Obviously, this would be best against a QB trained to throw to the side vacated by a blitzing defender.

THE REASONS PRESENTED BY BILL IN HIS LAST POST ARE PRECISELY WHY I HATE COVER THREE AND ALWAYS HAVE!!! Way to much vulnerability in that cover # 3 baloney to suit me! There is no way under the sun you can come close to being able to defend even half of the route trees and patterns in todays game from cover # 3. If your facing a team that features only two WR's or some such nonsense as that, then you would have a chance playing deep thirds, granted, but how many teams only release two receivers into the secondary in todays game, not many.

Coach, you are absolutely right in staying away from man coverage IF YOU DON'T HAVE THE GUYS WHO ARE QUICK, FAST, TOUGH, CAN JUMP, AND TACKLE. But, my suggestion is if you are forced to play zone because of weak personell, consider cover #2 rather than cover #3. Just a suggestion as always.

Coach Easton

Hey guys great discussion. I would love to have an open forum like this on CB/DB discussion moreoften. It would especially be great to have due to the fact that so many schools are now going to that damn "Fun & Gun' or Texas Tech Offense Pass Happ offenses..
Well in reference to the Cover # Technique. I would agree with ander02 when getting the CB to read the Qb's steps more improtnatly for High School. Honestly I don't think there is a coach in HS that wouldn't want to run Man to Man and be confident that it would shut a HS passing game down but that's why HS Football is so pure. In regards to the Cover 3 usefulness. It is a great coverage cgange up for my 3-4/5-2 Defense and is a great coverage when we stem from our BASE Cover 2/4. The turn and overall technique is the real manster for my kids who have played only frosh football if that. So when trying to coach-up a CB who has very little experience, I wanted to find the best approach to teach Cover 3 which is what we start I guys off with at the Frosh level, purely for the Coverage experience that Cover 3 can produce.
Please let's keep this discussion going.
Coach Hawg

I find cover 3 useful as a change up to MOF (or robber) because we can align in exactly the same manner yet give a different coverage. That said, we will check out of it against ANYTHING but a two back set.

Consider your schedule. If you expect to see several opponents that run the I-formation 80% of the time for example, cover 3 may be worth having.

If you do put this in (above the youth level at least) make sure your underneath defenders follow the second receiver through the zone. My HS was base cover 3 and did NOT adhere to this rule. We were exploited by wheel routes from HBs and other well designed patterns. As a player, it was very frustrating to give up long TDs when no one missed an assignment.

I will show you (vs a FLEXBONE TRIPLE) from a 4-4 defense where Cover 3 is VULNERABLE:


-----------------------O

--------------O-------O-------O
O---------------O-O-C-O-O---------------O
--------------E----T----T----E
----------B--------B-----B------B
C-------------------------------------------C
----------------------S

IF the Slot walls off the ILB; the ON T blocks down on the DT; the QB rides the FB just outside the down block on the DT; the DE is FORCED to tackle the FB. THAT LEAVES THE OLB FOR BOTH THE QB & THE PITCH - YOUR "GOOSE IS COOKED". THAT is the PRIMARY weakness of Cover 3 vs. the FLEXBONE TRIPLE (not to mention "4 verticals" AND Curl/Flat)!

Every Flexbone & Wing-T coach I know LOVES to see Cover 3 (as do MOST pure passing teams). The old saying in College & Pro ball is PASS vs Cover 3 & RUN vs Cover 2.

I think too much of you to see you do THAT!

Secondary rotation out of Cover 3 vs that play is NOT ADVISABLE!!!!!!. You ONLY rotate the Corner up IF the WR CRACKS the Safety in "Robber" coverage. In a 4-2-5 with the F/S pre-aligned in center fielod, the F/S is TOO FAR REMOVED to help over the top BOTH WAYS!

ALSO: You CAN'T rotate & stop the pitch because the WR will DECK the Corner (who are not generally tough hitters)! Also - COUNTER-OPTIONS would MURDER it!

Believe me - we played (& beat) the BEST Flexbone team in Virginia in 2004. We spent an ENTIRE year talking about (& film study) defending the Flexbone with every team that had success vs. Navy, Air Force, & Georgia Southern. We have our method (basing out of a 4-2-5) - which is to LINE up in Cover 1 - THEN move QUICKLY to "ROBBER" to the side motion comes. We do a VARIETY of things with the 2 DT's & 2 ILB's. The OLB's & F/S BOTH read the Slot, & play as below:

OPTION RESPONSIBILITIES ARE:

1. IF Slot ARCS the OLB: OLB has pitch, & F/S has QB (he can meet him at the LOS from his Robber align of 7-8 yds deep on the OT to the side motion comes to). ILB works his way out from Dive to QB to Pitch.

2. IF Slot WALLS the ILB: OLB has QB, & F/S has pitch. Everything else remains the same.

For a VARIETY of reasons, CANNOT discuss this further via the site (would take FAR too much typing, too many "what-if's", ETC.). Any further discussion of THIS must be thru private email (billmountjoy@yahoo.com)

PS: If you are a two safety deep team (4-3 or 3-4) - Cover 4 (quarters) has merit.

GOOD MOVE!

quote:

---

Originally posted by: Oneback
I will show you (vs a FLEXBONE TRIPLE) from a 4-4 defense where Cover 3 is VULNERABLE:


-----------------------O

--------------O-------O-------O
O---------------O-O-C-O-O---------------O
--------------E----T----T----E
----------B--------B-----B------B
C-------------------------------------------C
----------------------S

IF the Slot walls off the ILB; the ON T blocks down on the DT; the QB rides the FB just outside the down block on the DT; the DE is FORCED to tackle the FB. THAT LEAVES THE OLB FOR BOTH THE QB & THE PITCH - YOUR "GOOSE IS COOKED". THAT is the PRIMARY weakness of Cover 3 vs. the FLEXBONE TRIPLE (not to mention "4 verticals" AND Curl/Flat)!

Every Flexbone & Wing-T coach I know LOVES to see Cover 3 (as do MOST pure passing teams). The old saying in College & Pro ball is PASS vs Cover 3 & RUN vs Cover 2.

---

Bill Is absolutely right ( Based on the what the offense is looking to do) regarding the above cov. 3. In the above diagram your C and/or FS are the # 3 in the counting system. Since everything is even, QB will now look at the relationship of the free safety and loadable LB. QB will pick side of the best release by the slot to load LB to FS. Pick your poison on the above diagram. They can and will attack each side.

Coach Mountjoy,

As noted above, we ONLY run cover 3 against a two-back set. However if we do see a two-back set and cover 3 is the call, once the ball gets outside the tackle to either side, we will rotate coverage to that side. The corner will come up and the FS will come over the top. As our FS is given an option responsibility in other coverages, it SEEMS necessary to me to have the corner take on an option responsibility. It SEEMS to me that the natural responsibility would be pitch. As long as the CB can maintain outside leverage on the WR's block, he can force the pitch-back to cut back to the inside of the WR's block and into the pursuit. OFTEN, the CB will be unblocked because the astute OC has realized that our FS has an option responsibility and has sent the WR to crack him. A benefit of this scheme as a change-up is that the DE has been slow playing the pitch. Now, he is taking the QB. This can result in a misread by the QB, a big hit on him, errant pitch etc.

....................F

C............W..........M...............C
..........E....3...0...3..S..9
X............T.G.C.G.T.Y
......................Q....................Z
.......................F
.......................H

Am I going wrong here somewhere?

-Scott

P.S. I would also like a copy the material you are sending Deac14 please:

SOrndoff@adelphia.net

....................F

C............W..........M...............C
..........E....3...0...3..S..9
X............T.G.C.G.T.Y
......................Q....................Z
.......................F
.......................H

Am I going wrong here somewhere?

-Scott


I think you are sound here. OT cannot release to w (weak) or Y on m ( strong). E can force the give..M or W can tackle FB, E=QB, FS Alley and corner contain-help pitch. Works vs ISV or OSV. You can exchange LB and E responsibilities.....

Anybody see it differently?

Coach Scott - ONCE AGAIN, I do not see how you can get BY with that.

If WR has a WIDE split, & your F/S WAITS to see if ball goes outside OT (on an option, OR, especially a COUNTER-OPTION which will FREEZE him for a few seconds), HOW in daylights can he get over to handle a takeoff by a WR with a wide split outside up the boundary (on an dive/option fake with the QB coming back & out with the ball)? To ME, that's IMPOSSBLE (& he has to be prepared to cover to the boundary on BOTH sides). When Joe Paterno used to play a Split 4 - he NEVER rotated a 3 deep F/S to BOTH sides - he said it was tough enough to do that ONE WAY (therefore - he called off 3 deep rotation to double width)!

Also - Flexbone people WE see have WR's that block like FULLBACKS, & a puny Corner will get put on his BUTT! If a Corner is supporting an option WITH a WR blocking him & a 4.3 pitchback behind him WITH the ball - that is TOUGH! Then are you telling me that on the very next play - has has to cover a fast WR DEEP? IMO - you are asking WAY TOO MUCH of a Corner - who is damned lucky if he can just "cover deep"!

Also - don't think you can use the F/S as an ALLEY player on runs & expect him to cover DEEP all the way to the boundary. Never heard of such!

We have OUR way from an 8 man front - which I described above in a previous post (ROBBER gives you 9 in the box on the option, as opposed to the 8 in your diagram; ALSO - it is better vs those passes that hurt Cover 3 (Curl/Flat, etc.). In a 7 man front - I would consider Cover 4!

PS: Even the fabled Jim Tressel - when HFC at Youngstown St - TRIED a rotational coverage 4 DEEP (you are talking about rotating only 3 people) vs Georgia Southern, & gave up 59 points (much of it on the PITCH)!!!!!!!

Past NCAA Division I Football Championship Game Results

Year-----Champion------Coach--------------Runner-Up-------- Coach----------Score

1999-----Georgia So.----Paul Johnson------Youngstown St.----Jim Tressel----59-24