Football Fundamental Series Part I: Defense - Cover 1

[Big Turk]

OK guys and gals...we are back today with another installment in the football fundamental series on defense.  This time we are focusing on Cover 1, one of the most common defenses you will see in football, as it gives a TON of options to a defensive cordinator and has multiple alignment/assignment checks based on what the offensive formation/personnel is.  This is going to be a farily lengthy article so you can an idea of just how many different "checks"(without going into too many of them, which will be a foreshadowing of tomorrow's more in depth breakdown) there are no a given play and how each check can give a player a different assignment.  This will help you understand that football is not just "call a play and then play".  It's a constant game of adjustments pre-snap and of cat and mouse by the offense and the defense.

 

In it's base form, Cover 1 is simply playing man to man coverage with a free safety playing deep centerfield. In MOST(but not all cases) the defenders want to align in outside shade on the receivers to take away the outside routes and funnel the receivers to where they have "help" in the middle of the field inside the numbers.  There are 2 "help" areas in cover 1.  The first is the deep middle where the free safety is and the second is the "underneath hole" where the middle linebacker is.  The key to Cover 1 is the Free Safety.  He needs to be able to have great range and ball skills with the ability to identify concepts quickly and take good angles to the ball carrier.  Micah Hyde is our free safety, and I think most would agree he has been quite a good addition to the secondary.  This was Corey Graham's position last year, and he was a liability many times. The better the free safety is, the more aggressively the corners and underneath defenders can play without having to worry about getting beat over the top.  Think Seahawks with Earl Thomas as a prime example of a great free safety helping out everyone else and why they struggle so much when he is out.

 

Fig 1: Basic Cover 1 alignment versus 21 Personnel(2 Backs, 1 TE)

 

You will commonly see Cover 1 played by teams when they "load the box" by creating an 8 man front where the SS drops into the box.  So, tomorrow when you see or hear the term "8 man front" or "loaded box" or "dropping into the box"  take a quick look at the D---there is a better than even chance they are aligned in a Cover 1 shell. Key indicator is 1 safety high in the middle of the field.

 

Common Cover 1 Variants: 

This has the chance to get really complicated, really quick, so we are going to focus on "base" types of Cover 1 and the role each player plays in them.  Tomorrow will take a deep dive down the rabbit hole into all the various other things to be aware of.

 

"Over Cover 1": 

 

 

Fig 2: Cover 1 alignment versus 22 Personnel(aka Tank)
 

In the above, you'll notice the defense has their base 4-3 personnel on the field against the "Tank" personnel grouping by the offense.  This is a heavy run formation, so the defense loads the box with an 8 man front and is playing Cover 1.  This is called an "Over" cover 1 because if you look at the Defensive Line, you will see the "3-Technique" Defensive Tackle aligned towards the closed(strong) side of the formation and the "Nose" playing a "2i" shade over the center aligned to the open(weak) side of the formation.  The linebackers are in a Tan-Zero-Tan alignment which means Tackle-Zero Technique-Tackle, aka their gap assignments on a running play.  Both CB's are playing their receivers in an outside leverage position. The strong safety is matched up man to man on the "Y" receiver and is down in the box with an outside shade on the TE. Underneath the SAM and WILL LB's match the first running back strong/weak.  If the RB's block they are able to use a "green dog" technique meaning they have the option to rush or they can drop in to a zone to read the QB.  The MIKE LB drops into the underneath hole to give help on the short and intermediate passes against concepts such as the slant  or Hi-Lo(Inside crossers). All defenders are taught to use their "help" and force their receivers to the inside.  When this doesn't happen a big play can result down the field, especially on a go route, or on route combinations designed to attack deep from both sides, putting the free safety in a "bind" to decide which route/side to go with and give help.  This is where you'll hear the color commentators lambasting the player for "allowing him to get outside" and "not forcing him inside".

 

"Inside Shade Vs. Plus Splits":

Fig 3: Cover 1 alignment versus 12 Personnel in a Twin look 

 

Now you are probably asking yourself---wait a minute...you just explained why the defenders want to align with outside leverage/shade and funnel their receivers to the inside towards the help. Why would they want to FORCE the WR outside??  Great question.  The best answer I can give is in football there are ALWAYS exceptions to the rules.  This just happens to be one of those exceptions.  First, let's review what a "plus split" is.  A Plus split smiply means the receiver is lined up 2-3 yards to the outside of the numbers.  Now that is out of the way, the reason why the outsdie CB wants to align with an inside shade is because they can try and pin the WR to the boundary(out of bounds) and use that as the second defender or the "help" defender since there are only two real routes a receiver that takes an outside release that close to the sideline can run---a go route or a comeback.  Notice the slot defender playing 7-8 yards off his man.  This is a KEY to taking away any inside breaking route by the receiver aligned in the plus split.  He is going to watch for any "3 step" route like a quick slant to that receiver and drive on the ball to disrupt that route if he sees it.  Once the receiver clears that 3 step are he refocuses on the receiver in the slot he is responsible for.  This is also known as a "flat foot read".  Notice all other defenders maintain outside shade on their respective receivers. 

 

"Cover 1 Vs. Slot":

Fig 3: Basic Cover 1 alignment versus 21 Personnel(2 Backs, 1 TE)

 

Now we revisit the first image I posted.  This is showing a Cover 1 look against a slot formation(Pro Slot I).  Again you'll notice the inside shade by Sherman on the top of the screen against the receiver with the "plus split". You'll also notice unlike the above the slot defender is ined up in bump and run on the slot receiver. This is an aggresive look and is used by teams with very good CB's to try and disrupt the timing of the routes and allow the pressure to get to the QB before the receivers can get open.  You might look at the slot defender and wonder if he is playing with inside shade, but as the pay develops, you'll see that he is actually playing outside shade...

 

Fig 4: Basic Cover 1 alignment versus 21 Personnel(2 Backs, 1 TE) post snap

 

You'll notice the two defenders playing with outside leverage and Sherman "pinning" the receiver to the sideline up top.  The free safety then needs to decide where to give help to, having three potential routes threatening him.  Many times when you have a "shutdown" corner like Sherman or Revis in their prime, the safety will just allow him to play man up with no help and then he is only worried about the other receivers.

 

"Nickel Cover 1":

Fig 5: Nickel Cover 1 alignment versus 11 Personnel(aka Ace or Posse -> 1 Back, 1 TE) post snap

 

There are a lot of sub packages(Nickel, Dime, etc) that use Cover 1 as a main coverage. Here we focus on an AFC matchup--Fins vs Pats.  You'll notice the Dolphins come out in a "Doubles Slot" formation. With 3 WR's on the field, the Pats go to the nickel with the nickel defender to the closed(strong) side of the formation to play the slot receiver, playing man-press across the board.  Notice again, the plus split receiver has the defender playign inside shade to pin him to the boundary and limit his options using the boundary as the "help" defender. You'll notice the safety walking up to the line to "load the box", coming out of a "two high" disguise, which against a 3 wide formation is only 7 in the box. .  This is a situation where the QB has to realize the coverage has changed pre-snap and process them quickly. Again, the MIKE LB will drop into the underneath hole to guard against slants and inside crossers with the other backer taking the RB in coverage or potentially "green dogging" if he stays in to block.

 

"Off Man Alignment":

Fig 6: Off man alignment showing "flat foot read" of slot defender against 20 Personnel(2 Backs, 0 TE's)

 

This breaks down in a little more detail the concept of "off-man" coverage in Cover 1.  Off man means the defenders are playing 7-8 yards deep from the receivers.  Again, you'll see the inside slot defender has a "flat foot read" meaning he will react to any 3 step route the outside(plus split) receiver runs to the inside.  Once the receiver clears this 3 step area he will focus in on his man and turn and run with him as he eat up the cushion.  Again note the outside shade of the CB playing the plus split receiver...in this instance he WANTS to force him inside thinking he has an easy quick slant open because the slot CB will jump that route.  

 

"Cover 1 Robber":

Fig 7: Cover 1 Robber look disguised as a Cover 2 Shell against 11 Personnel(aka Ace or Posse) aligned in a double stack formation(2x2 Doubles with a "Vice" alignment or double stack)

 

Robber is a term that you will often here in football on defense, and it can basically be thought of as a concept, which is a "disguise".  The "Robber" defender is the defender who is "out of place", so to speak, for the defensive coverage look that was given pre-snap, aligning to the ACTUAL coverage they will be playing post-snap. In this, once again you will see a common Cover 1 1 disguise, and that is showing a Cover 2 look with 2 high safeties.  After the ball is snapped, the SS, who is playing the "Robber" role drops down into the underneath hole where the linebacker would normally be, once again allowing the defense to take away quick slants or inside crossers to the middle of the field, while the backers are matched up in man coverage with their receivers(one on the back, the other on the TE).  Again notice the outside shade of the defenders "funneling" the receivers towards the middle of the field.

 

Fig 8: Cover 1 Robber post snap look---strong safety becomes the "Robber" taking away what looks like an open receiver crossing the field

 

You'll notice the defender follwing the inside crosser is way behind and out of position.  This formation forced him to fight through the garbage as the receivers ran a natural pick on him by the play design with the outside receiver running an inside crosser while the slot receiver ran a seam route up the numbers. Notice how the "Robber" safety is in position against BOTH crossers...one coming "Hi" to the bottom of the picture and the other coming "Lo"(the receiver who appears to be wide open underneath).  If the QB attempts to throw to the "Hi" crosser, he will be throwing it into triple coverage---the SS will drop back from the underneath "Robber" area, the Free safety will come down from his deep middle and the CB who is trailing him will have outside coverage.  That being said there is a window where he could hit that receiver, but it would have to be immediately as he breaks inside the numbers before the free safety and strong safety can get to him with the CB trailing outside.  He will also likely be getting hammered by the safety(ies) as he catches the ball.  Not for the faint of heart. In this particular route, he threw the ball underneath but the receiver was quickly tackled for a short gain by the "Robber" safety.

 

"Cover 1 Jump":

Fig 9: Cover 1 "Jump" call against what appears to be 11 Personnel aka Ace or Posse(1 back 1 TE split out to the bottom of the screen)

 

The "Jump" call is used when offenses run a "reduced split" or by "cutting" pre-snap motion, meaning the ball is snapped quickly into the receivers motion not waiting until he gets set. Its again, an attempt to eliminate the Hi-Lo crossers concept teams like to use against it.  You'll notice Desean Jackson going in short motion(aka "divide motion") and the Chiefs respond by using the "Jump" technique to avoid the corner having to chase him from an outside leverage position. In this call, the free safety actually "cuts" off the receiver by coming down hard to where he is going to end up and the CB then rotates to replace him in the deep middle. It's basically a form of a switch off.  It's important the safety stays aligned with the inside shoulder of the receiver or he runs the risk of over-running the route and leaving him open. This works out well as you'll see below with Jackson being taken away by the free safety and the CB rotating over to protect the middle of the field against the deep post.

 

Fig 10: Cover 1 "Jump" call post snap---notice the postion of the free safety taking away the underneath crossing route with the outside CB rotating over to play the deep middle. 

 

As you see above, the free safety is going to meet the WR right where the ball is going to be thrown and will likely limit him to a short gain or will force an incompletion. Unless its a terrible throw, there isn't much chance for an INT due to how far the safety is coming from, but it is very effective for limiting it to a 2 or 3 yard gain---as long as he makes the tackle...if he doesn't...well...Jackson is off to the races and likely goes a long way--maybe not a TD but definitely 20+ yards(in case you are wondering this didn't happen).

 

Cover 1 Best Case Scenario:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkE8Ll6pQu4

Unfortunately this can't be embedded since its a NFL.com clip, but you'll see Bradley Roby of Denver make a play on the ball as the underneath defender covering the inside crosser and then take it to the house.  If you look at the beginning of the video, you'll see the safety is so far off the screen he isn't even visible and it appears they are playing with 10 defenders.  He does a great job of not geting picked by the attempt of the receiver crossing the other way and ends up in a trail position on the WR...in all reality this should have been a catch as the ball hits the WR in the hands but it jumps up and gets returned by Roby who is in perfect position to grab this ball...

 

Cover 1 Worst Case Scenario:

 

 

Had to put in a Bills clip here---you'll see the TD to Logan Thomas against Tampa Bay as what happens when Cover 1 goes wrong---notice in the clip how Thomas's defender takes the wrong path and goes underneath the pick instead of over it, putting him into an immediate trail position. With the safety playing the deep middle, he has no prayer of getting over there to make a play on the ball before it goes for a wide open TD.  This is the danger of Cover 1...bad technique by a defender on a receiver running outside the numbers can lead to a big play because the safety can't get over there fast enough.

 

Well, that's all I have for today's Football Fundamentals and the Cover 1 defense.  Hope everyone enjoyed it and feel free to leave any comments, suggestions or questions regarding anything above.  In tomorrow's Football Fundamentals we are going to stick with the Cover 1 and actually go nito detail about the adjustments that are made based on the offensive personnel and alignment so you will have a better understanding of just how many different things a player will need to know to play any given coverage---and I promise you it is a LOT more than you think.  You might be blown away at what you see tomorrow. 

 

Until then...happy reading! 

 

Tomorrow's Topic: Cover 1 More Adjustments to Offensive Personnel and Alignments 

Edited November 18, 2017 by matter2003

[HansLanda]

[RoyBatty is alive]

Great job, i assume next up is cover 2, remember when that was all the rage.

[Big Turk]

3 minutes ago, RoyBatty is alive said:

Great job, i assume next up is cover 2, remember when that was all the rage.

 

Nope...next up is a deep dive into Cover 1 adjustments to the offensive personnel and alignments to give people an idea of just how complex things can get and just how many different things a defender has to know for each coverage.

[ColoradoBills]

Bravo.

[RiotAct]

Very educational — thanks!

[Big Turk]

1 hour ago, RiotAct said:

Very educational — thanks!

 

You are welcome...I was going to initially put all the cover 1 stuff in one post and then realized it was far too much so I decided to break it up into two days worth...

Edited November 18, 2017 by matter2003

[dulles]

Great stuff...Thanks.

[simpleman]

Thank you for sharing something informative and educational!