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Breaking Down Cover 2 & Cover 3.

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Old 08-18-2006, 10:02 AM   #1
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Breaking Down Cover 2 & Cover 3.

I'm going to break down the two most common zone coverages for you because I'm bored at work and this sort of thing is fun to do. This is just some basic info for those who might have no clue.

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I'm having trouble against zone defenses, and most people seem to play cover two and cover three against me. What should I do?
This is a question that has been asked by many NCAA gamers on forums throughout the Internet. Here is a basic guide to beating these two defenses. It is by no means a comprehensive guide, but after reading it you should come away with a basic understanding of how to attack the defenses.

COVER TWO

Cover 2 (zone) is an effective defense against underneath routes, as there are anywhere between 4-6 defenders dropping a few yards off the line. The cover 2 completely nuetralizes slants/outs/crossing routes by the receivers, drag routes by the TEs, & swings and flares by the RBs.

Think of the cover 2 defense as a wall. You're not going to be able to throw a ball through the wall, and if you throw to someone in front of the wall, they can't go anywhere. To beat it you have to throw it over the wall to someone on the other side.

On that note, the cover 2 can be easy to beat deep, as only two safeties are covering the entire field. If you have a play where the two outside recievers are running "go" routes, this will hold the safeties outside and free up a post route from a slot/TE. All you have to do is drop the pass over the inside linebacker (unless it's a "Tampa" Two, where the inside linebacker drops into the post zone under the safeties).

You can also beat the cover two by running a "go" route with the outside receivers and throwing through the "triangle." I'll break this down for you.



Ok, that's how the defense will line up. Now, the CB's responsibilty in cover 2 is to bump the WR outside and pass him off the the safety, then he sits underneath in a zone covering the flats. The SS drops into coverage and is responsible for the deep half of the field. The OLB is responsible for the hook/curl zone just outside the tackle box.



The TE will run a skinny post to keep the safeties honest (ie: so they can't jump the "go" route on the outside) while the WR runs straight down the field and looks for the ball after passing the CB. You end up having something that looks like this:



Now, do you see how the SS/OLB/CB make a triangle with their coverage? You throw over the wall, right through the middle of the triangle. The trick is to throw the ball hard enough to get it to the WR before the SS can make a play, but high enough to get it over the OLB. Once you get the timing down, it's an insanely easy pass to make.

COVER THREE

Cover 3 is an effective defense for medium to long range situations, as there are four players underneath (unless it's a 3-4, where there can be five if you so choose) to help defend. It is susceptible to seam routes, dig routes (10-15 yard square-ins), & short hooks and curls by the outside receivers (as the flats are uncovered while the corners drop straight back). It's also highly ineffective against flood routes. For instance, a play that absolutely DESTROYS the cover three is a high-low flood read. Let's say you have three receivers on the right side:



Because it's a cover 3, the corner drops straight back to cover his third of the field. Depending on what kind of cover 3 it is, the safety either drops into the middle to cover his third, comes up to play the hook/curl zone between the ILB and OLB, or comes up and covers underneath the CB. In this scenario, the SS will drop into a deep coverage and the OLB will move over into the zone beneath the corner.



On offense, the X route runs a "go" route (straight up the field); the Y route runs a seven step (around 12 yards at his break) corner route underneath him; and the Z route runs a 5-7 yard out route underneath the corner route. It ends up looking like this:



Because the X is running straight down the field, he is effectively nuetralizing the dropping corner covering that third. This leaves only one defender to cover two receivers underneath him. Now it's a basic high-low read. You simply read what the OLB does and throw to the appropriate receiver. If the OLB drops to cover the corner, you immediately throw the out route to Z. If he steps up or shuffles parallell to the LOS, throw the corner route over him to Y.

Knowing all that should not only help you understand what to look for and how to beat these defenses, but also why and when to call them and what the other team might do against them.

Quote:
But how do I know if it's a cover 2 or a cover 3? Or what about a cover 4?
I'm glad you asked. Here's a short guide to reading the coverages after the ball is snapped. It's not 100% accurate, as many teams have plays with robbers and spy zones for their safeties, and don’t even get me started on the zone blitz, but it's a good guide when you're first starting out.

When you snap the ball, watch the safeties.

If they split out it's usually cover 2.

If they drop straight back it's cover 4.

If one drops and the other comes up, look at the corners
- if both corners are dropping back into a zone it's cover 3.
- if the corners are running with their receivers it's cover 1, but watch for the other safety sitting in the post/dig area as a robber.

If both safeties roll to one side, or if one drops straight back and the other rotates over, it's cover 3.

If both safeties step up, it's cover 0 (straight man to man) and the defense is likely blitzing. Check down to your hot read or throw deep if you have a fast receiver or a mismatch on the outside.

Quote:
But how do I read the defense and still see what's going on in the pocket???
A big part of reading defenses (even though it isn't really accurately reflected in the video games), is presnap reads. It's easier to read a defense pre-snap in real life, because safteties will usually line up closer to their zone…unlike on the game where they normally keep the same split and only move around if they're blitzing. What I mean is, the safeties at the lower levels (not so much in the NFL) will line up in relation to their coverage.

Like, if they're playing a cover 3 (or cover 1), they'll normally line up like this:


(*When I say "man to man" I'm also including cover 1.)

Whereas when they're lined up in Cover 2 (or cover 4), they's normally line up like this:


(*If they're in cover four, the corners will usually play a few steps back and outside the receivers like they do in cover 3.)

After you've figured out what type of defense you might be looking at, you just glance at the safeties to verify that your pre-snap read was accurate. You don't want to lock onto the safeties because that's a good way to get sacked. You end up standing in the pocket like a statue.

It's kind of like driving a car. You know how when you drive you look out at the distance, but you also look down at the road in front of you to see if there's any potholes and whatnot? It's very similar to this. Even though you might be looking at one area, you're still aware of the other.

Quote:
But it's all going so fast! I can't do both at the same time! Screw it, I'm just going to go back to lobbing it deep.
Wait! I know it's really quick and you're not used to it yet, but you will eventually get to the point where you can kind of see both at the same time. You likely couldn't do that when you first started driving, but over time it became second nature. The same goes for what I've described above.

Using the car example as your model for how to do it, look at the safeties and see what they're doing, then glance down at the line to see if people are blocking, but don't just focus your attention on either group of players....does that make sense? It takes practice to master, and you MUST be patient. You know how when a quarterback has been in the league for a while and they say it's "really slowing down" for him? This is what they mean.

Finally, something people who start out should do is have three reads at all times. Your primary, your secondary, and your check down/blitz dumpoff according to what you think the defense might be doing. If you have to hotroute, do it. But ALWAYS have someone running where you think a blitz might come from.

This brings me to my last point…the zone blitz. The problem with the zone blitz is you're taught as a QB that a blitzing defender vacates an area. By this rationale, if you throw to that area it should be open. Well, in a zone blitz situation, the linebacker or corner blitzes and a d-lineman drops into his spot. It can really throw you off. You just have to practice against it to get the hang of it, but this sort of thing KILLS people online when they're not used to it. Imagine being new to reading defenses (or new to the game) and seeing your opponent bring his inside corners out of the dime all game long. You get to the point where you're recognizing it and throwing over it for a nice gain. Then, on a key play, the corners blitz so you throw over it…but all of the sudden there's a DE sitting right there and he picks off the pass.

Ok, I'd LOVE to keep going, but I have work to do and it's starting to pile up. I hope this helps you in your gaming.

Last edited by BTG; 08-18-2006 at 10:08 AM.
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Old 08-18-2006, 10:19 AM   #2
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Re: Breaking Down Cover 2 & Cover 3.

This is a GREAT post. A lot of this information is old hat for some of us NCAA and Madden vets, but this could really help some people out.
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Old 08-18-2006, 11:07 AM   #3
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Re: Breaking Down Cover 2 & Cover 3.

Yeah, great post. People with a lot of knowledge of football X's and O's probably have it figured out anyway, but it's a great guide for brushing up. Reading the safeties is key...If I see them man up or blitz, I'll almost always chuck it deep to try to get a big play...I will take my chances in 1 on 1 coverage...if you can beat it, it's a big gain...if you beat it and break a tackle, it's a TD.
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Old 08-18-2006, 11:16 AM   #4
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Re: Breaking Down Cover 2 & Cover 3.

Ya... definately a great post.

I'd like to add something though it terms of pre-snap reads:

Send a reciever in motion... preferably an outside reciever(if he can doesn't just shift a little like they do sometimes). Send one all the way accross the formation. If the defender follows him the whole way, it's Man coverage. If the defender moves slightly, then heads back to where he was, it's zone. If the safties shift a little, there is a blitz on the way.

It doesn't help you in terms of what zone it is, but I use it a lot to read whether it is man or zone.
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Old 08-18-2006, 11:57 AM   #5
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Re: Breaking Down Cover 2 & Cover 3.

I tend to run vs. zone and if I need to pass it has to be against man coverage because my QB is so young. (coach mode)
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Old 08-18-2006, 12:00 PM   #6
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Re: Breaking Down Cover 2 & Cover 3.

Great post!! You broke that down better the my D-Coor. in college!!!
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Old 08-18-2006, 01:11 PM   #7
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Re: Breaking Down Cover 2 & Cover 3.

Informative post to be sure, thanx for this.
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Old 08-19-2006, 11:33 AM   #8
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Re: Breaking Down Cover 2 & Cover 3.

Wow, that's a great post. Hopefully the guys I play against don't read this.
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