Determining Man or Zone D on Offense Pre-Snap

[lvp0701]

Hey everyone. I posted for the first time on here yesterday, creating a thread about sending WR's in motion. I was upset you could not do ''half-motion'' in this game, instead, you have to let the WR finish his motion before sending him back to his original spot.

The reason I used to do this half motion with my WR was to simply see if the D was in man or zone D, a CRITICAL aspect for my offense pre-snap.

Now that I can't really do this anymore, what are some other effective ways to determine man vs zone pre-snap?

I like the 5 WR sets...typically standard 2 on one side/3 on the other, sometimes flexed out. I also am heavy on play fakes out of the ace, i-form, strong and weak formations.

Thanks for any advice/info.

[Pogo27]

It's not 100% surefire, but check to see if all your receivers have a defender man aligned to them.

For instance, if you come out 3-wide and the defense is in a 4-3, and you see one of the OLB go line up with your slot receiver, it's likely man defense.



Like I said, it's not surefire, but when the OLB goes out there, it's most often man defense, and when he doesn't, it's most often zone.

Your best bet though is to just get really good at making the read post-snap. You should be able to tell before your quarterback takes his second step backward (and every passing play has at least a 3-step drop).

[N51_rob]

You have to "think" like a QB take in all the defenses pre-snap movements. Where are the safeties, LB and CB? What depth are they at. When you are on defense look at how your defenders move pre-snap based on the defense you call, and remember what your guys did and look for similar movements from the opposing defense.

Go into practice and call a bunch of plays and call the defense you think you saw. In-game after a play in which you were fooled go back to the replay and watch what the defense did against what you thought they were doing, find the open receiver and file that away for later.

[K0ZZ]

Easiest way to find out is to send a receiver in motion, not always practical but if a defender follows him until a new defender picks him up (before the snap) it usually is man.

Also as soon as the ball snaps, there is usually a very short zone, watch the CB or S. If they make a motion like they are yelling to a player behind them, then it's a zone, if they hang tight on the man for longer than 5 or so yards, (vertical or hotizontal) than it's a man nine times out of ten.

[Pogo27]

It's important to watch the safeties in order to determine Cover 1, 2, 3, 4, or 6, but... this is a terrible way of determining man or zone. Most every man coverage has the safeties in zone over the top.

If you watch the safeties, Cover 2 man and Cover 2 zone look identical.

[buckeye02]

Quote: Originally Posted by Pogo27

It's not 100% surefire, but check to see if all your receivers have a defender man aligned to them. For instance, if you come out 3-wide and the defense is in a 4-3, and you see one of the OLB go line up with your slot receiver, it's likely man defense. Like I said, it's not surefire, but when the OLB goes out there, it's most often man defense, and when he doesn't, it's most often zone. Your best bet though is to just get really good at making the read post-snap. You should be able to tell before your quarterback takes his second step backward (and every passing play has at least a 3-step drop).

The OLB will step out to the slot WR even if he is in zone, or even if he's blitzing. The game disguises coverages very well.