Cover
To cover is attempt to prevent a receiver from catching a pass. There are two general schemes for defending against the pass:
- 1. Man-to-man – each eligible receiver is covered by a defensive back or a linebacker.
- 2. Zone – certain players (usually defensive backs and/or linebackers, though occasionally linemen as well) are assigned an area on the field (Flat, Hook, Curl and Deep) that they are to cover.
Common types of coverage:
- 1. Cover Zero – Strict man-to-man coverage with no help from safeties (usually a blitz play with at least five men crossing the line of scrimmage)
- 2. Cover One – Man-to-man coverage with at least one safety not assigned a player to cover who can help out on deep pass routes.
- 3. Cover Two – Zone coverage with the safeties playing deep and covering half the field each. Can be Cover 2 man, where every receiver is covered by a defensive player, or Cover 2 Zone (also known as Tampa 2), where CB covers Flat zone, OLB Hook Zone and MLB Curl Zone.
- 4. Cover Three – Zone coverage as above, but with extra help from Strong Safety/Cornerback, so that each player covers one-third of a deep zone.
- 5. Cover Four – As above, with the corners and safeties dropping into deep coverage, with each taking one-fourth of the width of the field. Also referred to as Quarters.
