Netflix for Coaches & Baby Saban

http://www.efootballflix.com/

Netflix for coaches you say? 

A $12 per month service to stream a library of Coaches Choice productions. Seems like a bargain.

Semi-related, here is a film that apparently is no longer available anywhere commercially.  A young and slightly annoyed Nick Saban delivering coverage coaching points.

I have 4 separate copies of this DVD and I haven't been able to successfully rip the video for years.  This version is pieced together from a few different video clips and consequently cuts off the last 10 minutes or so.  The video makes a lot more sense if you follow along in his 2001 LSU Playbook.  The tenets of the video are carried through many of his concepts which can be read here: Nick Saban Posts

Middle of the Field Coverage: principles

Middle of the Field Coverage: 2x1

Middle of the Field Coverage: 2x2

Middle of the Field Coverage: 3x1

Catch-Man Technique

We’ve touched on this trend before and I believe it will be the trend for the future of defenses as they continue to aggressively adapt to passing offenses.  It used to be that when you played man coverage, it was required that you dogmatically adhere to tight or press-man technique and relied on disrupting routes and pressuring the quarterback.  This pretty much meant your defense needed to out-athlete the offense you were facing as well as showing your intentions pre-snap if the offense ever presented a one-back formation.

As defenses adapted through the 90s and offenses began finding more and more success passing the football, zone defenses were forced to evolve to pattern-matching routes.  Matching out of zone with six defenders would leave an extra hole player against five receivers.  The natural progression from this was the fire-zone, adding a zone defender to an overloaded pressure while accounting for all receivers.  Fire-zoning became (and continues to be) a catch-all solution with static pre-snap defensive looks.  The only issue would be the ability to retain alignment leverage without giving away your intentions   For this reason, fire-zones are largely packaged by field and boundary rather than strength of formation.

So what would be the next step for defenses to get a jump on playing a variety of routes while providing the capability of overloaded pressure?  In the perfect world, the defense that could ensure it:

• retained its pre-snap coverage shell (consistent look)
• got the favorable personnel matchup
• was able to generate an overload pressure on the passer

A defense that could do that would be able to hold the chalk last in this new age of offensive football.  "Catch Man" or "off-man" coverage means exactly that; the defensive backs catch the route as it develops.  Because this 'catch' won't happen until well into the route, the overall defense can assume any shape/structure (1-high / 2-high) it wants without giving many pre-snap clues to the offense.  From basic pre-snap zone looks, the defense could be fire-zoning or playing man and very likely will be bringing pressure, but from where?

This ‘answer’ kind of becomes a full-circle evolution, where many successful defenses are returning to a formula that was relied upon 30 years ago.  It isn’t surprising that the leaders of catch-man defenses are protégés of the Buddy Ryan school of defense (Gregg Williams, Rex Ryan, Rob Ryan, Dom Capers) of the 80s.  Many of the more advanced elements of Buddy Ryan's late 80's-era 46 defenses (catch man, loaded coverage, fire-zones, swipe/thumb coverage, and a reliance on man-free) are what is now en vogue in today's game.  This wide array of skill sets also begets a need to include multi-functional personnel on the field, where a 3-man fronts (or less) are preferred (see psycho posts).

 
In this post, we’ll try to provide some coaching insight into developing the skills for effective catch-man coverage. This concept was admittedly difficult for me to get comfortable with many years ago, as I really believed in the old bump-and-run technique of man coverage. I felt that you had to immediately disrupt routes and out-leverage a receiver before he even began his release. While there are benefits to holding up receiver stems and immediate reroutes, there is limited flexibility in adapting to formations using this technique. The effectiveness of press can be diminished with pre-snap movement from the offense. With catch-man, you can get the best of both worlds because the coverage structure remains consistent, you can effectively play quick and deep passing game, while still disrupting receiver stems.

Added for illustration purposes, this Revis 1-on-1 footage highlights how to leverage a receiver from many different alignments (some off, some press but they all essentially turn into the same type of coverage by the time the receiver makes his break).

 
With the help of video, I hope to illustrate some of the techniques and methods of leveraging routes from an “off” alignment. The skill sets used for catch-man are also helpful in other coverage (press man / pattern-match) techniques, so using these drills will have carry-over (high ROI) for your secondary. The depth of alignment for the defensive back usually starts at 8 yards. From this depth, a defender could essentially stay put and the receiver would likely make his break in front of the defender. As the player gains more confidence (athletic ability allowing), this pre-snap cushion can be shortened and stemmed in and out of. The beauty of this is that just aligning in the path of a receiver’s stem, the defender has already re-routed the receiver; either the receiver runs over the defender (not conducive to actually running the route) or he is forced to make his break early, declaring how the defender will play the route.

Just like pattern-matching in zone, secondary defenders will play routes based on the drop of the passer, then anticipating route breaks based on a process of elimination. Once the route is identified/confirmed, the defender can jump the interception point or secure the tackle.

Catch-man is best delivered to players by staging teaching into depths of the quarterback drop. Just like pattern-matching, you will get specific routes based on the depth of the drop.

• With quick-step or 3-step (quicks 0-5 yards), a receiver could really only run one of the following routes: Screen, slant, hitch, speed out
  
• With 5-step routes (intermediate 10-15 yards), the receiver would likely run: out, curl, hook, dig, comeback
  
• With deeper routes (15+ yards off of 5-7 step drops / sprint out and play-action) you could expect: post, corner, fade wheel

As you’ll see in these videos, defensive backs start at a depth of 8 yards and are keying the quarterback in their initial pedal.

 
While eyeing the quarterback, the corner will slowly come out of his stance in a crossover step (or backpedal). The key here is for him to remain in control of his body with an arched back with the intent to be able to mirror the receiver perpendicular to the line of scrimmage (inside/outside break under 6 yards). If the receiver stems inside, the corner should laterally step inside to mirror him. Again, it should be stressed that the corner should walk out of his stance, reading the quarterback in slow motion, keeping horizontal leverage on the receiver (mirror him). By using this horizontal leverage, he can easily recognize where the quarterback is going with the ball (based on the angle) and attack the interception point.

If the corners are consistently aligning with 8 yards depth, they will likely see a lot of quick game to attack the cushion. When the receiver breaks under 8 yards, the corner shouldn’t attempt to come underneath the receiver for the interception unless he is certain he can get two hands on the ball. Otherwise, he should look to secure the tackle by coming in low, with arms clubbing up and expanding the receiver’s noose. It should be acknowledged that playing 3-step is difficult. The important thing is that the defender doesn’t give up a double-move or lose the 1-on-1 tackle if the ball is caught. In the event the DB gets beat here, he should cut his loses by collisioning the receiver or actually pulling him down (preventing a sure touchdown).

 
Once the defender sees the drop is greater than 3-step, he accelerates his pace and immediately snaps to the receiver, keying the inside hip. The defender will then fight for control of the receiver with leverage (either hip-to-hip or at least be at arm’s length). If he loses this control (out-of-phase), the priority is just to catch up to the receiver and never look back. To help against false stepping or getting beat on double-moves, its important to rep receiver jukes, that a cut can only be made when the receiver’s shoulders rise up. Once the DB recognizes the drop is greater than 3-step his thinking is to “slowly absorb the route” and close any air that exists between the receiver and defender. With the accelerated pace of this deeper route, the defender’s concentration should be solely on the receiver’s inside hip. From this point, there is little that differentiates itself from traditional (press) man coverage. The defender should work for total control of the receiver with the progression of “receiver – recognition point (break) – ball”. Only until the receiver is controlled with leverage and the route break is identified, should the defender actually play the ball for the interception. Always finish – play the man, THEN the ball.

Like I said, this will likely be a defensive flavor we’ll see more of in the future and your thoughts and experiences on the matter are certainly welcome.  For an added bonus, some more video on leveraging receivers (from a press position, but its all relative).  Key points to take note of are the solid base and stuttering of the corner's feet until the receiver truly commits to a release and then the flipping of the hips (and footwork) to maintain the in-phase relationship….

Slot Coverage Variations

After covering front matching previously, we can now explore options available to handle slot sets that are separated from the box. Typically, this is best understood from a 2-back look with a single receiver on the other side of the slot (allowing a variety of bracket looks and the linebackers matching back flow). The passing strength is immediately identified (slot) and the safety, corner, and overhang player can communicate how they would handle the 2-man routes out of this. These methods can also be applied independently to each side (split-field) when facing 1-back, as well.
 
With two receivers split from the formation (slot) you end up with a 3-on-2 advantage for the defense. As we covered before, there is a variety of ways to handle this. In attempt to tackle two things at once, we’ll cover these concepts using Saban-speak (out of Nick Saban’s playbooks). It should be noted that Saban’s “system” is extremely concise, flexible, and modular (in its application). What comes with those benefits is a dictionary full of terminology to communicate every conceivable action and response on the field. We’ll use his method as a way to keep a central thematic framework, but these concepts are relative to what everyone else does (so don’t get hung up on the verbiage).
FIST

The first is basic Cover 3 Sky (“Fist”) with what amounts to be the old “country cover 3”. Fist brings the overhang player down outside of #2 receiver serving as primary force. This defender will drop into the seam and not carry any route by #2 deeper than 12 yards and jump the first receiver to the flat. The corner would play all of #1 receiver vertical (or #2) out and up. The free safety would play middle of the field to the #2 receiver. Because these two receivers are handled by these three players, additional receivers (releasing back) would be immediately jumped by the next linebacker inside (Will) unless #1 or #2 released inside.
 
Examples of matching in Fist

     

Exceptions

• Vs 1 back – the FS will check to Rip/Liz rules (match left/right away side) and man #1 and #2.
  
• Vs Wide slot split (horizontal stretch) – with a great deal of space underneath to cover, a “TOKYO” (smash rule) call can be made to have the corner take all short routes and have the overhang defender carry a vertical stem.

 
Sky (Fist) remains an all-purpose coverage solution to slot, but can face limitations with quick 2-man games against the overhang player.



 
COVER R - ROBBER

We’ve covered robber coverage before and this version would be just like Virginia Tech plays it. This is best against a tight #2 with the FS dropping into the seam and the overhang player immediately expanding to the curl. This isn’t much different than TCU’s ‘2 Read’ (covered before). The FS acts as the robber, reading #2-to-#1, playing the front hook with a #2-to-QB-to-Alley fit progression.
 
The corner immediately drops to the deep third with the overhang defender jumping first receiver to the flat. With the corner committing to the deep half, any vertical route by #2 will be bracketed inside-out by the FS and corner.
examples of matching in robber

    

Robber coverage remains arguably one of the best run down solutions, especially to the field.  1-back looks can be handled by robber, but do not provide the leverage security that 2-back does.
 
 

COVER 2 - CORA

This is traditional cover 2 cloud with the FS over the top in deep half coverage and defenders in the curl and flat. The overhang player will align inside #2 and the corner outside of #1.  With two outside underneath zone defenders on top of two split receivers, you have the ability to aggressively attack the quick game.  With any slot coverage, you are only as good as your answer to the smash route.  With true ‘Cora’, the force corner will sink in the flat (playing “TOKYO”) and the overhang will carry #2 vertical.

 
examples of matching in Cover 2  

 
Cover 2 is great against quick game and perimeter run game.  How a defense matches vertical routes in Cover 2 will typically be its weak spot.
 
 
One adjustment to this Cover 2 look is known as “Leach”. It is exactly the same with the exception of the overhang defender is man-to-man #2 (slot/curl). This would afford the (usually exceptional) slot receiver to be double-covered underneath or deep with the surrounding zone defenders.
 

COVER 4 - THUMBS

Thumbs is a 3-on-2 quarters principle that can morph itself into swipe bracket when only one receiver is vertical. The FS will double #1 or #2 from inside out with the corner playing deep third outside.  The overhang player is the sole underneath defender and will take first shallow out / in receiver between #1 & #2.
examples of matching in thumbs 

    

Quarters is great against vertical game and play-action, but the lack of underneath support can cause perimeter leverage issues the offense can exploit.
   

COVER 5 – COUGAR / IOWA
Adding this as a final thought, Cover 5 is the man-under with deep half help. The FS will rob everything inside with the ability to double either receiver deep.  I didn’t provide any illustrations as it is pretty self-explanatory and is the ideal passing coverage.  The FS will rob everything from the inside.  Because the corner (your best cover guy) will be man-to-man on #1 outside wide “on an island”, you will typically have a 2-on-1 cone/bracket on #2 between the deep safety and the overhang player.

Nick Saban: Split Safety Coverage (Cover 7)

Last year, we covered Nick Saban’s 1-high defensive principles, so its only fitting we review his 2-high concepts now. The bulk of understanding Saban’s philosophy resolves around digesting his vocabulary. This ‘vocabulary’ provides a comprehensive communication method for technique or concept that remains universal though his different sets.

With the propensity of 1-back attacks, and as illustrated with the 3-deep coverage series, a defense has to have a competent answer to the threat of 4-receiver vertical stretch (2x2 or 3x1 formations). This is why we see most every defense basing out of a 2-high coverage shell. This provides a comfort zone for defenses to match 2x2 formations and will illustrate why the 3-4 becomes a choice to achieve this balance (can adjust to two detached receivers to a side while keeping a 2-high coverage shell).

nothing wrong with being 2-deep

The easiest way to immerse yourself in his 2-high concepts is to start with Saban’s do-everything Cover 7. Cover 7 is man-to-man match quarters; 4-on-3 strongside / 3-on-2 weakside. At its most basic application, it is just a standard quarters defense. Each side will match according to the split of the formation and game plan. Because it can be adjusted in so many ways, the consistent 2-high shell can give a myriad of looks but remain constant before the snap.

TRIANGLE


To help digest this, its best to think of this in terms similar to the TCU coverage concept (with the exception of MOFO safeties). Away from the passing strength, you will have one receiver split, and at the most, two. This is referred to as the ‘triangle’ side, for the 3-on-2 apex the defense has (safety, corner, backer against a receiver and back). Typically, the dominant receiver will align as the passing strength (X).

With Cover 7, he can easily be accounted for in a few ways;

• aggressive man-to-man with corner (“MEG”) or
• double-coverage bracket between the corner and safety (“CONE”)

A “MEG” (technique) call will be made that declares the corner will man up with the #1 receiver wherever he goes (#1 will be matched by the corner).

A “CONE” call will double the single receiver much like how traditional quarters is played to the single-receiver side (if X is shallow, corner gains depth to his ¼ and safety constricts his deep middle ¼ ).

This leaves the #2 receiver or back-out as the only threat to be matched by the safety and backer (Will). The Will matches the fourth receiver (X,Y,Z are accounted for – so whoever becomes the 2nd receiver away from strength) or the 1st crosser (coming from the passing strength).

If second receiver aligns (outside the box) the Will adjusts and walks out to split the difference. Typically, if a second receiver shows to the ‘triangle side’, any “MEG” call would be adjusted to “MOD”, which simply has the corner playing off-man on the first receiver.

The “MOD” call declares that the corner will not take #1 on anything under 5 yards and will be anticipating some kind of 2-man China/Hi-Low concept from these two receivers (Will would now match #1 receiver short / corner would now match #2 receiver high). These adjustments can be called / declared by the safety, but more often used per game plan.

STRONG / PASSING NUMBERS


Believe it or not, that was actually the ‘hard part’. Quarters into the passing strength is actually quite simple, as it really is just standard quarters rules. With two receivers to the passing strength, you have the vertical stem of #2 being controlled by the deep safety, and any vertical by #1 being handled by the corner (unless in “MEG”). The SLB / Nickel will take the first receiver to the flat, the Mike will match the final #3. This should sound extremely similar to how pattern match coverage is introduced and used in 3-deep zone and fire-zone pressures.

The “MEG” / “MOD” adjustment is available to use on this side, as well. Why would you use this? Why wouldn’t you just hang back in standard quarters? Because the common weakness of quarters in the perimeter distance for the OLB to respond to. By modifying how the #1 receiver is played, you can remain in the same coverage with a minor tweak on the (standard) routes that will be used to attack quarters coverage (underneath). With a corner locking down the #1 receiver, it will become a 2-on-1 match between the OLB and deep safety.

A ton of examples of Cover 7 (with and with out meg/double meg)

Vs 3x1
Cover 7 can adjust to all formations, but what happens when faced with trips, as is common with most ‘spread’ or 1-back formations? The answer is, “ZEKE”, which is just a banjo matchup for the linebackers. We’ve seen this before with the Rip/Liz post on 3x1. It is essentially saying the outside linebacker takes the first out route, the inside linebacker will take the second out route.

The inside linebacker will take the first inside route, the outside linebacker will take the second inside route.

Away from trips, “MEG” will be played against any single receiver The Will matches man-to-man on any back release as the 4th receiver releases.

If the #4 receiver aligns as a slot (now a 2-man receiver threat is present), the “MEG” is off and adjusted to “MOD” technique by the corner.

If the #4 receiver flow strong (to the trips), then they will be playing ‘3 Buzz Mable’, which is just man-match banjo with the safety dropping into the hook area (and Will expanding as force player). This rule also applies to 2-back flow (both backs release to the strong side) action.

This post has been in the works for a while, but possibly more apropos after the Arkansas game where there was considerable controversy of ‘blown assignments’ regarding the Razorback’s first score. On paper, it actually wasn’t an impossible matchup; 2x2 matched with an even Cover 7 coverage, the field corner is man-to-man in MEG. It really became a 3 receiver flood, so the Will would've matched first outside (F), Mike would cut the crosser (Y) and with #2 shallow and away, the Sam would've dropped into the dig.

With having given a basic overview of Saban’s quarters coverage, it will provide context in which to gain understanding in how he handles slot formations (where the real tweaks in the scheme come from). I hope to be able to provide an addendum to this by going over Saban’s Cover 2 package, as well as other slot adjustments from 2-high.


Possibly, in the future we will explore his other coverages, but in the meantime, here are how he defines other zone coverages….

Cover 4 - is a 5 under / 2 deep (corner & free safety) against slot formations.
Cover 2 – is 2 deep (free and strong safety) 5 underneath
Cover 6 – is 3 deep 4 underneath with a weakside rotation
Cover 8 – is quarter halves matched (strong side plays quarters / weak side plays cover 2)
*cover 5 (man under 2 deep)
*leach – 4 under 2 deep where the star (nickel) is man-to-man on the slot receiver

Slot coverage variations:
Fist(c3)/Cover 4/slot (c1)/cora(c2)/switch(c2 corner over)/R (robber to 2 open)/thumbs(C3)/iowa (3on2bracket)

Source Material
1996 Michigan State / 2001 LSU Playbook located here

TCU "2 Read": Adaptation To The Spread (3x1)

The robber rules of “2 Read” are rather simple and the biggest part understanding TCU defensive scheme is just coming to grips and accepting the split-formation concept they utilize.

Using the same “2 Read” technique rules we already covered, we plainly go over adding another receiver (3) to the read side.

To the trips side, the free safety and corner will be playing straight drop back and essentially end up in a split field ¼ match. The primary adjustment becomes the strong safety. He will be outside of the #2 receiver. He is going to play standard “blue” coverage rules, staying on #2 to prevent three verticals. He will still “Swing deep to 3” but he is not looking to jump the flats as he was versus 2 receivers.

In the worst case scenario, “all verticals”, the corner will zone turn to bail and split the difference of #1 and #2 receivers. The free safety will backpedal weave leverage of the vertical #3 receiver. This is the ‘jailbreak’ option versus this coverage, if three verticals aren’t run to the trips side, the pattern distribution can easily be accounted for in the rules.

So if #2 receiver or #3 receiver is not vertical, now we're back to the manageable 2 receiver threat. If #3 runs a shallow out (for example) the free safety is no longer threatened in the middle of the field, so he will settle and look to rob any route by #2. The corner will have the post by #1 all day, so the free safety is free to look of #1.

Versus a standard trips flood (#3 shallow out, #2 sail, #1 is in), the corner would stick with his communication rules, call the “IN” by #1 and gain depth over the receivers. With the “IN” call, the strong safety will hang (on the curl) and break late on the out of #2.

This was just an overview of the split-formation coverage of TCU out of their robber package. Feel free to check out the RUNCODHIT articles on their usual 2x2 coverage (Blue/ Cover 5) that we’ll see a lot of in their push for National prominence this season.

TCU "2 Read": Adaptation To The Spread (2x2)

While exploring the defensive adaptations to offensive trends towards "the spread" (Va Tech in the 90s / Saban Cover 3 adjustments ), and not intending to repeat any of the fantastic coverage of TCU defensive tenets done at Run COD Hit, it would behoove us to at least go over how TCU would confront 2x2 / 3x1 formations out of their base split-field coverage, '2 read'.

TCU's 42 defense is based out of Cover 2 "Read", which is really just a robber + quarters read out of a MOFC look. TCU will typically not play ‘2 Read’ against any 1-back look (preferring Blue or Cover 5), so what we are presenting is just a ‘worse-case’ scenario against this coverage.

Since they are splitting the formation in half, they are just reducing the concept down to the 1, 2, or 3 receiver matching. Just like the Rip/Liz adjustment covered before, when facing a balanced 2x2 formation, the secondary would have to declare which side they are going to play as the 'read side' (where the FS will be robbing). If '2 Read' is called, versus a 2x1 formation, the FS would naturally rob the receiving strength (2 receiver side). With 2x2, you would have to declare "reading left" to communicate the 'read side' and the 'away side', alerting the away safety on how he will handle #2. To the 'read side', this is how zone distribution would essentially play out in a nutshell.

"2 Read" is the base coverage TCU bases out of (it really is just robber). They may not even run this coverage much after installation, but it remains the elementary foundation for all subsequent variations regularly employed.

To get down to brass tacks, the rules are relatively simple and outlined below:

Since they are splitting the formation in half, they are just reducing the concept down to the 1, 2, or 3 receiver matching. Just like the Rip/Liz adjustment covered before, when facing a balanced 2x2 formation, the secondary would have to declare which side they are going to play as the 'read side' (where the FS will be robbing). If '2 Read' is called, versus a 2x1 formation, the FS would naturally rob the receiving strength (2 receiver side). With 2x2, you would have to declare "reading left" to communicate the 'read side' and the 'away side', alerting the away safety on how he will handle #2. To the 'read side', this is how zone distribution would essentially play out in a nutshell.

"2 Read" is the base coverage TCU bases out of (it really is just robber). They may not even run this coverage much after installation, but it remains the elementary foundation for all subsequent variations regularly employed.

To get down to brass tacks, the rules are relatively simple and outlined below:

Read Left

• Read side Corner- 1x7 match deep vertical threat
• Strong (read) Safety - 5x1 force on run / pass read: open to flat "swing deep to 3"
• Free Safety- alley fit on run / pass use 'Robber rule' - vertical by #2 / no vertical by 2, rob curl-to-post of #1
• Strong Backer -match #2 - #3
• Weak Backer - match #2 weak vertical
• Weak (away) Safety -run force / pass curl-flat "swing deep to 2"
• Away side Corner-deep 1/2 (over post of #1)

Read Side Communication

Corner is 1x7 in press bail shuffle with a man-clue of the #1 receiver. Corners always 1x7 unless #1 receiver is outside of numbers (they never cross the numbers in robber). Corners always play inside leverage, always protecting the post (because you don’t know if you’re going to get help from the FS). The post-snap cushion is not enforced, and in fact, Patterson wants receivers to break the defender’s cushion so he’ll only have to play one side now. If there is only one receiver split, the corner will man-turn into the route. If there is more than one receiver split, he will zone-turn into the route. Because this is a robber concept, the corners are taught to make the post a priority and, if necessary, align as much as 4 yards inside the receiver to protect the middle of the defense. With these rules, Patterson essentially invites offenses to run the post-corner because he feels he can take everything else away and force this difficult throw. To get the most out of this coverage, a pattern-match communication system is utilized to hasten how the 3 key defenders respond. The corner will communicate pattern response to his area players (FS & read side safety). Of the read side calls he will make (and responses) are:

CHINA

If #1 is short/hitch the corner makes a “China” call. This flags man responsibility for the Strong (read) Safety. The read side safety will run under (to) #1 because the corner is sinking (on corner route) to match the first outside short threat (flat). A short #1 with a detached #2 receiver typically is going to give you a “smash” (or China) concept, with #2 continuing to press vertical. With #1 shallow, the corner will declare “China” and immediately look to match #2 over the top (and outside). The “China” call also help identifies that there is no post threat from #1 and that #2 is the only other possible threat vertical, so the Free Safety will look to aggressively jump the route of #2.

OUT

If #1 receiver breaks out (he’s no longer vertical) the corner will continue to sink and look to match #2. The ‘out’ call alerts the Strong (read) Safety to look to rob #1 underneath at 10 yards out. Since this overhang safety is always aggressively expanding to the flat, he won’t be giving up much separation on #1, so the throw (to #1) would have to be shallow and near the sideline for a completion.

IN

If the #1 receiver is not shallow (‘china’) but breaks inside at a depth greater than 8 yards (‘dig’ / ‘curl’) , the corner will communicate an “IN” call . This alerts the read safety that there is a threat coming inside over the top (of his drop). The safety should look to become an outside-in player (he’s going to the flat right now, because he’s got a curl player dropping - the FS).

Strong (Read) Safety

The (overhang) Safety aligns 5 yards deep on #2 (removed). Versus a standard tight end or pro look, he would align 3 yards deep and 7 yards widen (discouraging being reached on perimeter action). On EMOL high-hat pass read the target depth for his drop will be 8-10 yards. He is going to remain shallow on his drop with the intent to expand to the flat as quickly because the FS will be dropping inside of him in the curl (if that is what is threatened).

Don't get hung up on semantics - the 'read' safety "swing(ing) deep to 3" is essentially the standard 'curl-to-flat' responsibility, but an emphasis on staying shallow and man-conscious. This methodology helps the defender be less dogmatic and be an aggressive matcher in coverage ( if a man runs through his zone – he's got him vertical ). The rationale behind teaching it this way is to encourage the safety to open up and get to the flat (with no landmarks).

Free Safety

The alignment of the free safety will be 8-10 yards deep over the read side guard. This allows him to gain a clear read on an uncovered linemen and an quick response path to the inside vertical threat of #2.

Once the offense breaks the huddle, the free safety will identify the backs, determine the read side and communicate to the other defensive backs, “check 2 – read right” (coverage and what side is being matched). The response of the free safety is just like robber, with the #2 receiver as his pass key:

• #2 goes vertical, he matches all of #2 inside leverage.
• #2 does anything but vertical, he robs the curl/post of #1.

This vertical-clue will handle all routes deeper than 8 yards. If #2 is out (and under 8 yards), the free safety is communicating “WHEEL” to the corner (see the curl-flat combo illustrated above). This is essentially telling the corner, “you have an outside route by #2 - so you have curl-post help (from FS)”. This works even if #2 isn’t going to wheel that out route, but it lets the corner know he can now back off of #1 because of the help available.

When #2 is no longer vertical (out / out-up), the free safety then reads the hips of the #1 receiver. If #1 sinks his hips (for a break) the free safety will drive at the receiver’s break and step in front of him (interception point).

If the #1 receiver doesn’t sink his hips, the free safety immediately turns into the middle of the field (away from the receiver) to rob the post.

Inside linebackers
TCU's rules split-coverage rules mean they never have to displace the 6 in the box. The stacked (inside) backers would always match 2-to-3 regardless of formation with the other (away from final 3) being the rat in the hole. So if you’re a 4-2, its all relative if you play this with a 3-3; the numbers are the same. These players doesn't have to be anywhere fast, in fact, the slower they are at reacting the better, because they should be thinking draw or screen (off pass-action) initially.

For read side linebacker, once pass shows he is to middle drop vertical to find/match the final 3 receiver. This player is looking to defend his run gap first, then take away the hot (throw). By slow-playing pass action, he always tries to make #3 go over the top of him, and from there it just becomes a "man-to-man" zone as in basketball (boxing out #3 deep).

For the away side linebacker, it is essentially the same as the read side linebacker, with the exception of matching #2 (away) vertically. Typically, this player is the (wider) bubble backer and against any 1-back look, TCU will be slanting the defensive line. This linebacker must replace the former middle-of-the-field safety in the hole. Rather than a ‘robot’ reaction away from the ‘final 3’ player, he would gain depth vertically on #2. If #2 pressed vertically after 8 yards, the away side linebacker would have to carry him man-to-man regardless if he makes a break deep in his route. It isn’t pretty, but that is the answer for 1 back routes.

Weak (Away) Safety
On pass read, this player will play like a standard curl-to-flat player in cover 3. He has no immediate curl help and will work in tandem with the corner. He does not carry #2 deeper than 8 yards and does not reroute. He should never cross the hash when responding to an inside route, as the away side linebacker will be working to that area.

This is actually a great addition to standard robber coverage and the adjustment (with split-field) principle helps prepare your players for the ‘breakable’ scenarios. In the next (soon) installment, we will go over the very basic trips (3x1) adaptation using this same coverage.

Nick Saban: Cover 3 Adaptation (Mable/Skate) To 3x1

Continuing the review of handling one-back spread formations, the next logical step after you've accounted for 2x2, is how do you handle 3x1 (trips/trey)? All your adjustments to 2x2 can be pointless if you don't have a viable solution that can be 'broken' by a 3-receiver formation.

The Saban way of handling 3x1 out of Cover 3 is known as "mable", which is code for 'man'. This is actually a standard adjustment to trips if you're basing out of quarters. "Mable" (the same thing as "skate" in Cover 6), is manning the single-receiver backside, and pushing the zone coverage to the passing numbers. You're essentially playing zone front side and man backside.



The front side players will simply match the receiving threats as they normally would out of Cover 3. A lot can be assumed that the Cover 3 adjustments to spread are philosophical changes in how the secondary is played. Actually, that isn't the case - the 'secondary' teaching is quite subtle. The fulcrum of the Rip/Liz/Mable (3 deep zone) success is going to come with your inside linebackers. Those two players will control the guts of the coverage, and fully support everything that is being handled by the secondary.

As you can see by the diagram, nothing much changes with the secondary players. We will go over how the "alert" players (M&W) are to handle 3x1 formations:


btw - this becomes the "Zeke" adjustment to any trips look


This isn't a different coverage, just a built-in system for handling stressors of the base concept, and doesn't deviate much at all (from the call side) the standard pattern-match rules.

Let's go over the rules.....

In 3x1 (mable)
Will – backer to the single split side.

• Back flow TO – match it (jump the flare)
• Back flow AWAY – cut the 1st crosser

Mike – backer to 3 receivers (final 3 player) Related to #3 receiver after distribution

• #3 is inside - ROBOT, depth and jump underneath inside breaking route
• #3 is outside - push the strong hook

Sam – (to trips) Relate to #2 receiver after distribution.

• #3 inside (M has him) depth and jump #2
• #3 outside carry inside-underneath

Strong Safety – (to trips)Looking to jump the first underneath receiver. Relate to #1 receiver after distribution)

• #2 outside – jump it
• #2 inside (S has it) buzz underneath

Corner (to trips) simply plays old 2-to-1 read Cover 3 because he has to match the 1st vertical threat.


Again, as you see the reaction of the inside linebackers becomes the fundamental under current of Rip/Liz/Mable/Skate, allowing them to aggressively play run (flow) and put them in great leverage position based on this reaction. If those inside backers are trained appropriately, you will have an automatic response to handle most every route combination.

As a footnote, I'll just say that we've covered adaptations, the evolution, of standard zone coverage (by one who has been setting successful trends for a few decades). Saban, himself, doesn't just sit in one coverage throughout a game or rely on these rules / adjustments to beat-all. His defenses and how he uses/employs them is actually quite different. Using a 'pro approach', the defense is purely situational and will handle formations, D&D, areas of the field, differently and on a situation-by-situation basis.