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Fundamentals : Zone Coverage Schemes

Thus far in Fundamentals, we’ve covered a lot of defense, but it’s mostly been up front – dealing with the defensive line and linebackers. Today, we venture into the secondary to learn about zone coverage schemes – specifically, Cover 2, Tampa 2, and Cover 3.

Let’s set the stage:

These types of zone coverage are usually run out of a 4-3 formation. We know that a base (and, consequently, basic) 4-3 looks something like this:

Looks familiar, right? We know who all of these guys are and what they do.

A basic Cover 2 formation isn’t much different:

The Cover 2 is a classic formation in which there are two deep safeties playing zone defense. Up front, you’ve got a four-man rush (composed of the 4 down linemen) and 5-under (the linebackers and the corners in this example, or players in between the defensive line and the end zone).

Pretty basic, right?

Ok, so here’s the Tampa 2:

What changed? The middle linebacker – or the Mike – drops back into coverage and plays zone up the vertical seam of the field (inside the hash marks). Essentially, this is a 3-deep formation with 4-under (since now one linebacker is brought back into coverage). In most Tampa 2 situations, the 4-man front protects against the rush and it’s all hands on deck to play zone against passing plays midfield/deep. The success of the Tampa 2 hinges on the effectiveness of the Mike backer – he needs to be fast and athletic to drop back into coverage and also a sure tackler to stop any potential progress.

So why Tampa 2? The coverage was popularized in the mid-90’s by the Tampa Bay Bucs and their coaching staff – namely Tony Dungy, Lovie Smith, and Monte Kiffin. Tony Dungy took a lot of defensive strategies from his days with the Steelers. This was one of them (and he gives Coach Noll full credit for being the original mastermind.) The Bucs altered the scheme and made it work beautifully with their aggressive, stingy defense. It’s been known as the Tampa 2 ever since.

Dallas Cowboys fans may want to pay particular attention to this post. With Monte Kiffin as your new defensive coordinator, you’re almost sure to see Tampa 2 in a lot of situations this season.

Moving right along: Cover 3.

Why isn’t Cover 3 the same as Tampa 2? Both have 3 guys deep, right?

That’s true! But look at who is back there. In Cover 3, two corners and one safety (usually the free safety) play zone deep, which means they split the end of the field into thirds and cover each portion as a zone. The strong safety sneaks down so that it’s 4-under – this time with three linebackers and a safety.

Blast from the past, but remember when we talked about 8 in the box? This is that. The safety sneaks down into the box, presenting a tough coverage to beat: lots of guys with the flexibility to protect the run or short pass, lots of guys deep.

How are we doing? Make sense? If not, stay tuned for Wednesday’s film room post. It’ll be a big help!

News and Notes : 5.10.13

Five little notes for today:

Let the record state that the first Super Bowl guarantee has been made: Nick Fairley has deemed his Lions the victors. We’ll see how that goes.
Candlestick Park is getting a makeover and a new name, which is likely to be Levi’s Stadium. Niners owner Jed York is nicknaming it the “Field of Jeans” and I kind of love him forever for that.
You are going to want to read this article. Really, it’ll make your Friday. Peyton Manning is on fire this offseason – not only in his meticulous preparation…but in the art of team bonding. He’s the master.
There are lots of well-known free agents still on the market: Brian Urlacher, Charles Woodson, and Dwight Freeney among them. For some, it’s not a question of where they’ll land, but if they’ll land with a team next season. Which is the business of sports, but it’s a sad business when the greats are involved.
Speaking of the greats: Ronde Barber is retiring after a 16 year career with the Bucs. His resume boasts 5 Pro Bowl selections, 47 interceptions, and a Super Bowl ring. And he’s as good off the field as he is on it, a true class act.

Bonus note: there will be no more “Waiting all day for Sunday night” with Faith Hill this season. She’s decided to move on from her infamous SNF gig, with Carrie Underwood serving as her replacement. (Good call on that, producers.)

How about you guys? Any other news or notes you’d like to chat about?

History Lesson : Miracle(s) at the Meadowlands

Ever wonder how/when the victory formation came into existence? It’s a history lesson Giants fans would probably rather forget.

The Giants were in the midst of a woeful season in 1978 when they played the Eagles at the Meadowlands, the Giants home stadium. But that day, they found a way to get the win, and were 20 seconds away from closing out a 19-12 victory over Philadelphia.

Until the call came in to hand the ball off to star running back Larry Csonka on the next play instead of taking a knee. Csonka didn’t want the ball, didn’t want to risk having something happen in the final seconds of the game. But no one was going to change the play. They broke the huddle a little too late, lined up a little too quickly, and had a little too much confusion still amidst when the ball was snapped, unexpectedly.

Herman Edwards – player, coach, and now ESPN analyst – was a cornerback for the Eagles at that time. He was in the perfect position to scoop up the ball and run it into the end zone after the fumbled snap. I love his recollection of head coach Dick Vermeil’s reaction: “It dawned on him when he noticed people running by him. He said, ‘What are you doing?’ And someone said, ‘Herman ran it in for a touchdown!’ He never saw it until he watched the tape.”

Here’s what he saw:

The Eagles went on to the playoffs, the Giants went on to a firing spree, and everyone would talk about the Miracle at the Meadowlands for years to come. Ever since that game, someone always stands behind the quarterback in the victory formation, just in case another fumble should come to call.

But that wasn’t the only Miracle at the Meadowlands, and I have to say the second one is my favorite by far.

It was 2010. The Giants and Eagles were fighting for playoff position in Week 15 of the regular season. “Fighting” didn’t quite describe how the Eagles were playing during the first three quarters of the game – by the time the fourth quarter rolled around, they were down by 21 points.

This is the point in the game in which broadcasters scrape for commentary and everyone starts wondering if the network will flip to a better game.

It’s a good thing they didn’t, because over the course of seven minutes the Eagles scored three touchdowns to tie the game.

And then this happened:

And I’m pretty sure I screamed just as loud as any diehard Eagles fan when DeSean crossed the goal line, because a Giants loss meant my Packers still had a chance to make the playoffs as a wildcard team. (Which they did, and went on to win Super Bowl 45. Thank you, Eagles!)

How about you guys? Which is your favorite miracle?

Film Room (But Really…Not) : A Bad Lip Reading

Just so we’re clear here: this is a total cop out. I’m not even going to try to trick you into thinking otherwise. This week is full of life but short on time for me, so instead of writing an actual film room post, I’m giving you this…which might be even better.

For real.

Here’s one of the best things you’ll see all week, a Bad Lip Reading of NFL moments:

Let’s break it down, shall we? These were my Top 5 moments:

Jim Harbaugh’s “I want cake” might be my favorite, if only because it seems like something that has a high probability of actually happening.
I thought that the first Tom Brady moment, “I found Fido!” was my favorite. And then the second one came. The high five to “I’m white!” gets me every time.
Next on the list is a tie between the Derek Cox opera clip and Joe Staley telling Colin Kaepernick, “Hey, help me burn that old man.”
Peyton Manning and the potion – which was expertly delivered by the lip reader!
Pete Carrol, keeping kids off drugs.

Ok guys, your turn. Favorite part? Plus a petition to do this again next season?

Off the Field : Tim Tebow

image source

Even if Tim Tebow never achieves any more success in the NFL than he already has (and for the record: he will), he’s still one of the best players to highlight off the field. We could basically do this feature on him every week for the rest of the off-season and only scratch the surface of what he’s done to impact the lives of others – especially kids.

For most, it’d be enough that he flies a child facing a life-threatening illness in for every game and gives him or her the royal treatment through his W15H Program. But it’s not just for every game, it’s for every game and then some, cumulating in 25 total trips funded by the program.

And that’s only one facet of his Foundation.

The Tim Tebow Foundation is also building playrooms for kids in select children’s hospitals around the world. And why stop at a playroom when you can build a whole hospital? That’s just what he’s doing in the Philippines in partnership with CURE International. TTF also supports orphans and supports those who do things like supporting orphans through the Team Tebow initiative.

But that’s not all! I feel like I’m going into informercial mode here and I’m not even sorry. Because it’s the stuff that he does that isn’t intended to be publicized that makes him a genuine class act. Like calling local high school student Matt Hardy after he was hit by a drunk driver in a crash that killed both his girlfriend and teammate. Or pushing a 7 year old with cerebral palsy around the field during pre-game warmups. Even things like taking the time to get off his plane while it was refueling and surprise the also-tarmac’d Wichita State Shockers on their plane with an inspirational pep talk.

Really.

Really.

For even more examples, check out these videos:

Regardless of what happens with his on-the-field future, it’s good to know that Tim Tebow will be doing things like this off-the-field for the rest of his life. And isn’t that something to cheer for? I think so.

Fundamentals : 4-3 Defense (Base, Over, Under)

*Due to massive interest, this post is in the process of being rewritten and featured as a series for the 2014 season. In the meantime, please read the comments section as it is tremendously helpful! Thanks to everyone who has reached out about the post so far. Keep any comments coming!

This Fundamentals post serves to answer a question I’ve had for just about forever: what’s the difference between base, over, and under?

So I found the answers and turned them into color coordinated pictures. Because that’s what we do around here.

Ok, ready?! Here are a few foundational truths to lay out before we get rolling with this:

Base defense refers to the default defense that a team runs as a standard. For most teams in the NFL, their base defense is either a 3-4 or a 4-3 defense. Think of base defense as an empty room with a table and chairs: there will always be the same number of furniture pieces in the room, but you can rearrange them in any way that suits your needs. In the same way, teams that run a 3-4 defense as their base defense are going to field 3 linemen and 4 linebackers, but they can rearrange them in different ways if need be.
Over and Under Fronts describe how players are aligned within a base defense. In an over front, the four-man defensive line aligns to the strong side of the offense (the side with the tight end). In an under front, the defensive line aligns to the weak side (the side without the tight end). There can also be over and under fronts in 3-4 defensive systems, in which an outside linebacker would move up to become the 4th lineman. (Thank you so much for your help with this correction to the original post, Drew and Curtis!)
Ok, this is going against everything we’re learned so far, but sometimes there is a nose tackle in a 4-3 defense. It’s true. I’ve been withholding information to make the learning process between 3-4 and 4-3 easier, and now I kind of feel like I just told you all you were adopted. So, here’s the thing: the nose tackle in a 3-4 system in the sole defensive tackle and plays 0-technique. We know that. In a 4-3, a nose tackle (if used) would usually have about the same size and strength as a traditional nose tackle, but would play 1-technique instead of straight over the center in 0-technique. According to Pat Kirwan, “A 4-3 nose tackle is required to penetrate the inside “A” gap and often loop around and be responsible for containing the “C” gap.” (See this post for a refresher on gaps.)

Now that we have the basics ironed out, let’s move on to what a 4-3 base defense might look like.

(For all of the following illustrations, W = weakside linebacker (Will), M = middle linebacker (Mike), S = strongside linebacker (Sam). Remember that the strong side of any formation is the side with the tight end; the weak side is the side without the tight end. Check out the glossary for more help with these positions.)

We won’t spend a lot of time here because we already know this defense fairly well. In a 4-3 Base Defense, there are 4 defensive linemen and 3 linebackers. Usually, they are aligned in a formation similar to the one above, but certainly not always.

Let’s stick with the 4-3 Base and see what an over front would look like:

In the 4-3 Over Front, the defense shifts it’s strength to the strong side of the offense. How can that be, you ask, when there are more defensive players on the weak side than on the strong side? Great question! It’s all about the defensive tackle.

We see that the nose tackle is lined up on the weak side of the formation. And he’s important – his size and strength will plug up the gaps like nobody’s business. But the crux of the Over/Under fronts is built around the abilities of the defensive tackle.

In the Over front, the defensive tackle is aligned on the strong side of the formation. That defensive tackle is usually a 3-technique player. We know that the 3-technique player is aligned on the outside of the guard and relies on speed and agility, rather than sheer size (ala nose tackle), to shoot the B-gap and disrupt the backfield. The defensive tackle is the true “strength” of the formation and wherever he is will be the side to which the defense is shifting it’s strength. When the defensive tackle is on the strong side of the formation, it’s a 4-3 Over front.

Since you guys are all A+ students, I’m sure you are all anticipated what comes next: In a 4-3 Under Front, the defense shifts it’s strength to the weak side of the offense. See where the DT is? 3-technique on the weak side. A lot of NFL teams runs this defense because the defensive tackle has less obstacles between himself and the backfield. As long as he can shoot the B-gap he can get into the backfield and disrupt the action.

It’s a little counterintuitive to remember that the strength of the defense is the side that has less players and a little confusing to untangle the strength of the defensive from the strong sides and weak sides of the offense – I’ll give you that. But in general, now that we understand the role of the defensive tackle in all of this, does it make more sense?

Shout out your questions, comments, and concerns!