Why Install Both Special and Solo Coverages?

I get this question a lot from guys, and I guess things are not making sense, so I'm going to try and set the record straight with this post.  First off, we must understand, that everything is done for a reason.  Solo and Special Coverages are overloaded zones pushed to the passing strength to help with 3x1, 3x2 and 4x1 offensive sets.  So let's take a look at what each coverage is, and why each coverage is needed.

Solo
Solo, often referred to by old-school Quarters coverage guys as "Poach" is basically Blue (2 read) to the number one and number two receivers on a trips side.  In the TCU 4-2-5, the read side corner, strong safety (SS) and free safety (FS) will all play blue coverage to the number one and two receivers.  The number three receiver strong is handled by both the read side linebacker and the away side safety.  The weak side corner will cover the single receiver man-to-man, and the away side linebacker (LB) will take the running back in man coverage also. 

Here are the individual rules:
Read side:
Corner: All of 1 vertical/Swing deep of 2
FS: All of 2 vertical; 2 not vertical and in, rob curl to post of 1, 2 not vertical and out, man 1.
SS: Curl/Flat/Swing deep of 3.
LB: Strong hook, short wall 3.

Away side:
Corner: Man #1.
WS: Deep 1/2, all of 3 vertical.
LB: Man #2.

Pros of Solo Coverage
Right off the bat you can see that the simplicity of the coverage is that the read side needs no new teaching (with the exception of the wall off technique by the read side linebacker).  This is nothing more than the simple "X-out" concept many loaded zone coverages employ.  The away side is also a relatively simple assignment as well, since kids have been playing man-to-man since they were first put on playgrounds.  Also, the run support to the read side is very solid, with the SS still being in a great position to force the football from his normal alignment.

Cons of Solo Coverage
The weak side run support is the biggest issue I know of with Solo coverage.  The WS is put in a bind in that if the number three receiver goes vertical, he MUST honor that release, leaving the force player late to the party on the away side.  However, you must remember, the read side is always set to the wide side of the field when the ball is on a hash, so there is not much room for the offense to maneuver to the single receiver side.  In the middle of the field though, I would say this could be a recipe for some big gains, particularly if your opponent is used to sending its receivers vertical.  The other issue is the WS's ability to get over the number three receiver when he is running vertical.  Another tough issue, is when the vertical of three becomes a corner route.  There is some much needed seven-on-seven time with Solo coverage.  Another issue that arises is that most times the single receiver in a trips set is the best receiver of the bunch, and if they pit him against your corner, you could see some mismatches based on personnel. 

Another con is flood routes to the read side.  Depending on how you declare receivers vertical, you can be caught in a pinch if you are not careful.  The flood route is as dangerous as one may think, but does take some work to perfect.

Special
What Solo isn't, Special is.  That's about as simple as you can put it really.  Special is an excellent 3x1 coverage, that is also an "X-out" concept, however this time the manned receiver is on the read side instead of the away side.

The individual rules are as follows:

Read side:
Corner: Man #1.
FS: All of 3 vertical; 3 not vertical and in, rob curl to post of 2; 3 not vertical and out, man 2.
SS: All of 2 vertical, swing deep of 3.
LB: Strong hook, all of 4 vertical.

Away side:
Corner: Play call (can play sky/cloud,bronco etc).
WS: Play call.
LB: Depends on call.

The away side has a ton of freedom.  You can do any of the following options.

Cloud
TCU would refer this as cover five, however in my system when the corner is the flat player, then we simply tag it Cloud.  In cloud, the corner is the flat player, and is also the swing deep of two player.  The WS then becomes the deep 1/2, all of one vertical player with the away side LB playing the weak hook to curl, and has all of number two vertical.

Sky
Sky is simply the opposite of cloud for the WS and weak corner.  I like Sky coverage because it has safety run support, and I prefer to have my safeties force instead of my corners.

Blue
You can run blue coverage to this side as well, but you do have a rough time defending the curl from blue coverage, so I only recommend this if your opponent does not attack the curl area, or if you on a hash.

Bronco
Bronco is a better option than Blue, because you can tighten the WS's alignment to assist in supporting the run.  Bronco is played many ways, I simply man the corner on the number one receiver and the WS will take all of number two vertical or out. 

Solid
Solid is the way to truly get 3x1 teams out of trips.  In Solid you can run Solid Backer, Solid Smoke, or Solid Cobra.  All three are shown below.

Solid Backer

Solid Smoke

Solid Cobra

As you can see, the defense is taking advantage of a three-on-two match up and attacking the offense with this match up.  Solid coverage is one of my favorites because the offense does not expect this from a zone look on the backside of a 3x1 formation.

Pros of Special Coverage
The top reason I like Special is the fact I can cover my opponents best receiver with two players.  You can mix and match either having the safety over the top, or the corner, thereby keeping your opponent's quarterback (QB) guessing as to which player is responsible for what zone.

The addition of Solid coverage on the away side is another great reason to play Special Solid.  Attacking the offense is what the defense should ALWAYS have in mind, and Solid does just this. 

The weak side run support in Special is much better than Solo because either the corner or WS has deep help to their side.  This frees this player up to attack the line of scrimmage (LOS) on run looks, as well as helping to play the cutback on runs to the strong side.

Cons of Solo Coverage
The cons most often come to the read side.  The read side run support is tricky at best.  The SS should be the force player, but can easily be influenced by the release of the number three receiver.  The FS and read side LB can alleviate this somewhat, but the run support to that side takes some work.

The cross-training of the SS as a corner also takes some work, but is not as tedious as many may thing.  However, this does add to the complexity of the coverage. 

Conclusion
So, looking at what both these coverages are and aren't, really shows why both are a compliment to each other.  The biggest reason to run both, is quite easy, run support.  I did not run much Special for fear of the complexity and did just fine, however flood routes and away side runs did take their toll on my team.  I would have benefited from installing Special, to combat the problems that are inherent to Solo coverage.

Yes, both coverages take time to implement, and I recommend installing Solo first, as it is an easier coverage install.  However, I do think, as the season rolls along, you should have Special installed by your third game at the latest.  This is just my opinion, and obviously the earlier the better. 

Duece

Creating an Eight Man Front to Defend the Spread Offense III

In the first post I touched on various ways that one-high (MOFC) coverages can be utilized in a sound manner to defend the spread offense.  The second post touched on some adjustments you can make via the front and the coverage to attack certain things the offense is attempting to do.  Now, I want to touch on a couple of the finer points of the eight man front such as:

• The Free Safety (FS) and his role in MOFC coverage in the eight man front.
• Simplifying alignment in the eight man front.
• Blitzing in the eight man front.

The Free Safety's Role in MOFC Coverage
The FS in most MOFC defenses has a tough job, especially if the coverage is cover one, or some sort of two-deep rotational coverage.  Robber, and Cover One are not too strenuous on the FS, the reason being, in Robber the FS is pattern reading, and it's basically man, and in Cover One, the FS is free to roam based on the QB's eyes.  However, introduce Rip/Liz Cover Three and you now have the best of both Cover Three and Cover One.  Let's look at the pros cons of each and then display them with Rip/Liz and see what we get...shall we?

Cover One-Pros

• Aligns to and covers virtually everything with guaranteed MOF help.
• Simple, cover your man, run with your man if he goes in motion (you can bump, or motion blitz if you'd like, but again, this is simple man-to-man defense here).
• Provides a stable defense for the MOF, having both a MOF deep player and a MOF shallow player (Rat-in-the-hole). 
• Affords sending up to six defenders on a blitz if using peel coverage rules.

Cover One-Cons

• Run force-the force defender can be "run off" by a receiver he's supposed to cover man-to-man (although catch man alleviates some of this, it is still, nevertheless worrisome).
• Not all 11 eyes on the football.  Zone defense affords 11 eyes watching the football, whereas man defenders cannot always eye the football for the threat of being beaten in pass coverage.
• Outside 1/3's vulnerable to match up issues.  Corners are on an island in Cover One.
• Suspect to picks and rubs, as is any man-to-man defense.
• FS must have very good range.

Cover Three-Pros

• Aligns to everything.
• Very simple to install (should be able to do this in one practice).
• Good run support (dedicated force players at or near the LOS with a solid MOF alley player).

Cover Three- Cons

• Covers nothing.
• Weak in the seams.
• Weak in the curl.
• Weak against flood routes.
• Every offense in the country has several "Cover Three Beaters" installed in their offense day one (which means EVERYONE's seen it).
• FS has to have excellent range.

By utilizing Saban's Cover Three, you end up with the following:

Rip/Liz-Pros

• Aligns to everything.
• Excellent MOF defense with a MOF safety deep and MOF underneath player (ROBOT).
• Can keep same rules for zone blitzing (Number one and two droppers are identical in both Cover Three Rip/Liz and most three deep, three under zone blitz schemes), which alleviates teaching time(multiplicity through simplicity).
• Force players not as apt to be run off by receivers.
• All 11 eyes are on the football at the snap.
• No need to worry about picks and rubs (you're not in man-can run banjo schemes).
• With flat players funneling the number two receiver inside the hash, FS doesn't need to be as "rangy".
• Has the same run support structure as "Country Cover Three".
• Very strong in the seams and curl areas because of the pattern read.
• Works against most "Cover Three Beaters" and is hard for offense to distinguish between Cover Three and Cover One.

Rip/Liz-Cons

• Not as easy an install as "Country Cover Three" or Cover One, due to the pattern reading nature.
• Force players can still be run off somewhat, providing for a "soft edge".
• Corners are still on an island (match up).

Whew!  I know there are some more, but these are just the basics.  What you can see here is you get a lot of bang for your buck with Rip/Liz.  You can still run some Cover One if you need to and it's a great disguise for when you do.  You also can zone blitz from the one-high look and don't have to afford any pre-snap rotation to give away what you are doing (which many QB's are being taught for what to look for pre-snap nowadays). 

The biggest benefit I think is the protection of the seams, and the fact that the FS doesn't have to be a guy that can cover a TON of ground. Sure he has to be able to move, and read on the run, but he doesn't need to be a Major Wright!  The funneling of the number two receivers also helps the FS in the run game.  The FS can get a clearer read because the number two receiver is being pressed and thereby has to make his intentions pretty quickly (am I blocking or running a route) so the FS can get into his run/pass read quicker and is thereby a little better factor against the run than a traditional Cover Three FS.

So, we can see, the addition of a pattern reading Cover Three is the top priority if you are an eight man front and you want to consistently defend what spread teams will do to attack you.  It does not hurt to mix in some Cover One however, which will keep the opposing coach guessing and off track when trying to call certain plays.

Simplifying Alignment in the Eight Man Front
The eight man front is one of the easiest of all defenses to align.   The reason is, it's balanced with five defenders on each side of the ball and a MOF safety.  The thing I recommend, is to take a page out of our split field concept brethern's playbook and play field and boundary.  Let's look at the alignment shown below and I'll explain.

I chose the 3-3 defense for it's simplicity, but you can use the 4-4, 4-2, 5-3 or whatever eight man front you run out there.  However, the simplicity is that the Strong Safety (SS), who is usually the better of the two overhang safeties always goes to the field.  The WS (B in the illustration), would be the weaker of the two, and would be set to the boundary.  In most 3-3's I've seen, most coaches utilize right and left defenders which is super simple.  However, if you wanted to, you can easily set your strength to the field and still be quite sound.  Putting your best players to the field is not a bad idea either.  Here is how the 4-2-5 would align to the same look using field/boundary alignments.

Again, the defenders on the right side of the image are the strong side defenders, and are probably your better football players whereas your lesser player play into the boundary and are on the left side of the illustration above.

The simplicity of aligning the eight man front, affords your players one less thought that must tumble through their testosterone laden minds during the course of a game.  This lack of thinking keeps these players comfortable and playing exactly how we want them to...FAST.

Blitzing in the Eight Man Front
For years most folks new me as a Miami 4-3 guy, and to this day I still love that defense.  The one trouble I always had though, was blitzing out of it.  It may have just been me, but having been introduced to the TCU blitz scheme and after studying tons of 3-3 playbooks over the past few months, I can see there is no simpler front to blitz from than the eight man front.  Again, the balance affords simplicity in alignment, so teams have trouble getting you out of your base alignment.  What this does is affords for less of a chance that a blitzer will have to widen with an adjustment and thereby be caught out of position on the snap of the football.  The "six-in-the-box" concept keeps blitzing simple as well (both the 3-3 and 4-2, as well as some 4-3's keep this principle as well).  What I will show you, is some blitzes I used out of TCU's playbook, that despite us being a MOFC defense, we were still able to execute.



Bullets Away, my favorite!



Smokes

Strong/Wide Dog



Weak/Short Dog



Mob (cop)

As you can see, quite simple really.  All the blitzes listed in TCU's playbook can be run with the same adjustments and calls that TCU uses.  You don't have to limit yourself there either, the 3-3 defense has a myriad of blitzes that can be run from a MOFC defense.  Whatever front you choose to run, will find blitzing is quite easy and not too terribly taxing either.  Another "cheap" blitz from the 4 man front is the zone blitz sending one LB.  The rules for coverage are very simple, with the number three dropper being the only one who really changes from the standard Rip/Liz coverage rules.




Sam "B"



• Corners- Deep 1/3, all of 1 vertical
• OSS- #2 dropper, all of 2 vertical and out.  2 shallow and inside squeeze to the 3 dropper.
• ILB- #3 dropper, cut all crossers.
• FS- Deep 1/3, all of 3 vertical.

There you go!  Very similar to standard Rip/Liz reads and assignments.  Again, this is multiplicity through simplicity, which is a time tested manner for being able to attack your opponent in multiple ways with very little teaching time. 

In conclusion, I think it is VERY possible to be a one-high, MOFC defense and succeed against today's spread attacks.  I think there are multiple reasons for doing so, from anything to poor match ups or solving tricky alignment problems to being able to bring pressure without having to roll coverage are just some of the numerous benefits you get from staying one-high.  Hopefully you've been able to use this and can couple this with some other things I've posted on the site to have a very successful defense in the near future. 

Don't forget to check my other blog, The 12th Man, and as usual you can follow me on Twitter @theduece02. 

Duece

Two Gap/One Gap vs. One-Back Zone Option

Since posting the original Two Gap-One Gap (TGOG) posts, I have had numerous emails wanting more, more, more.  Where here you go!  In this post I'm going to show you how the TGOG scheme, when coupled with coverage can negate the zone read and zone read triple options being employed by many of today's spread offenses.  The TGOG was developed specifically to give lesser athletes an advantage against just such offensive schemes.  Let's get into the details shall we?

Setting the Front
There has been much argument about how to set the front when facing zone read option teams.  Personally, I like to set the three technique on the opposite side of the running back, or at the very least slant him in that direction from a two technique alignment (especially vs. those pesky OC's who flop the RB prior to the snap).  Anyhow, I also believe you need to mix things up, as good spread teams with a running QB will also run QB iso and QB power.  I think setting the three technique to the back is a good change up when expecting the iso and power type of QB runs.  Being able to mix things up keeps the offense on it's heels and they now do not know what to expect.  The TGOG scheme allows the defense to be sound, regardless of where the three technique is set.

Setting the Coverage
Assuming the ball is in the middle of the field (MOF), as with the three technique, I say mix things up.  There is no right or wrong way to do things, and in this article I'm going to look at all the possible alignments and how the defense is sound no matter where the read side of the coverage is set (assuming you use split field coverage).  Now we all know the ball is only in the MOF some 20 percent of the time, so the read side may or may not be set with your front.  I'm going to detail the scenarios to show you just how sound the TGOG scheme is, regardless of where the coverage is set.

Attack the Offense, Scenario #1- Front and Coverage set Away From the Running Back

As the drawing shows, the read side of the coverage and the front are both set away from the RB.  The DE on the strong side, being a one gap player can get up field and help play the spill by the Sam LB.  The three technique will allow himself to be reached and fall back in to play the A gap and help on cutback.  To the weak side, the one technique is a one gapper and will get up field, also preventing the cutback or "wind back" play from developing.  The weak side DE is a two gapper, so he is collapsing the OT, not allowing the OT to work up to the Mike LB and is playing the B gap cut back also preventing the "wind back".  The Mike LB, will have QB all the way.  This is very advantageous if you are in the MOF and playing Bronco coverage on the away side.  As you can see, you have all your bases covered.  Now let's look at the triple option run the same way.

The front assignments remain the same, however the secondary must make up for the motion and the resulting "extra player" that will show up on the away side of the coverage.  This is an easy check for the secondary.  The FS should check the secondary into either Roll Sky, or Roll Solo.  I'd prefer Roll Sky as the SS is already inverted and can help play under the #1 receiver on any playaction routes, as well as run with the wheel route by the RB off of playaction. 

The FS moves with the motion and is the alley/extra QB defender to the "new read side".  The WS, can screw down and is now the force player and will take pitch.  If the number two receiver blocks the WS, then the FS will overlap this block and play the pitch.  Again, you are sound as you have all three phases of the triple option accounted for (dive, QB, pitch), and you've done it simply by defeating the blocking scheme and not by assigning players to a certain phase.

Attack the Offense, Scenario #2-  Front and Coverage Set to the Running Back

Now the three technique is still on the same side as the SS, yet the RB is now to the strong side of both the front and the coverage.  Maybe you did this expecting a QB isolation run or QB power run and the offense decides to run the zone read instead...not an issue.  The strong side DE, being a two gap player, will work under the reach block by the OT and play the B gap looking to spill the play outside.  The one technique is a one gapper and is attempting to blaze a trail up field, not allowing the left guard to come off (even though I have it drawn up that way).  The one technique holds the A gap and helps on the cutback.  By alignment, the one technique is difficult to block one-on-one by the center, so you have eliminated any chance of a double and scrape by the center and left guard.  The weak side three technique is a two gapper, so he mashes the guard down in the A gap, and does not allow the guard to scoop to the next level while helping on the cutback.  The weak side DE is a one gapper and is coming hard up field and will play the QB all the way.  The Sam LB plays the spill created by the one technique and the strong side end, while the Mike LB is what some call the "fall back" player to the weak side.  The "fall back" player is responsible for the cut back or "wind back" that sometimes happens on the inside zone play.  Because of the play of the two gapping three technique the OT will be late scraping off to get the Mike and he is unblocked to help on the "wind back".

Against the triple option, the secondary has very little to adjust to.  The easy check here is to simply check into Bronco on the away side, or Solo.  I prefer Solo, as this keeps the WS with his eyes on the side the triple option has been run to as an extra player who can play if the FS "whiffs" on the number two receiver going vertical.

Again, the read side of the coverage can play "read force" where if the SS is unblocked then he will take pitch, and if the number two receiver crack blocks the SS then the FS takes pitch.  You also have two QB players in this scheme being the Mike and the weak side DE.  Again, as you can see, the defense is sound in it's attack of the offense.

Attack the Offense, Scenario #3- Front Set to the Running Back, Coverage Set Away

The only thing I do not like about this setup is the distance that the Mike must travel to get to his assignment.  This scheme is sound however, in that the "plus one" player to that side is the SS.  The strong side DE is a one gap player and will get up field and play the QB.  The three technique, being a two-gapper, mashes the guard into the A gap and plays for the cutback.  The play of the three technique creates a dilemma for the right guard and right tackle.  The guard is in no position to single block the strong tackle as he's expected to scoop to the 2nd level by getting help from the tackle.  If the guard sits and waits on the tackle, the Sam is unblocked coming right off the hip of the OT trying to scoop to the three.  If the guard tries to turn out on the three, and let the tackle drive up field for the Sam, then the three technique will come across his face into the A gap, and should be unblocked by virtue of sheer leverage.  Again, you have three players on two (don't forget the strong side DE).  To the weak side, the weak DE will spill the reach block by the OT (since he's a two-gapper), and the one technique is working hard up field.  The one technique must get up field and press the center so that the guard has to maintain the double team for fear of losing this block.  The reason the guard has to stay is the alignment of the one technique makes it impossible for the center to reach him.  This technique allows for the Mike to scrape across both the A and the B gaps and play for the spill.  Again, if for some reason the Mike does get picked off, you are "plus one" with the SS.

Against the triple option we see nothing changes from the above example where the offense runs the play to the away side.  The FS should make his check to Roll and let the new "away side" play either Sky or Solo.
 
Attack the Offense, Scenario #4- Front Set Away From the Running Back, Coverage Set to the Running Back

This look, again is not one of my favorites, due to the long distance traveled by the Mike LB, however it is still a sound and productive scheme.  To the strong side the DE is a one gapper, and will help play the Spill by the Sam LB.  The three technique is the two-gapper and will close the A gap playing for the cutback.  The Sam LB has a very simple job, fill the B gap to his side.  This gap should be open as the play side guard will be occupied with the three technique and the play side tackle has to handle the strong DE.  On the weak side the one technique makes life miserable for any double and scrape scenario that gets thrown his way.  The center cannot come off as the one technique penetrates up field in the A gap.  The weak DE is a two-gapper and will mash the OT down inside playing the B gap and allowing the Mike to scrape outside and play for the QB.

Nothing new here, as we've seen the triple option run to the read side before.  Again, not my favorite due to the distance traveled by the Mike, but this is a sound scheme if you get caught in this look.

Summary
As can be seen, no matter how you set it up, the divorced secondary coupled with the play of the TGOG technique is a very good weapon against the one-back zone option.  This scheme allows LB's to flow freely to the football, all the while allowing lesser athletes to play on your DL and make plays.  Utilizing the split field coverage scheme and playing coverages we already know such as Roll Solo, and Roll Sky make this a dangerous weapon in the hands of the right coordinator.

My preference is to keep the three technique away from the RB.  The read side of the coverage does not concern me because no matter what the offense does, the FS simply makes the adjustment, whether it be checking into Roll against motion, or playing read force when the option is run to the read side.  To me, the inside zone has a tough job running at both a three and a five technique.  Offensive coaches will tell you this is no big deal, but you watch enough film and you will see that zone teams struggle running at a three technique.

Another argument by many DC's is if you don't have the three technique set away from the back you don't have anybody playing for the cutback.  With the TGOG this is untrue.  You always have players dedicated to every gap and every phase of the option.  I think these factors alone are what has sold me on the TGOG scheme.

Keep the emails flowing, I try to get to them at least once a week, but keep in mind I have a job, and a team to coach as well.  Hopefully this stuff is helping!

Duece

Backside Safety in Quarters Coverage vs. The Run and Playaction



Nothing like being sound on the back side...


For the Quarters coverage newbies out there, I thought I would share a little blurb about the back side safety in run support out of Quarters coverage.  Now why on Earth would I have a post about that topic?  Well, to be honest, both safeties in Quarters coverage schemes are equally important, however if I had to rate which one was more important, it would be the safety away from run action.  I'll tell you why.  Lateral plays that get outside can be trouble, and we all know (or should know) that to the run action side, the force player is the player that makes things go.  However, the really troublesome, and demoralizing plays are inside runs that cut back against aggressive defenses and come out the back side for big, and often times huge gains.  This is where that back side safety is so critical in the run support scheme for your defense.  So let's take a look at correct and incorrect methods of this backside safety when involved in run support.  I'm also going to describe how this player should react to bootleg passes off of playaction as well.  I commonly refer to this player as the BRC player, or Boot, Reverse, Cutback player.  Roll up those sleeves and warm up those grease pens boys...let's go to work!

Alignment
I won't focus much on this topic other than to describe how I aligned my safeties so you can see where they were getting their reads from and how they fit when playing the run and playaction game.  My safeties, if there was no detached #2 receiver aligned 8-12 yards off the line of scrimmage (LOS), and 2 yards outside the end man on the line of scrimmage (EMOL).  If there was a detached #2 receiver, then we moved to the same depth, but played 2 to 4 yards inside leverage, depending on whether this #2 was set to the boundary or the field.  Ok, enough on alignment, let's get to the meat-n-taters!

Assignment
As with any Quarters scheme, the safety on the run action side will be the force player based on his keys.  The safeties will key either the #2 receiver if it's a tight end (TE) or detached wide receiver (WR).  If the #2 receiver is in the backfield, the safeties will key this receiver reading through the EMOL.  The action by both safeties, irregardless of the play, at the beginning react the same.  They are flat-footed and making their reads on their respective keys.  I won't go into individual technique here as that is not what this post is about.  Once a run play is read, both safeties reaction should be the same, they should attack the LOS attempting to get to linebacker (LB) depth as the play is developing.  The BRC safety, once he's diagnosed the play is away from, will begin his thought process of boot, reverse, and finally cutback.  This safety must be more patient than the force-side safety as he has more to account for.  Let's break these assignments down individually by the reads and reactions and thought processes.

Boot
The bootleg play is meant to make over aggressive attacking-style defenses pay for their aggressiveness.  It can make even the fastest, defenses humble in their attack on an offense.  Against teams with a good runner at QB, the boot play takes on even new dangers, that if not attacked properly, can lead to big gains against your defense.  So what is the back side safety looking for on runs away from him?  Well, his first thought is to check for the boot, how does he do this...by looking for any action opposite of the initial run read.  As the BRC safety screws down to LB depth, he looks for any action coming back his way, such as a pulling guard, or a fullback (FB) sneaking out into the flats.  These keys tell him, that a bootleg play is developing, and he should react accordingly.  Once the boot has been read, this backside safety will "rob" any crossing routes coming back to his side.  Now, if set to the TE side, this read is very simple, as the #2 receiver will have declared he's running a route, and the safety can use his Quarters coverage keys to react accordingly to this route.  The problem area, is when the offense boots to the weak side of the offensive formation.  The #2 receiver, for the weak safety (WS) is in the backfield.  So once boot is read, this safety will settle his feet and get his eyes inside looking for any potential crossing route (usually a drag route by the inside receiver, but other routes can go with this bootleg concept).  Once this crossing route has been spied, he will cover this receiver man to man. 

Reverse
Reverse plays are also play meant to hurt over aggressive, fast-pursuing defenses.  These plays prey on the defenses willingness to run to the football.  The BRC safety can be the single player that still allows the front seven to relentlessly pursue the football, even on plays that attempt to use this over aggressiveness against them.  Again, with any run play, the BRC safety will screw down to LB depth, and will again look for action coming back his way.  The reverse can be much more difficult to diagnose than the bootleg play mentioned above.  The reason is, most teams run this play without a puller, or use a "circle" block by the tackle to the side the reverse is being run to.  This block, and the fact the runner is usually coming from the complete opposite side of the formation from where the BRC player is aligned, can be very difficult.  This is where coaches have to train patience.  Over aggressive safeties are a Quarters coach's worst nightmare.  A reverse that goes for a long gain, or even worse, a touchdown, can be extremely demoralizing to your defense.  Again, you can see the purpose and importance of the back side safety in Quarters coverage. 

Once the reverse is read, the safety should now take an angle that allows him to be the force player to his side of the defense.  A key coaching point here, is that if the safety feels he has allowed himself to squeezed down to a point where he is in danger of being outflanked by the runner, he should run laterally and even slightly away from the ball carrier's path.  This will allow him to make up some ground, while being in the runner's vision, and potentially allowing pursuit from the interior of the defense to redirect and pursue the football.  A poor angle against a reverse play is no different than any other poor angle of attack.  The BRC safety should be schooled on taking these proper angles to force the ballcarrier back into the pursuit of the defense.

Cutback
Cutback is probably the most essential task the BRC safety has to do when attacking runs away from his side.  This part of his job, allows the LB's in the defense to vacate back side gaps, and run to the football.  It allows defensive ends (DE's), who have been taught the laws of the block-down, step-down (BDSD) turn loose and scream down the LOS chasing a potential ball carrier.  The LB and DE's are player who need to be aggressive and attacking all the time.  It is my philosophy to let these players run, don't give them rules or reads that slow them down, get them to the damn football!  Sorry, and I digress.  The BRC safety, once he's settled to LB level and sees no action coming back his way, can now get into the run fit of the defense.  The illustrations shown here are from the Miami Over front, but can be utilized with any defense that employs a Quarters coverage scheme.  The safety should attack his gap, keeping his outside arm free when encountering any blockers.  This allows him to still play the spill on counter plays where the DE will spill (or as we call it "splatter") the pulling guard. 

I have run the stats after a game and found that after our middle linebacker (MLB), or one of the DE's the BRC safety is usually second or third in tackles on the team.  Again, this is usually against power running teams, but because I preach such an aggressive attacking style, this safety sees a lot of one-on-one action as the cutback player.  This is also why it important to note, I tried to put 2 of my best tackling defensive backs (DB's) at these positions as they saw a lot of open-field, one-on-one tackling. 

Now that we've seen the proper way to play the back side safety in a Quarters coverage scheme, let's see some of the common mistakes made by these players as well.  Not to dwell on the bad, always remember, these things can be coached and worked in practice, so don't fret if your safeties don't get their run fits right away, keep repping them in practice and they'll get it!

Boot-Problems
The problem area, when facing the bootleg play, was that the backside safety is over aggressive and gets into his cutback run fit far too early in the development of the play.  This allows for the safety to be too far underneath the drag route coming across the formation.  The safety should "ideally" be at the top of the curl when this route appears, however if he's over aggressive, he's usually already in what I term the five-yard no cover area (from the LOS to 5 yards depth, we DO NOT cover routes in this area) and cannot get back in time to defend, what is an easy throw for the QB.

The other problem some safeties have is they take too flat of an angle, or even take a steep angle when they see run action away.  This poor angle, allows the crossing route to be open, as the safety is too far over the top of this route to be of any effect.  Again, patience is the key here, the safety has to be patient when making his reads so he can be in good position to defend the crossing routes on the bootleg play. 

Reverse-Problems
The problems with the reverse are exactly the same as that of the bootleg, and it deals with over aggressiveness and improper angles.  The fortunate thing about the bootleg, is your defense has a player dedicated to containing the bootleg, so that ample pressure can be applied to the QB, possibly forcing a bad throw.  With the reverse, there is no extra "help" player, and a mistake or poor angle here, leads to big gains and possible touchdowns.  The more critical error here is the safety being too far inside to help on the reverse, which puts him immediately out leveraged by the ball carrier.  A flat angle, although bad, can still be something the safety can recover from. 

Cutback-Problems
The biggest problem safeties have on the cutback run is missed tackles.  Once again, your safety is one-on-one with, often-times, one of your opponent's best ball players.  This is why, when selecting safety personnel, it is critical to put some of your best athletes at this position.  Another problem, is once again, a poor angle taken on the initial read by the safety.  If the BRC safety takes too steep an angle, putting him on a course away from the LOS, or flat to the LOS, he cannot effectively become your ninth man in the box.  This puts your run defense one man down, in a critical area and allows for some of the biggest, most deadly of plays in all of football...the cutback run.  Lastly, safeties that get a slow, or unclear read, may not be at LB depth when the ball declares to their side.  What this does, is gives the ball carrier a two-way go to make the safety miss.  If the safety were at proper depth, he would have help from the back side DE screaming down the LOS.  Being too deep, allows the ball carrier the use of angles to make the safety and the DE miss.  The run play may not go out the gate, but will usually lend itself to being a play that gashes the defense, and records groans from your fans.  This is why the BRC player, MUST attain LB depth on run plays, it allows him to reduce any cutback angles that may be present, and allows the DE to assist the safety in corralling the ball carrier. 




These problems can all be fixed or alleviated by simply involving your safeties in your inside run drill.  Safeties should always be involved in the inside run drill when facing two and three back run teams.  Think of your safeties as extra outside linebackers (OLB's) when facing these types of teams and involve them in the drills you use to prepare your front to defend.  It can be tough attempting to watch two different safeties on opposite sides of the ball, but when watching inside run drill, concentrate on that back side safety and how he reacts to runs away from him.  The force player in inside run drill is obviously moot, but that BRC safety can get some good work in this drill. 



Another drill, that can be used is a drill I simply call the "bags" drill.  We set up 6 agility pads on the ground to represent the five offensive linemen (OL) and the TE.  We then put 2 running backs (RB's) in the backfield and then we place our "rabbit" as I call it.  This is a player aligned anywhere from in the backfield to along the offensive line.  What we do is this, we have plays where all 3 players go in the  same direction, indicating a run play to one side of the offense.  This allows you to see your safeties reactions, and work on the BRC safeties run fit.  After we rep this a few times, we then move into the part of the drill where only two of the defenders move in one direction with the other player moving in the opposite direction.  You can either do this with direct action, or counter action, whatever you see fit to coach up in your defense.  This teaches the BRC safety to see the action opposite of his initial read action, and then fit accordingly.  What you are looking for here, is the safety being patient with his run read, and taking the proper steps and angles to maintain his leverage on his three back side threats (boot/reverse/cutback).



"Control...you must learn control..."

It is in my experience, after basing out of Quarters, or similar schemes that involve safety run support that the teaching of the force player is by far the simplest of skills the safety will master.  Breakdowns on the force side occur much less, whereas the back side safety is critical to keeping the ball carrier "bottled up" within the confines of the front seven.  Don't negate your back side safety and critique him often, letting him know just how important his role in the defense is. 

Duece