Cover 0 Defense: All-Out Man With No Deep Safety
Updated · Fact checked
Cover 0 is the most aggressive call on a defensive call sheet. Every eligible receiver gets a defender in man coverage, nobody stays deep, and the players left over come after the quarterback. The Scouting Academy's glossary describes it as an all man-to-man shell with zero deep defenders and a heavy rush, normally six or more, which is why it is also called a zero blitz.
The bet is simple. The quarterback has to get rid of the ball before the rush arrives, and if one defender loses a receiver, there is nobody behind to save the play. Below: who does what in the drawn call, why the corners have no margin for error, and the quick throws offenses use to punish it.
Cover 0 at a glance
- Coverage type
- Man
- Deep defenders
- 0
- In man coverage
- 5
- Rushers in this call
- 6
| Defender | Job in this call |
|---|---|
| Defensive end (left) | Rush |
| Defensive tackle (middle) | Rush |
| Defensive tackle (middle) | Rush |
| Defensive end (right) | Rush |
| Sam linebacker (right) | Man on the running back |
| Mike linebacker (middle) | Rush |
| Will linebacker (left) | Rush |
| Cornerback (left) | Man on the X receiver |
| Cornerback (right) | Man on the Z receiver |
| Free safety (left) | Man on the Y slot |
| Strong safety (right) | Man on the H slot |
The Play Designer's base version of the call. Teams adjust who rushes and who drops every week.
Six rushers, five in man: how the drawn call works
In the diagram, the Play Designer lines Cover 0 up from a 4-3 front against a 2x2 set with a running back. That offense has five players who can catch a pass, so five defenders lock on in man: the two corners take the X and Z receivers, the free and strong safeties take the Y and H slots, and the Sam linebacker takes the running back. The four linemen rush, the Mike rushes, and the Will rushes too, because no receiver is left for that linebacker to cover. That makes six rushers in this drawing.
Real defenses count it in different ways. Matt Bowen of the National Football Post calls it a green dog when a man defender whose assignment stays in to block adds to the rush. He describes a Patriots pressure that sent six and covered with five, and that could become an eight-man rush if the strong safety and an inside linebacker green dogged. On that Super Bowl snap the tight end and back did stay in, and those two played as rovers instead: read the quarterback and step into the throwing lane of any route breaking inside.
The risk: nobody over the top
With no safety deep, every matchup has to hold for as long as the play lasts. The Scouting Academy notes that teams often use Cover 0 near the goal line, where there is no deep field left to defend, and that it is rare elsewhere because a big play is so likely with no safeties back. Its example: Arizona faced third and 10 at its own 20, Larry Fitzgerald caught a slant, and a missed tackle turned it into an 80-yard touchdown.
Bowen puts it bluntly from the secondary's side: miss a tackle with no safety help and it always leads to an explosive play. Coverage is only half the job here. Tackling in space is the other half, and 440's linebacker plan reps those angles with hawk tackling.
How offenses answer the zero blitz
The offense knows the ball has to come out fast. Bowen writes that most NFL offenses build hot reads into the game plan: the quarterback reads the blitz at the line and the outside receivers convert to three-step routes such as the slant, the hitch and the fade, the quick version of the go route. In his breakdown of a Ravens touchdown, the offense had five blockers for six rushers, so someone was coming free and the ball had to come out.
The slant route is the throw Bowen keeps coming back to. His film studies of Cover 0 touchdowns by the Ravens and the Giants both came on double slants, and the slant is first on his list of the routes a defender must play inside the 5-yard line. In both, the receiver won inside against a corner with no help, and the quarterback got the ball out before the pressure arrived.
What Cover 0 asks of corners in press
Corners in Cover 0 are on an island, and the first rule is about leverage. Bowen's rule for playing Cover 0 anywhere on the field, especially inside the 5-yard line, is that you can't get beat to the inside on the slant. Up on the receiver, he teaches the corner to slide the feet to mirror the receiver's release, punch with the outside hand and force a lateral stem, killing the route before it develops. The press jam technique page breaks down that footwork and the strike.
Off coverage changes the footwork, not the rule. Against a three-step throw, Bowen has the corner align 7 to 8 yards deep with an inside shade, read flat-footed and drive on the ball, with no shuffle or backpedal, because the blitz gives the receiver no time to eat up the cushion. The pedal still matters when routes have time to develop, and the backpedal drill trains it.
Safeties and linebackers in man have it no easier. In the drawn call the safeties carry slot receivers and the Sam carries the running back. The defensive back and linebacker hubs lay out the training behind those matchups, including the mirror drill 440 uses for linebackers covering a back.
Cover 0 FAQ
Is Cover 0 the same as a zero blitz?
They name the same call. The Scouting Academy's glossary says Cover 0 is also called a zero blitz, because pure man coverage with no deep safety comes with a heavy pass rush, normally six or more defenders.
How many players rush in Cover 0?
It depends on the call. The Scouting Academy puts it at six or more normally. The Play Designer drawing sends six because one linebacker has no receiver to cover, and coaches also build pressures that grow to eight when the backs or tight end stay in to block.
When do defenses call Cover 0?
Often near the goal line, where there is no deep field to protect. It is rare in the open field because one missed tackle or one lost matchup can turn into a long touchdown with no safety behind it.
What is the best route against Cover 0?
There is no single best route, but quick throws are the standard answer. Slants, hitches and fades off a hot read get the ball out before the extra rusher arrives, and the slant is the one corners are taught never to give up inside.
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- ITP Glossary: Cover 0 (Sep 23, 2015), The Scouting Academy / Inside The Pylon
- Playbook: Raiders' Heyward-Bey vs. Cover 0 (Matt Bowen, originally published Jul 8, 2012), National Football Post
- What we can learn from Cruz's Super Bowl TD (Matt Bowen, originally published Feb 8, 2012), National Football Post
- How did Flacco beat Giants' Cover 0 pressure? (Matt Bowen, originally published Dec 27, 2012), National Football Post
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