Cover 1 Defense: Man Free With One Deep Safety

Cover 1 at a glance

Coverage type

Man

Deep defenders

1

In man coverage

5

Rushers in this call

4

The Play Designer's base version of the call. Teams adjust who rushes and who drops every week.

One free safety, one extra defender

Because only one player sits deep, the defense has a man left over after everyone is matched up. The Scouting Academy lists the jobs that player, usually a linebacker or strong safety, can take: help in the run game, blitz, double a dangerous receiver in the middle, spy a running quarterback, or lurk underneath as a robber.

In the Play Designer's version, the Mike linebacker is that extra defender and plays the hole underneath. The Sam takes the running back, the Will takes the Y slot, the strong safety takes the H slot, the corners take X and Z, and the free safety owns the deep middle. Four linemen rush. Which defender gets the free job varies by defense, so treat this as one way to draw it.

A robber hunts crossing routes. The Scouting Academy's robber entry says the job is to disrupt crossing, slant, in and dig routes, most often by a safety who drops down at or just after the snap so the quarterback throws into a crowd. That puts the dig route right in the robber's path.

The single high look and how it hides

Before the snap, Cover 1 usually shows one safety deep in the middle. Matt Bowen of the National Football Post groups Cover 1 and Cover 3 together as single high safety looks, and that is the quarterback's problem: the shell alone doesn't say man or zone.

Offenses use motion to find out. In a 2014 Philadelphia Magazine film study of the Eagles, a defender running across the formation with the motion man meant man coverage was likely, while nobody following suggested zone. Defenses fight back with disguise. In one example from the Scouting Academy, the Eagles showed Cover 2 before the snap and rolled into Cover 1 robber at the snap, dropping a safety into the box.

What the corners get, and what they don't

The Scouting Academy notes that Cover 1 is usually paired with press man outside, to stop the short passing game. The deep safety gives those corners somewhere to send the receiver. With a single high safety and a robber underneath, the glossary says, corners can play outside leverage and funnel receivers inside toward the help.

The sideline is where that help runs out. Offenses often attack Cover 1 with fade routes because the free safety has a long way to go to reach the sideline, and the glossary's example is a corner who misses the jam and gets beaten outside, away from the safety. The press jam technique trains the first half of that job, winning at the line. The W drill on the defensive back plan trains the pedal, plant and break.

Crossers and the post

Mesh, two receivers crossing underneath at a meeting point over the middle, puts traffic in front of man defenders. In the Philadelphia Magazine study, with film broken down by Villanova receivers coach Brian Flinn, mesh was one of the Eagles' most popular concepts against man coverage. Flinn emphasizes precise spacing between the crossers. Run your assigned route without blocking or initiating contact with a pursuing defender; creating separation for a teammate through a downfield block can be offensive pass interference. On one snap against a Dallas Cover 1 robber look, the robber went with one crosser and the other, DeSean Jackson, left his man behind. The Scouting Academy's mesh entry adds that the crossers keep running upfield against man but sit down in soft spots against zone.

Defenses know this. Bowen describes a jump call against a receiver in a tight split: in single high coverage, the free safety cuts the intermediate crossing route. Glazier clinic notes on a University of Louisiana Cover 1 package list cutting shallows with the low hole player.

The post route goes straight at the one deep defender. In Bowen's red zone breakdown, a double post concept is ideal against Cover 1 because the free safety has to play both posts in the middle. A second concept from the same piece puts a tight end on a corner route, matched on a strong safety who is running away from the help.

Linebackers in Cover 1

Two linebackers play man in the drawn call, one on the back and one on a slot, and one plays the hole. The Scouting Academy warns that Cover 1 can give up big plays if the safety lacks range or if the corners and linebackers can't cover tight in man. The linebacker plan reps man coverage on a back with the mirror drill: stay square and match the hips.

Draw it against Cover 1

Open a concept from this page already lined up against Cover 1, then move players and routes to test it yourself.

• Mesh vs Cover 1Two shallow crossers create a natural rub versus man.Open

Cover 1 FAQ