Soccer Defender Covers - Complete Guide - vIQtory Sports (2023)

Football coverage is the defense's way of countering passing attacks from the offense. In today's world of distributed attacks, defenses must be robust to stop the air attack from attack.

Defensive coverages in soccer include Cover 0, Cover 1, Cover 2, Cover 3, and Cover 4.

This article breaks down all the key coverages teams use to stop attacks.

There are two types of coverage in soccer, man coverage and zone coverage. Here are the differences between the two:

men cover up– When a defender follows the attacker wherever he goes. The only responsibility of the defense in this game is to guard that man.

Zonenabdeckung- Each defensive player has a role or responsibility to cover a specific area of ​​the field. Field areas are called zones in soccer. Depending on the coverage, the areas and zones change.

Coaches choose to play certain coverages over others based on player strengths and overall philosophy.

capacity 0

Coverage 0, also known as male coverage, is when theblitz defense six defendersand leaves a combination of 5 defenders and linebackers to link up with a defender. There are two types of male reports. These two types are:

reporting in the press- As you learned in the previous lesson, rush coverage is when a defender typically lines up 1-2 yards from the wide receiver to break his timing and go out.

out of man- Off-man is exactly what it sounds like, playing man coverage with a depth of 4-5 yards. Players can block routes to slow down in college and high school. The NFL requires players to have a bit more depth to run vertically with lanes.

The most basic football coverage. Cover 0 is man-to-man coverage when the defense is not playing in the zone. The goal of the defense in coverage 0 is to prevent receiving yards behind the offense.

The defense will account for each eligible receiver on offense (5 receivers). This means that the defense will probably send six players to the quarterback.

Cover 0 is a great way to use pressure attacks. However, it is a high-risk, high-return hedge. If one of the defensive players loses individual coverage, it usually results in a big play or a touchdown.

Established in short yard situations, and 0 coverage can be very effective against an unprepared attack.

o 1

Cover 1 is similar to Cover 0. Instead of the six-man blitz, the defense will run a dog (5-man press), man-mark, and have an additional defender playing midfield (MOF).

Techniques outside the cover 1: Press Man, Off-Man, 1-Rat, Double Team, QB Spy.

1- Maus– This technique is common for teams that play Cover 1. It involves safety playing deep middle, gaining a cross or lane and stealing an interception. It works because the quarterback sees a single high safety and assumes he's going to play safety. When the ball breaks, he gets into position to steal an interception.

that's double– As simple as it sounds, the unique high security can be used to add extra support to a weak coverage defender. The safety will follow that offensive player before or after the snap.

Spy on QB- On teams with a mobile quarterback, the defense will use the extra defender to "spy" (in other words, follow the quarterback wherever he goes).

Coverage 1 is a variation of Coverage 0. The only difference between the two is that instead of a single coverage zone, the defense plays in a deep field area that is normally occupied by a safety.

Such coverage is a great way to mitigate the risk of playing with custom coverage. At 0 coverage there are 0 deep defenders. On Cover 1, there is a deep center field quarterback.

This coverage falls to a quarterback to make the necessary adjustments against a good passing attack and to support any player who loses in man-to-man coverage.

o 2

Coverage 2, as we know, requires two back laterals and five back laterals. The corner position plays the floors. This requires a wide base to deflect wide receivers that cross the corner zone.

Coverage Technique 2 differs from the other techniques on this list mainly in that the corner hits a low zone instead of retreating to cover a deep zone.

Cover 2 is effective when done correctly, splitting deep coverage between 2 players, allowing them to work the middle of the field.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers used a variation of Cover 2 called The in the early 2000s.Cover 2 Defense, allowing linebacker Mike to run down the field to add more midfield presence.

Teams adept at running deep lanes can be successful against this coverage by taking advantage of deep defenders. Cover 2 is still good for many teams because it is so versatile and effective against run and pass plays.

o 3

Spinning and safety techniques begin to mix when we talk about coverage 3 and coverage 4. In coverage 3, the cornerback has to take care of protecting the deep ball.

Cover 3 is best known for its 4-under variant, which leaves the player safely on an island in the middle of the field, covering their designated area.

Similar to Coverage 0, the objective of Coverage 3 is to stop the yardage after the reception. The difference is that instead of following the receiver, the 4 quarterbacks are responsible for a deep area of ​​the field, effectively eliminating any risk when playing man-to-man coverage.

Coverage 3 is great coverage for run defense, but not as effective against the pass. It still leaves a defender living on an island, which adds a lot of stress and responsibility to that defender.

o 4

Coverage 4 is what most teams use to make sure deep balls don't get caught. Like Cover 3, the technique is played with a thin base for the vertical transition.

There are four defensive backs, two cornerbacks protecting the wing zones, and two safety guards in the middle of the field. Cover 4 can be used in many aspects of defensive play, such as: B. against the run and pass game.

Coverage 4 is popular with teams that run 4-2-5 schemes and 4-3 schemes. There are two types of Cover 4, Spot Drop and Man-Match.

Players drop into a local zone and play in their designated area. When playing Man-Match, match the path pattern of the wide receiver.

o 5

In coverage 5, five short defenders play solo coverage and two deep defenders play 1/2 field (as coverage). This coverage is also known as 2-person coverage or 2-person coverage.

Coverage 5 is an excellent coverage to avoid big plays. It is also a good pass block coverage as it protects against all vertical passes.

Teams often use 5 coverage in passing situations like 3rd or 4th down and long situations.

covered by palm trees

Also known as a thief cover or trap cover, the palm cover protects against attacks that trigger flat or blister tracks.

The premise of the palm cover is that the corners will read the #2 receiver. The corner will cover it once the receiver enters the flats. Security will then run up to Receiver #1 and cover him. This is a change to Coverage 2 or Coverage 4.

Learn more about Palms coverage here

Share Field Covers

With the popularity of 3 big safeties and the 4-2-5 defense, teams opted to play split field coverages instead of full field coverages.

This gives the defense the flexibility to play different t-based coverages.defensive formations. They placed themselves in the best possible matchup against distance and offensive ability. If the teams are strong, they can add more players to the draw.

When the offense is heavy, coaches may opt for a softer defensive style. Trainers combined all of these coverages to counter the air attack attack.

o 6

Deck 6, also known as "4th, 4th, Middle", is a split field deck, with one side playing Deck 4 and the other side playing Deck 2.

Cover steals Cover 2 and Cover 4 techniques.

Coverage 6 is a split field coverage that combines Coverage 4 and Coverage 2. Put the two together and you get Coverage 6.

Teams looking to stay in their two-triple safety appearance often play 6 coverages for each offensive set with 3×1 receivers.

keep learning

Learn more about soccer coverage below.

What is a zone blitz in soccer? explained

What is cover 5 in football? 2 man explained

Cover 4 in soccer: coverage guide

What is layer 0? Learn the basics of men's coverage

Learn the basics of Cover 1 in soccer

Soccer split field coverage

What is cover 2 in football? explained

What is cover 3 in football? explained

Zone and man coverage are the two types of defensive coverage. Teams often use multiple coverages to better counter the offense.

The number that comes after the word "coverage" indicates how many deep defenders there are. Teams will use these coverages based on their level of defense and the ability of their players to handle their responsibilities.

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