Why do defensive coordinators have to do so many crazy things like Cover 0 Defense nowadays? Why don’t they just line up in spots and play base defense and make it simple on us play-callers to know what to do?
OK, that is definitely a dreamland I was living in for a few seconds, but every Saturday morning during the season, or during those winter months of pre-planning, I always wish the same thing would happen.
That being said, we know it will not. And as a matter of fact, it’s only going to get worse.
So what do we do about it? We are going to write a series of articles on coverage recognition in an attempt to put both your mind and your quarterback’s mind at ease during the season. Today we will discuss Cover 0.
EXPLAINING COVER 0 DEFENSE
Similar to the way many of the other coverages in this series have been named, Cover 0 is named due to the number of deep pass defenders.
As you can see in Figure 1 below, there are no defenders playing deep zone coverage, as all players are playing man coverage on one of the eligible skill players.
HOW TO DETERMINE YOU ARE GETTING COVER 0 DEFENSE
Fortunately for quarterbacks, Cover 0 is by far the easiest coverage to determine in the pre-snap.
And it’s a good thing, because it is by far the most dangerous coverage for his long-term health.
Teams run Cover 0 for one reason and one reason only….so they can bring the house!
They will bring six or seven defenders (one will peel off if you send your running back into a route) and cover the rest with their defensive backs.
Because of this, there are not enough blockers within your offense to block every defender.
As you can see in Figure 1, if there is not a safety in the middle of the field, even if you do not immediately see seven defenders with aggressive body language at the line of scrimmage, you are probably getting Cover 0.
You see all kinds of pre-snap looks….all defenders in press-man, some of them in press and some of them off, some all aligned at 5 yards, but if there is no safety, it will be Cover 0.
HOW TO PLAN AGAINST A COVER 0 DEFENSE
There are many great plans for Cover 0, which has made it something that teams are beginning to use less and less as offenses are spreading the field more and more.
That being said, some defensive coordinators believe in it and have a lot of rules and adjustments within it that allow them to run it versus many formations and offensive schemes.
This is definitely dangerous enough to have a plan put together for Cover 0 teams.
One idea is to teach your skill players to notice Cover 0 in the pre-snap, and on passing downs, adjust their concepts.
If you have Cover 0 adjustments within some of your plays, you can use those plays versus teams that are playing zero coverage, and call only those until you get them out of it.
If you catch the ball versus Cover 0, there is a 50/50 chance you will score, because every broken tackle creates an explosive play.
For example, if you run Post-Post-Wheel, have a Cover 0 adjustment that turns it into Slant-Slant-Wheel.
You can turn Flood from Go-Out to Go-Whip.
These are both examples of plays that you can easily adjust, that are good plays versus zone, as well as good adjustments versus Cover 0. Go through your pass game.
I would bet you can find a few plays that allow for slight adjustments to beat Cover 0.
HOW TO RUN THE BALL AGAINST COVER 0 DEFENSE
Another idea is to use quarterback outside lead runs where you do not have to block one of their defensive linemen.
This way, one of your offensive linemen will block the player that would be unblocked (the man responsible for the quarterback) and the running back can block the man responsible for him.
You have now balanced up the mismatch the defense has put you in by having enough blockers to block 7 rushers.
This throws a wrench in the idea that they have one more defender than you can block, and if you get past the line of scrimmage, there will not be a defender to stop you from that point forward.
Another play you can run to balance out the numbers would be Quarterback Power. Check out versions of the Power Run Game here.
Finally, if you are playing a team that likes to bring seven defenders, use max protection.
You can use your tight end as the seventh blocker to ensure you have all of the defensive lineman and linebackers blocked.
I have never seen a team bring eight in Cover 0, so usually the defender responsible for the tight end will just sit there with nothing to do, waiting on the tight end to release.
CONCLUSION
Cover 0 was put on its own in this series because it deserves a game plan of its own.
Cover 0 teams are gambling teams, but it only takes hitting once to win the jackpot.
Come up with numerous simple plans to beat a Cover 0 team, including rub routes, quick game routes, concept adjustments, max protection, and outside quarterback lead runs.
All of these are great ways to create an advantage against a team that runs Cover 0. I have been burned by not being prepared for this.
Please do not follow in my footsteps!!!!
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