The Five Spoke Secondary Part II

In the first installment of the Five Spoke Secondary, we learned about what type of player to look for at the three safety positions.  We also took a look at the overall philosophy of "why" you would want to run or consider running a three safety defense.  In this segment, we will talk about alignments of the three safeties and how this dictates run support based on coverage.  We will talk a bit about coverages, but nothing in-depth as the main focus here is the flexibility and adaptability of the three safety secondary.

Aligning the Defense

TCU, generally speaking, sets the coverage to the multiple receiver side.  When this is balanced, then they will set the coverage to the "most dangerous" side.  This could be the twins side of a Pro Twins formation, or to the quarterback's (QB's) arm in a Doubles formation.  Also, if balanced, and both threats are equal, they may set the coverage to the wide side of the field.

For the Strong Safety (SS), he will align to the strength of the formation when the ball is in the middle of the field (MOF), and will align to the wide side of the field when the ball is on a hash.  The Weak Safety's (WS) rules are pretty simple, align away from the SS.  The Free Safety (FS) is the guy that has to distinguish where he needs to be in the coverage setup.  In zone, as mentioned above, the FS will set the passing strength, or what Gary Patterson refers to as the "Read Side" to the most dangerous side of the offensive formation.

For example, as shown below is a Pro formation (two backs, one tight-end, and two receivers).  In this particular example, the offense has three immediate vertical threats, the two receivers, and the tight end.  Numerically, the offense has a two-by-one vertical threat alignment.  The FS would set the read side to the most dangerous side, which in this case would be the pro side of the formation, or to the tight end.

Against a one back, 11 personnel look, that I refer to as Pro Twins, the FS has to know where he is on the football field as to where to set the passing strength.  If the ball is in the MOF, then by base rule, the FS would look at which side of the offense is the most "dangerous".  The base rule for "most dangerous" is that the FS should look at where the speed threats are in the offense.  Since two receivers in a twins set is generally faster and more athletic than a pro side, the FS would set the strength to the twins side.  However, the flexibility of the defense, allows you, the coach, to predetermine if that is where you want the FS reading or not.  For instance, let's say your opponent has a TE that is a poor match up for either of the outside safetys (OSS's), but is a good match up for your FS.  Well, when they come out in Pro Twins, you can set the read side of the coverage to the pro side.  Herein lies the beauty in the system is that the offense can no longer dictate to you who and how you cover them.  You can always get the best players in the right spot to defend what an offense is attempting to do to your defense.

Pro Twins, read side set to Twins

Pro Twins read side set to most dangerous player

I literally get an email a week about what somebody saw TCU do, and how this doesn't fit their rules etc.  Listen, these guys are game planning every week to stop what another offense does.  They may have their base rules, but they have the ability to align however they need to based on what they want to take away from the offense.  Just because their base rule tells the SS to go to "the strength of the formation when the ball is in the middle of the field" that they can't tell him to go away from the strength of the formation.  The idea here is that you have a hard and fast rule players can hang their hat on when the bullets are flying (like Baylor running a bazillion plays at you 90 miles to nothing) and still be sound against both the run and the pass.  Aligning the back end of the defense is extremely important because if somebody's left uncovered, or an underneath defender thinks he's got deep help, but he doesn't, it could easily result in six points.

Manipulating the System for High School Football

I get this all the time as well.  "How should I play it?".  I bet that has to be the number one question I get on a week-in, week-out basis.  To be honest, not being on YOUR staff and seeing exactly what it is your seeing makes questions like these very difficult to answer.  I will say this, a good friend of mine, who runs this defense has a very good way to set the Five Spoke Secondary up for high school football.  I will elaborate on the basic rules.

In the defense, as shown below, you have two tackles, two ends, a read side LB and an away side LB to along with the two OSS's that present a balanced eight man front.  The call side end, labled "S" in the diagrams, the call side Tackle ("T"), the Mike ("M") and the SS will all travel to the call based on the run strength of the formation.  Opposite of this call is the Nose (N), End (E), Will, and WS that will travel opposite of the call.  Now many will argue that this isn't the way TCU does it, and in some regards you are right, but they have been known to align this way.  In high school though, let's face it, most teams run the football.  Sure, early in the year, many suffer from a disease called "Summer Seven-on-Seven Disease" where everyone thinks they can chuck the pigskin all over the gridiron, but by the middle of the season, most OC's have figured out, you better run the damn ball if you want to move the chains and score some points.  So, the theory behind aligning the SS to the run strength is geared towards doing what most high school teams do, and that's run the football.  With the SS being more LB in nature, this makes absolutely perfect sense.  Remember, the SS is one of your best pure "football players" you have on your defense.  He's the old Monster in the 50.  This is the chess piece you put where you feel, by game plan, your opponent is wanting to run or throw the football.

Now I know what many are thinking and that is there are several formations that you can get the SS away from the FS.  Well, that's where some of our coverage nuances and adjustments come into play.  Without going too much into depth, here is a breakdown of what coverage each of the three safeties needs to master in order to play in the defense.

Setting the Pieces

For the most part, the SS will be coupled with the FS and will be playing a "sky" technique where he is a flat dropper and will be asked to carry the third receiver through the zone on a wheel route.  However, by rule there could be some situations where the FS will not be with the SS and the SS will be asked to now play a Robber technique.  The other coverage, other than "sky" and man that the SS must master is that of Bronco coverage.  Bronco has been discussed at length on the Huey board as well as in other blog posts around the Internet.  The basic rules are simple:

• SS- Will take the number two receiver man to man on anything other than shallow drag.
• Corner- Man-to-man coverage on the number one receiver.

I've talked with many coaches who simply "man up" on that side, or put just the corner in man.  Any of the above work, so long as vertical routes by both the number one and number two receivers are handled.  The idea behind Bronco coverage is to have a way for the defense to defend two immediate vertical threats away from the FS.  The coverage is not ideal vs. two quick receivers (Twins), but it will work.

So now we can see some of the brilliance in the system taking shape.  The SS only needs to know the following:

1. If the FS is to me, play the "sky" technique.
2. If the FS is away from me and I have two backs, play the "sky" technique".
3. If the FS is away from me and I have one back and two immediate vertical threats, play Bronco.
4. If the FS is away from me, it is one back and my vertical threat is in the backfield, play "sky" technique.
5. If we are blitzing, and I'm not involved, I cover the number two receiver outside the tackles.

Now, many will say, dang that's a lot, but in reality the SS gets told what to do by the FS.  Remember the SS is not really one of the communicators in the secondary.  Sure, he'll announce motion, or may call out some game plan key, but the SS shouldn't be setting the coverage, that is the role of the FS and the WS.  What the SS will hear, based on the above criteria is the following:

1. The FS will set the coverage based on receiver structure or game plan, but will generally be in Robber or Quarters to the read side (to which he'll announce this to the Corner and SS by calling the direction he's reading as well as the coverage).
2. When the FS goes away he must give the SS a call that lets him know this, then tell the SS and corner what coverage to play.  This is pretty easy because it all relates to the number of vertical threats these players are getting.  Only one vertical threat, the FS gives his removal call (I've heard some coaches use "I'm gone", YOYO for Your On Your Own, and "Adios" to name a few, I do not know what TCU tells their FS to call this) and will set the coverage to "sky".
3. Again, the FS will give his removal call, and then set the coverage to "Bronco" because of the two immediate vertical threats.
4. This one is the same as number two.
5. The FS doesn't communicate much to the SS when blitzing.  It's the FS's job to cover for the blitzer, or be the free dropper.

(Note: the number above correspond with the number for the SS)

The WS's job is basically two-fold as sometimes he's going to be like the SS and have the FS to his side, whereas other times, he's going to have the FS away from him.  When the FS is away from him, he is going to be taught that he is setting the coverage.  When the FS is coming to him, the WS does not set the coverage, but now must listen to what coverage the FS is setting his side to.  I will not go into the coverage options that the WS has to set his side to in these posts.  That could easily be setup for a separate post all of its own.  Just remember, this is the reason why the WS needs to be the most intelligent member of the secondary.

The system really sounds more intimidating than it really is.  One reason I say this, is back in 2013 I played, almost exclusively, Quarters to the read side.  I had a SS and FS that combined may have scored a 15 on the ACT.  I couldn't have these guys playing a myriad of coverages and checks etc.  If these guys were able to understand the system, then believe me, it's not complicated.  Where it tends to get a bit more complicated is on the away side.  The WS I had in 2013 was a very intelligent, and fortunately, athletic young man.  He did a very good job setting us up in the proper coverages that we needed to be in.  We didn't run that many on the away side (we ran Quarters, Halves, Bronco and Man), but he was able to manage these choices very well.

Yes, even this guy could play SS...

Now that we understand how the verticals are handled by basic coverages let's look at alignments.  I will start with two back sets and work our way to empty sets.  These are basic formations!  I couldn't possibly have the time to discuss every formation and adjustment.  This post is meant as a basic guide to aligning the Five Spoke Secondary.  Use the rules as they are laid out to set up your defensive structure.

Two Back Offenses

Two back offenses don't have much they can align in that really threatens the players mentally as it does physically.  If setting the SS to the run strength, then the SS will generally follow the TE, unless otherwise dictated by game plan.

As shown above, the SS travels with the run strength set to the TE.  If the SS is called to be set to the passing strength, nothing would change in the above diagram.  Where the differences in alignment and coverage come into play are against twins sets.

In the above example, the FS will set the coverage to the most dangerous side.  None of this matters to the WS or SS because the SS is set to the run strength, while the WS aligns away.  The FS gives the call letting the SS know he's no longer there.  In this case, the away side coverage can be game planned to whatever it is that the SS can play.  These coverages are man, Bronco (zone/man combo) or zone (sky).  Against most two back teams, the base rule here would be "sky".  To the read side, the defense can play any number of coverages.  Robber is shown, but halves, quarters, man free, you name it can be played to this side.

The next illustration only switches the SS and the WS.  There are any number of reasons for this.  I have seen twins teams that actually run more to the twins side than they do the nub side.  In that case, you better have the flexibility in your defense to set your key player (the SS) where you need him.  Again, the coverages presented to either side are a laundry list of what is that you want/need to defend?  Obviously Robber or Quarters is the standard answer to the twins side, but really whatever it is you need to play over there you can.  Again, to the away side, the WS can set the coverage by himself.  He has some options at his disposal, but the base rule would be to play "sky", the same as if this was the SS.

Another option to keep in mind is that of playing the SS fixed to one side of the field or the other.  In this case, for many, the SS will be set to the wide side of the field.  This is a great way for those teams that try to get slick and figure out where your SS is being set, then go formation to the sideline (FSL) to get this player away from the wide side and then run to the wide side.  By setting the SS to the field, neither run nor pass strength dictate where the SS aligns.  This is also a good way to handle up-tempo offenses, as it creates less moving parts for the defense to attempt to handle.

Again, when the offense sets the run strength to the field, not much changes.  It is when the offense attempts to put the run (or pass) strength into the boundary in an attempt to isolate and run (or pass) away from one of your best defenders.

Now we see that the offense has put the formation to the sideline (FSL).  In many cases, teams will not read into the boundary due to the constricted space and will generally check to some generic zone coverage such as quarter, quarter, half, or cover 3.  You can read into the boundary if need be, though, but it's not a necessity.  Since the SS doesn't have an immediate vertical threat to deal with, he can play "sky" coverage.  If the offense checks to a play away from your SS, they are playing right into your hands, and running (or passing) the ball into the 12th man, the sideline.

Twins to the field doesn't change much either.  The SS simply aligns to the twins set, and plays whatever coverage the FS has called.  The WS sets the coverage based on game plan and plays into the boundary as shown below.

Lots of two back teams I see set twins into the boundary to get the coverage rolled away from the field so that they can run Power O, or Toss Sweep to the field.  Many will even motion to this look.  Again, the flexibility of the system allows for none of these attempts at mis-aligning the defense to work.  The SS plays to the nub side and will play whatever coverage he has been instructed to by game plan (generally "sky").  The FS can either read into the boundary or can check to some generic zone coverage.

Twins Open, isn't really an issue, and is treated pretty much the same as Twins.  The SS can be set to pass strength, run strength, or fixed to the field or boundary.  One beauty, as illustrated below is with over shifted backfield sets.  I see plenty of teams do this, where they align Twins to one side, but play an over shifted backfield (think offset I) on the opposite side.  While it may not seem like much, this gives the offense a numerical advantage when they do this by having a player align off the midline.  If the defense doesn't adjust, then it can easily find itself a man down to one side or the other.  In the case of setting the SS to the running strength, this offset back may be the key for you.  The defense can still put it's players where they are needed, but set the passing strength and put the FS where he is needed, as shown below.

As you can see the defense is protected from toss sweep and lead option to the offset back, whereas they are also three-over-two on the twins side by having both the SS and FS over there to handle an Twins route combinations.  Also, boot away from the twins side, where the fullback (FB) leaks into the flat is easily handled by the SS, and should be a decent match up, if the FB decides to convert this route into a wheel route.

The same can be said for an offset back into a Twins set.  These sets are ones that power run game teams like to run power pass flood into.  The SS, is in great position here to help on the run, as well as help in the passing game.

One Back Offenses

I honestly think where the real beauty of the Five Spoke Secondary comes into play is against 11 personnel.  11 personnel can really stress an offense because of the varying nature of the offense's personnel.  To one side, you have a run side with a TE and flanker.  To the opposite side you have a passing side with two quick receivers.  Obviously, through film study and game planning you will be able to decipher what it is that you want to take away from your opponent.  However, if setting the SS to the run strength, care will be need to be taken to insure that the match up between the SS and the TE isn't a mismatch.  If this isn't a mismatch, or they don't throw to the TE particularly well, then setting the SS to the running strength is a great way to limit your opponent's run game out of 11 personnel.

Some sort of man or match up zone coverage will need to be employed on the away side to keep the offense from hurting the defense with four verticals.  To the read side, again, the coverage is totally up to the end user in what it is you are trying to defend.

Again, no matter who the defender, the coverages can remain the same whether it's the SS or WS set to the run strength.  Once again, coverage to the read side is unlimited based on what it is that you're defending.

Again, where the beauty can be seen is when "fixing" the SS to the field or boundary.  Now you have your chess piece to where your opponent is likely to attack.  All the SS has to know is am I alone, or is the FS to my side.  Again, the SS makes no calls, but listens to see if he's given the signal that he's alone.  Coverages are completely based on game plan.

In both cases, the FS will set the read side to the field (due to the offense being balanced, or 2x2), indicating he will be reading in that direction.  Since Pro Twins is a two-by-two (2x2) set, this means there are four potential vertical threats.  Robber, Quarters, Palms, Robber etc. can be played to the read side.  A bit more care needs to be exercised to the away side of the coverage.  If given a Pro side, the WS cannot play "sky" because of the two immediate vertical threats.  The WS must play a coverage that accounts for both of these verticals.  Into the boundary, Quarters, or a version of Palms (2 read) would be fine, however if playing to the field, I would recommend man or Bronco.  If given Twins to his side, the WS can then play Palms, or Quarters to that side, regardless of where they are on the field.  Here we see, once again, why it is so important to play a smarter defender at the WS position.

Three-by-one (3x1) sets can be tricky, but the 4-2-5 does a good job of being able to handle these formations out of 11 personnel.  Again, if defending the run is your thing, then setting the SS to where your opponent wants to run the ball is critical.

In the above example, the pro's of the setup are that if your opponent likes to run the ball to the TE side of the formation, you have one of your best ball players set there.  The cons are, now you cannot handle three verticals to the trips side of the formation very well.  The ideal coverage here is quarter-quarter-half, or cover three to the read side.  To the away side, since there is only one immediate vertical threat, the coverage should be "sky".  Like I stated, this is good vs. the run, but not so solid vs. the pass, since you only have three dedicated deep zone defenders (the FS and the two corners).

In the second example, now the SS is set to the pass strength.  This move, allows the defense to handle four verticals, because the WS is a better deep zone defender than the SS.  There are many coverages you can utilize to gain the WS in the trips-side coverage.  One of the major weaknesses of the second version is that of being weak to the run to the nub side of the formation.  The WS's job becomes much tougher if he's designated as defending a player vertical on the trips side, but is also allocated in the TE side run game fit.  Choosing which method is critical in setting up the defense for success.

If you are setting the SS to the field, then the alignment are pretty much the same.  Trips to the field allows you to attack the offense with a myriad of coverages that can handle four vertical threats.  The SS is also in great position to play the bubble screen or wide runs to the field.  Where Trips closed hurts some defenses is when it goes FSL and puts the passing strength into the boundary and the run strength to the field.  If you over rotate your coverage to passing strength, you could be soft to the field vs. the run.  However, by keeping the SS to the field, you are strong vs. the run and are sound vs. any sort of passing game the offense might employ into the boundary.

Against 10 personnel the defense is just as strong as ever.  Against Doubles (2x2), the offense is balanced and the SS can be set in the manner I have discussed earlier.  The problem with 10 personnel is that you don't want the FS to be set away from the SS if you can help it.  The reason for this is the match up that is presented with the more linebacker type player of the SS vs. a WR.  Not an ideal match up, but if your SS is good enough, you could play it this way.

The ideal way of setting the coverage is to keep the FS with the SS vs. these sets.  This is not hard to do, and can be done easier by just keeping the SS to the field, but in some cases you may want your SS to the run strength.  Whatever you do, I'd make sure the SS traveled exclusively with the FS against these types of formations.  The WS is adept in covering WR's, so having him, the away side linebacker (AB) and the weak corner (WC) to a twins side (that would generally be into the boundary) is not a bad setup.  Again, coverage options are limitless here, I'm not going to delve into that part of the defense, but you get the basic principles being applied here.

Trips Open is no different than Doubles, in that you really need to have the SS travel with the FS if you can.  However, there are some times when it's better to have the SS travel with the run strength to be sound vs. the running game.  There are many teams that will set the Trips side away from the RB in the shotgun in order to run speed option at a soft flank.  If you are in a coverage, such as Solo, the WS's job is tough, in that he must account for number three vertical, but also be the primary force player on the away side.  Speed Option, or QB sweep to the away side, with a vertical release by the number three receiver is something I have seen, and can really stress your WS.  Of course, other coverage options are worth exploring, but if the offense is really hurting you, and easy way to stop this is setting the SS to the side of the RB as shown below.

One downfall of setting the defense like the above illustration is that of not being able to handle four vertical threats.  Again, this comes down to film study, and knowing your opponent.  This may not be the adjustment you need, and you may need to handle the issue with coverage instead of alignment.

As shown above, the "ideal" way to handle Trips open is to let the FS travel with the SS.  This puts the defense in a better position to handle the four vertical threats presented by the offense.

One thing teams will do with trips is either motion out of 2x2 to 3x1 and create FSL or simply align with trips into the boundary (as shown below).  I've seen many teams do this and then try to run to the field, or away from the motion.  By setting the SS to the field, you can eliminate such headaches of not having your best player into the boundary.

Obviously, you are somewhat weak here in coverage, but get four verticals out from the boundary is not an ideal thing most offensive coordinators (OC's) want to do.  If the offense does what most do and sets the passing strength to the field, or motions from 2x2 to 3x1 with the Trips to the field, there really isn't much adjusting that needs to be done, other than getting the defense into whatever Trips check coverage you might want to play vs. your opponent.

Empty Backfield Offenses

Against Empty sets, since they are not predominately known as running sets, the easy adjustment is just set the SS to the passing strength, which for many is also the run strength.  This is a fairly easy adjustment, and then the defense just plays whatever your Empty check coverage is.

Now, for whatever reason, if your opponent likes to run weak or attack weak out of Empty sets you "could" set the SS to the Twins side if you like.  It is not ideal, for two reasons.  First, you aren't as protected against three verticals coming off of the Trips side (the only real check you can make over there is Quarter, Quarter, Half or Cover Three).  Secondly, despite having your SS aligned where they are attacking, he will be somewhat passive in that the only real check to me made to that side is some sort of man, or match up man coverage, meaning the SS will have to at least "peak" at the number 2 receiver.  This will make him a bit less aggressive in stopping the run.  However, it "can" be done, I don't recommend setting the defense up this way.

The main theme here though is that if for some reason, your defense gets misaligned, there still able to play somewhat sound defense.  This is why the SS MUST learn Bronco coverage.  It keeps the defense sound in situations like the one shown above.  Again, this is not ideal, but it is manageable because even if your SS misaligns, by rule he will know if I have two quicks, the only coverage I can play is some sort of man or match up man, such as TCU's Bronco coverage.

The same situation is presented if setting the SS to the wide side of the field.  If a team aligns or motions out of Empty sets to present FSL, your defense needs to be able to handle this.  Aligning to FSL is easy if you simply want a check to put the SS to the pass strength, you can do that, it's motion that can make life tough on the defense.  You don't want your SS chasing motion across the formation and then having to have the WS run to the opposite side of the field with an uncovered number two receiver standing there.  That is not an ideal situation at all.  By having the automatic Bronco check built in, the defense, though not great, is still sound.

As you can see the 4-2-5 has a very simple, easy way to keep the defense sound, all the while allowing the defensive coordinator (DC) align his chess pieces where he needs them.  Sure, while some are not ideal, all defenses have their weaknesses.  It's up to you, the end user, to choose what is right for your situation.  The defense is a very flexible defense, and many of it's general, underlying principles can be passed on to other defenses.  I'm not planning on coverage discussion in these articles, as I think I've covered that ad nauseum on the blog.  What I will say is however you choose to set up your defense, the above scenarios are a great, generic, place to start.

Next, we'll look at how the Five Spoke Secondary handles blitzing by using TCU's Cover 0 and Cover 0 Free to keep things simple.

Duece

A Safer Way to Play Quarters Coverage Part II

Well after the first installation on this topic, I'll talk now about some of the adjustments that can be made to defend the weaknesses of Quarters coverage.  This is not going to be a long post, as most of my stuff has been pirated from the likes of Jerry Gordon, as well as some of what Gary Patterson is doing at TCU.  However, failure to mention some of this stuff would inevitably flood my inbox with questions, so I figured why not go ahead and write a post about it?

If you don't own this book, stop reading and go buy it NOW!

The Weaknesses of Quarters Coverage
Typically the first thing you hear people say when asked why they don't run Quarters coverage, or what is the weakness of Quarters coverage is that the flats are weak.  This is so very true, there is not denying this simple fact.  However, let's look at the issue and see why coaches still employ this coverage despite this glaring weakness.

Any coverage that has the flats defended from inside-out is going to be weaker in that area.  The reason being is that a displaced receiver has a yardage advantage over the defender covering him.  Now, move the defender out over the number one receiver and the defense gains a tactical advantage, somewhat.  The flat defender, generally is responsible for forcing the ball back inside on run plays.  Remove this player from the core of the defense, and the offense now gains the tactical advantage on the run.  So, the idea here is to be able to do both.  Of course the way to do both, is in-game adjustments and from scouting, but also from having built-in answers to your coverage issue.  Enter in Cover Two Read.  Some call it a soft Cover Two or a Sink Cover Two, but no matter, it's a way of getting the best out of Quarters and Cover Two, otherwise known as halves coverage.  Again, none of this has no been talked about before, and all of the calls I'm mentioning can be found in Jerry Gordon's book "Coaching the Under Front Defense".

Alert Coverage
Alert Coverage is a tag added to Quarters, that changes the assignment of the corner and the outside linebacker (OLB).  Alert is the way Quarters morphs into Two Read.  Alert is not a good call against a large displacement by the two receivers, nor is it a very good call against a single receiver side.  Alert Coverage is meant to be called to two detached receivers.  Here are the rules:

Corner
Alignment: Corner will still align in traditional alignment of seven yards off and in outside shade.  Corner can also use a press and bail technique.

Assignment: The corner will still play man-to-man on the number one receiver on anything but shallow routes.  Against a wheel call (an out by the number two receiver, called by the safety), the corner will now funnel the number one receiver into the safety and get eyes to the number two receiver.  As the corner sinks, and funnels, he is awaiting to break on the throw to the number two receiver.  The corner only comes off of the number one receiver once the ball is thrown to this receiver.  The corner is also responsible for the wheel by the number two receiver.

Safety
Alignment: The safety, in Alert Coverage must align deeper than he would in traditional Quarters Coverage.  The safety should align 10 to 12 yards deep and be two yards inside the number two receiver.

Assignment: The safety will still play flat-footed, buzz or shuffle on the snap.  All reads are the same as Quarters, except if the number two receiver goes out.  If the number two receiver goes out (usually under the depth of eight yards), then the safety makes the "wheel" call alerting the corner that he now has a route coming at him.  The safety will now pedal and get eyes to the number one receiver.  The safety, on a "wheel" call is now responsible for the number one receiver vertical.

OLB
Alignment: The OLB no longer has to walk out as far against two detached receivers.  The linebacker (LB) can play closer to the box, but should walk out a minimum of five yards from the end man on the line of scrimmage (EMOL).  Into the boundary the OLB need not walk out at all.

Assignment: The OLB is a wall player.  He will wall all crossing routes, and will get hands on any vertical stem by the number two receiver.  The OLB will play the curl zone, and pass crossers off to the middle linebacker (MLB).  The OLB is responsible for the wheel of the number three receiver, should one present itself.

MLB
Alignment: Based on formation.

Assignment: The MLB's assignment is the same in Alert Coverage as it is in Quarters Coverage.

Alert is a great Quarters check for those teams running a lot of quick game against you.  It is still safe against four verticals as the corner is still really playing a deep quarter of the field with his technique if the number two receiver doesn't go out.  Alert is not a good check to a wide displacement by the number one and number two receivers.  If this distance is large, the safety cannot get over the top of the number one receiver, or must cheat his alignment to the point of losing leverage on the number two receiver running vertical.

How the run is defended out of this look is still a matter of debate.  Since I based out of Quarters, and my safeties were my run fit guys, I left it the same in this coverage.  I've had some die-hard Two Read guys tell me I was wrong, but in my opinion, this is just a check, or adaptation to Quarters.  I'm not looking to major in Quarters with a minor in Cover Two.  I just need a check that can help with the quick game against two displaced receivers.  No need to change up everything I'm doing with my base coverage.  I recommend keeping the safety as the force player, but to each their own.

Jump Call
Jump is a more aggressive version of the Alert Coverage shown above.  Jump would be what some refer to as hard Cover Two, or a squat Cover Two look.  Here the corner will reroute the number one receiver, but will not carry him, if he gets a "wheel" call from the safety.  The corner can align the same as always, but with the Jump call, he will actually jump the out by number two rather than the throw to the number two receiver.  For the safety, he will need to align a bit deeper, and possible wider, depending on the split taken by the number one receiver, however he should never align wider than the inside eye of the number two receiver.  With the jump call, the safety must pedal at the snap.  He will not be guaranteed any help if the number two receiver is out, coupled with a vertical stem by number one.  The OLB and MLB play things the exact same way as they do in Alert Coverage.

Might as well...

Jump is when, by game plan, you have the bead on the OC trying to throw the bubble or the arrow routes.  Jump is a very good call to mix in as it will show you have the ability to play some hard Cover Two, even though you are a base Quarters team.  Jump is not a good call when expecting a vertical by the number one receiver, because you aren't guaranteed that the traditional "hole" in Cover Two will be helped by the corner as it would be in Alert Coverage.  Think of the two coverages this way, Alert is safe, Jump is a bit more risky.

Bronco
Bronco is a coverage that TCU has made famous over the past few seasons.  The rules are simple, and in the end it's basically off man.  You can play Bronco Coverage with a banjo concept, or hard and fast man-only-deep (MOD) rules.  However you choose to play it, the coverage is very good against the "spread-to-run" offenses many of us are seeing these days.  The rules for Bronco Coverage are as follows:

Corner
Alignment: The alignment depends on how aggressive you want to be.  I start out teaching a no-switch off man principle, so I play my corners pressed (see diagram below).  The corner is a man-everywhere-he-goes (MEG) defender in Bronco.  Now, if you play a banjo concept, you will want the corner to play deeper, and my recommendation would be to play him at his traditional depth of seven yards, shaded inside the receiver, however.  Neither way is wrong, nor is it better than the other, and I will explain the rules of the two concepts later in this post.

Assignment: When I first teach this, I teach it to the corners as a MEG concept.  For our corners, this coverage is no different than Cover Zero (pure man).  Now if I'm teaching the banjo concept, then the corner has a similar rule to his standard rule in Quarters with one simple change.  In Quarters, the corner will take the number one receiver man, unless he's shallow (routes breaking under eight yards).  In Bronco, I do two things, I reduce the depth to five yards to declare vertical, and I add the words "out".  So, in Bronco, utilizing a banjo concept, I tell my corner he has the number one receiver vertical and out.

Safety
Alignment: The safety will align six yards off and one yard inside a detached number two receiver.  This changes to one yard outside an attached receiver (with five yards of the core of the formation).

Assignment: The safety will have the same rules as the corner in both the basic version of Bronco and the banjo version.  The safety is responsible for the number two receiver vertical and out.  Again, as with the corner, the depth of what I tell them "vertical" is, will be reduced to five yards.  Against inside cuts by the number two receiver, the safety has the choice of calling "push" if he feels the route isn't vertical.  This tells the OLB to let the running back (RB) go, and the safety will now take him.  If the safety feels this route is vertical, of course he would not give the OLB a call and would run with this route man-to-man.  If the safety does give a "push" call, then he will now rob the curl to post of the number one receiver (as he would in Quarters Coverage).

OLB
Alignment: The OLB can take his base alignment as if there was not a detached number two receiver.  In other words, he can remain in the box.  He will even remain in the box against trips formations.  This coverage is designed to free up the LB's to remain in the box and is more focused on them stopping the run than the pass.

Assignment: The OLB, as with Alert and Jump tags, is a wall player and will handle all crossing routes in this coverage.  Crossing routes are passed off between the OLB's and the MLB.  The major difference in Bronco Coverage, when talking to LB's is that they are not dropping off of a numbered receiver.  The OLB's as well as the MLB are responsible for the RB.  The OLB's will take the wheel of the RB, unless given a "push" call by the safety.  

MLB
The MLB's assignment is the same as he would in Quarters.  He is the middle hole dropper and assigned to cover the number RB vertical.

Bronco with no banjo concept

Bronco with the banjo concept

The sole purpose behind Bronco Coverage is to be able to keep the OLB's in the box to defend the run.  I've heard some folks call this "Box Coverage".  Whatever you call it, the coverage is a great adaptation for those posing spread folks that try to play a seven on five or six game in the box by spreading you out with receivers.  No need to get the defense bent out of shape if your opponent doesn't throw the ball out to the receivers very much, or those receivers are no threat to your defense.  The coverage is still safety force, but the OLB's are in a position to handle some of this responsibility as well.  I teach Bronco with a catch-man philosophy, and it does take a bit of getting used to.  The edges of the defense can be soft at times if the wide receivers (WR's) are good at making their stalk blocks look like routes.

Bronco is better served, being played to one side of the field, preferably the short side of the field as shown below.  In the illustration you can see that the OLB is allowed to stay in his home alignment because the coverage to his side is Bronco.  This allows this player to focus more on stopping the run, and less on having to get out to a pass zone.  To the field side you can play whatever you like, in my example, I'm playing Quarters to the field.

Bronco can even be played into three-by-one formations.  It's aggressive, but it is a good coverage if you have the cats to run it.  The only adaptation that needs to be made, is that the single side corner will now have to man up, as he is all alone due to the weak safety being moved over to the trips side of the coverage.  The weak side is played just like Solo coverage.

Bronco into trips

In conclusion, with a few calls and adaptations you can set up Quarters Coverage to work versus many of the common formations and route concepts in the game today.  Now, if you have the time, I recommend installing all of these adjustments.  In the past, I've been able to get Quarters in and perhaps one or two other calls (usually Bronco and Alert).  One year, I ran only Quarters and Bronco and it worked out just fine for the young group I had.  No matter what you do, there will need to be adjustments that you make, as every coverage has a weakness to it, and Quarters Coverage is no exception.

Duece

A Safer Way to Play Quarters Coverage

In all my years coaching this coverage, the number one question that arises is "How is my OLB going to run with a wheel route?".  It happens a lot where I coach at, because the post/wheel route concept is the single most popular concept around.  It was made legendary around here in the early 80's when a local team made several playoff and state championship appearances, with the post/wheel concept being their top concept from a twins formation.  Anyhow, around here, you need to have an answer for this question, or you're going to be in some serious trouble.

Originally, my adjustment was to play 2 read to two detached quick receivers.  This was a great solution, and I've written in length about 2 read, and using it as an adjustment to Quarters coverage.  However, at my last the talent pool was as dry as I've ever coached in.  I still wanted to play a pattern match coverage, but the boss man detested the OLB running with the wheel.  I also didn't have a lot of time to deal with to install multiple coverages and checks to various formations.  What I needed was a coverage that would defend well over 90 percent of what we were going to see.  Well, here's what I came up with, and I'll share with you the differences between standard Quarters, and my version.

General Rules
For the safeties, my Quarters was the standard stuff.  Everything in this coverage was based off what the number two receiver did.  Also, the safety and the corner worked in tandem, not by reading number two, but by communicating what they were seeing their respective receiver doing.  I figured, most of our guys were coming out of youth football where they had played man-to-man coverage, so their eyes were used to being on their man (or in poor cases, the backfield).

What did number two do?  In this case...had a drink!

I taught that the number two receiver could do one of four things, and they are listed below.  One unique thing I taught, was our safeties eyes would follow the number two receiver to his next threat.  I got this from talking with a college coach at a clinic a couple of seasons ago and I really liked it, because it naturally makes sense.  Here are the four reads and reactions we taught our safeties:

1. Go vertical.  If number two goes vertical (depth based on game plan), then the safety would lock on man-to-man.  Standard, 100 percent Quarters stuff right there.
2. Go out.  This was the only route the safety had to make a call on.  The safety would make a "wheel" call to the corner and the OLB to announce that number two was not vertical and was now threatening the flat area.  When number two was out, the safety got his eyes to number one, and was purely a robber player.  I told them this "Eyes to one, rob curl to post".  That simple.  As you can see, the safeties eyes follow the number two receiver to his next threat.  The number two receiver is out, so the safety's eyes follow him to number one.  At this point the safety is in a good position to break on a route coming into the curl area, or work underneath a post route.
3. Go in.  If the number two receiver worked inside off the snap, the safety would follow him with his eyes to the next threat, which in this case is the QB.  The safety would now slow pedal, reading the eyes of the QB.  Usually when the number two receiver drags inside, or slants inside, you're getting a high-low concept, such as post/drag, mesh etc., or you're getting double slants.  Again, the safety is in good position to play these routes by reading the eyes of the QB.  The corner will alert the safety as to what route he's getting so the safety will know how to react by either speed pedaling to work under a post, or driving up on a slant cut.  I'll discuss the corner technique at length later.
4. Block.  I won't discuss run blocking at the moment, because to be honest that horse has been beaten to death on this site (lol).  I'm talking about pass blocking.  In the case of spread offenses this may be a TE or H-back that's been left in to block, rather than run a route.  In this case, the safety's eyes go to his nearest threat, which again, is the QB.  The reactions when the number two receiver block are the same as when number two is inside.

Safety reads vs. #2 out

Safety reads vs. #2 in

Now, depth of these routes are all based on game plan.  In some cases, I've had the safety jump that drag route with a call.  These are just the general rules of our coverage.  Nothing really ground breaking here, except for the teaching of the safety's eyes.  I had never really heard anyone discuss where the safety should put his eyes if number two didn't threaten him vertically.  Now on to the corners.

The corners reads are the biggest change in my version of Quarters with the old standard way of doing things.  Most coaches teach the corner in Quarters that he has the number one receiver man-to-man on anything but a shallow crossing route.  I was no different, and my teaching still starts out this way, but with a few added twists.  Again, I teach a numbers game and teach the corners that the number one receiver can only do one of four possible things.  The reads and reactions are shown below:

1. Go inside.  If the number one receiver goes inside, then the corner will give an "in" call to alert the OLB and safety that the number one receiver is attacking the inside of the flats to the curl area.  He will stay over the top of number one and play for the double move (think sluggo).  The only call that switches this reaction, is if the corner hears a "wheel" call from the safety.  Now the corner knows, he must become a pure zone player has he may have another route entering his zone.  This is where my coverage takes a different turn than traditional Quarters.  It's not as aggressive as say, Michigan State's, but for high school football, it works just fine.  Later I'll go over route concepts so that you, the reader, can see exactly how these reactions work out.
2. Go outside.  Any route that doesn't threaten the corner vertically, gets a call (see above where the corner calls "in").  Here, the corner will call "out" to alert the OLB that the flats have been threatened immediately.  The corner will stay over the top of this route and work for depth, looking for two things.  First, he always plays the double move, which in this case would be the out-and-up.  Second, the corner will get depth to help the safety play any deep out cut by the number two receiver on concepts such as smash.  The corner, in the case of smash, is really a free player.  He can rally to the out (or hitch, some folks run it both ways) and assist on the tackle, or he can bait the QB into throwing the corner route and come outside and under and play the ball.  Either way, the corner's main job is to make the QB hold the ball by playing in between these two routes.
3. Stop short of vertical.  In other words, run a hitch.  In this case, the reaction is the same.  The corner calls "China" to alert the OLB that the flats are being threatened from the outside.  The corner plays the exact same technique as when the number one receiver runs a shallow out cut.
4. Goes vertical.  For most Quarters coaches, this is where "it's on" and the corner locks on man-to-man.  For me it is the same, to a point.  If the corner does not hear any call from the safety, it's man.  However, if the corner hears the "wheel" call, he is now a zone player, NOT a man player.  This simple adjustment in technique is the key to the coverage.  The corner, on a wheel call, will now play a zone technique and would squeeze the post to the safety.  Now, if there is no actual "wheel" route, the corner ends up playing the high shoulder of the post as he would in old-school Quarters.  If the number two receiver actually does run the wheel route, the corner will squeeze the post to the safety and come off late on the wheel route.  The key to making this coverage work vs. this in-out switch stuff offenses are running nowadays lies in how the OLB reacts to all of the above.

Corner's calls

The OLB is an important piece of making my version of Quarters work.  The thing most coaches will note, is the fact that I do not change a thing from the way regular Quarters teaches it's flat players to how I teach it.  The only difference is, I give the OLB a safety net with the corner helping late over the top on a wheel route.  The OLB is called a "match 2" player in pretty much any Quarters schemes I've ever taught, and this one is no different.  The OLB will look to match the number two receiver to the flats.  Let's look at how the OLB fits into the system with his reactions to the number two receiver.

1. Number two goes out.  This one's simple.  If number two is out, the coverage becomes man for the OLB.  The OLB will now run with the number two receiver wherever he goes, this INCLUDES running with him on a wheel route.  The good  news is, he has help over the top in the zone corner (due to the safety giving a wheel call-see the safety section for clarification).  
2. Number two goes in.  The OLB will still drop to the flats, but is now completely trusting the corner with what the number one receiver is doing.  If the OLB hears "in", then he settles his feet, eyeing the QB and sits in the slant window.  If the OLB hears "out" or "China", he must, as I put it, "get on his horse" and get out to the flats to play inside and underneath these cuts.  If the OLB doesn't hear anything, but ends up having a three two switch (where the number two and number three receivers cross), then the OLB will play the new number two with the same reactions as he would if this receiver were originally the number two receiver.  
3. Number two goes vertical.  Here, the reaction is exactly the same as if the number two receiver goes inside.  One coaching point, and it's a major disagreement I have with the way Michigan State teaches their Quarters, versus mine, is that the OLB should NOT reroute the number two receiver if he's going vertical.  I do not want my OLB "muddying" up the read for the my safety.  MSU teaches the OLB to knock this receiver down, I don't want this.  Number one, it's another technique I have to teach my LB, and number two, it messes up the safety's read on this receiver.  I simply have the OLB drop to the flats.  He does not reroute.  This is VERY important because if the OLB reroutes he may be late to his intended drop target and is doing exactly what the offense is wanting him to do (think pick or rub routes here).  

Ok, now that we have the rules in place, let's look at how all this shakes out vs. some of the various concepts many of us see.

Route Combos
The first combo is slant/arrow.  Against this combination, the safety, seeing number two expand gives a "wheel" call.  This alerts the OLB he's got a flat threat and the corner that he's now a zone player.  The corner will shuffle or pedal out for the three step drop, then upon hearing "wheel" knows he needs to bail into his quarter.  As the corner sees the slant, he calls "in" to alert the safety that the curl is now being threatened.  The safety, shuffles laterally to match the number two receiver's release until hearing the "in" call, at which time he drives on the slant.  These are some of the best collisions in all of football.  My safeties love driving on the slant because they are coming from depth and can adjust on the fly, as well as the fact most receivers are unsuspecting of the safety playing this route.  The OLB, cares nothing of the "in" call because he's heard the "wheel" call which overrides anything the corner says.  The OLB is expanding and trying to "top" the arrow route.  The corner, is over the top of all of this protecting against the double move (sluggo).

Slant/Arrow

Sluggo/Arrow

Now let's move on to the slant/wheel combination route.  This is where the coverage takes better shape and you can see the subtle differences between traditional Quarters coverage and my version.

Slant/Wheel

Here we see the safety driving on the slant, due to the "in" call by the corner.  The safety would have also given a "wheel" call which alerted the corner, he's a zone player now, and also alerted the OLB he HAS to run with the number two receiver now.  What the modification in coverage does, is allow for the corner to play a double move by number one (sluggo), and play off and help the OLB with the wheel route.  The OLB's play, helps the corner squeeze the slant to the safety.

A better example of this is shown below, and that is how the coverage adapts to handling the post/wheel combination.  The safety gives the wheel call and gets eyes to number one.  As one climbs vertical the safety will open to him and must expect the post or dig routes.  Once the receiver's hips sink, the safety can now turn into the post.  I tell my safeties to "run the post for the receiver".  In other words, run the same route the receiver is running.  The corner, will hear the "wheel" call and knows now, he is a zone player.  The corner squeezes the post to the safety, but will do so, keeping leverage on the wheel.  The corner can squeeze down inside on the post, because of the play of the OLB.  With the OLB carrying the wheel, it gives the corner time to help pass the post off to the safety as well as get back over the top of the wheel.  Through repetitions, what I was finding was that the corner was able to drop off and read the QB versus this combination and was breaking more on the throw, rather than the route.  This gives the defense, the old "plus one" advantage we are always looking for.

Post/Wheel

The next combination, is the curl/arrow and curl/wheel.  This is one of the toughest to defend because the curl is so enticing for the corner to jump.  From the illustrations you can see that the safety would give the "wheel" call, this alerts the corner he's a zone player, and the OLB that he must now run with the number two receiver man-to-man.  The corner will high shoulder the curl, and is in perfect position to leverage the number two receiver if this route turns in to the wheel route.  The safety, will continue to expand with number two, because he has not gotten a call from the corner.  Again, the OLB's technique is what makes the coverage work.  The OLB by expanding works into the curl window, long enough to buy the safety time to work to the curl.  If the arrow turns into the wheel route, the OLB buys the corner some time to adjust off the curl and take over the wheel route.

Curl/Arrow

Curl/Wheel

As you can see, the coverage is not all that unlike traditional Quarters coverage.  The only difference is that the OLB is not forced into running with the wheel route by the number two receiver alone.  He has help over the top in the form of a pure zone cornerback.  Yes, this coverage is not as aggressive as traditional Quarters coverage, but remember, it's built for lesser athletes.  Sometimes being overly aggressive with lesser talent can lead to trouble.  What this coverage DOES DO, is still gives you a means of pattern matching that allows defenders to cover receivers and not grass, while having some built-in help for the lesser skilled coverage player (the OLB).

What routes are you seeing?  Send me an email to footballislifeblog@yahoo.com and I'll feature it in the new Mailbag posts.  In the next post, I'll focus on some of the problem routes, and the calls and adjustments used to help the defense defend these adaptations.

Duece