Follow this formula to identify pass coverages

By Terry Shea | Posted 3/7/2018

As the huddle breaks and the offense moves toward the line of scrimmage, the quarterback has roughly 4.5 seconds from the huddle break to prepare for the snap. This short window of time is the same as it takes to heat up a Pop Tart in the microwave.

This is the quarterback’s moment – 4.5 seconds – to look for defensive tips and review their checklist of what-ifs. If the coach calls a pass, the QB has mere seconds to click through his checklist before calling for the snap. The formula begins with a cluster of pass-driven alerts.

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What is the game situation? What if I get pressure from a secondary player or from a set of linebackers? Does my pass protection match these pressures? Is my hot principle in effect? Do I have an alert principle to my pass progression? My pass drop? My snap count?

To assess this pre-snap information, the QB establishes a routine they can trust, and the quicker the QB’s mind, the more answers they can generate to help attack the defensive coverage.

One coaching point is to always insert the game situation at the beginning of this mental checklist. This factor, more than any other, can impact how a quarterback executes a specific pass play.

As the quarterback positions his hands to receive the snap, the second phase of the pre-snap formula begins. With eyes up, the QB finds the two safeties and identifies the alignment. Is it a single-high concept that leaves the middle field closed, or two-high coverage that opens the middle of the field?

Since the game's played from the hash marks 85 percent of the time, a high school or college quarterback can look for indicators from the short side (boundary side) cornerback to confirm his read from the safeties. By establishing a two-high coverage scheme, the quarterback eliminates any pressure/blitz concern from his pre-snap checklist.

With a single-high look, the QB looks for additional blitz indicators, which could come from a safety prowling down toward the line of scrimmage, the body language of the short side cornerback or a linebacker creeping into a gap.

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The quarterback read is what they see prior to the snap. This includes what's recognized throughout the cadence while under center. When in the shotgun, the QB’s vision time is more limited, because the eyes are used to track the snap. The process of reading gives the quarterback only an indication of the potential coverage. Better defenses will challenge the quarterback by disguising coverages prior to the snap.

In order to confirm the coverage read, by the third step of the QB’s pass drop, you must identify the actual coverage . The first key can come from the weakside or free safety. If this safety moves toward the middle of the field, the QB identifies a form of single-high coverage. This confirmation triggers where the QB wants to begin pass progression or what side of the field they want to attack. As the quarterback develops quick vision with hundreds of reps, they learn to capture the movement of both safeties as the play unfolds. With this power, the QB can now couple zone or man identification to the coverage.

A defense can generate interceptions by disguising coverage reads before the snap. This is why a quarterback must confirm pre-snap reads with post-snap identification keys. Tricking a quarterback into thinking they're throwing into man-to-man coverage, and suddenly an underneath defender snatches the ball out of the air, is what drives a defense. So a quarterback must not only become proficient in identifying coverages, but also study enough tape of the opponent to begin to recognize these defensive tricks.

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The following quarterback tips can help establish the difference between a zone or man coverage read:                          

  • Eyes of the defender: A defender’s eyes will focus on the quarterback within zone coverage. If his eyes lock onto the receiver, think man.
  • Body posture: A man defender will tend to crouch lower. If you see “Zs in knees,” think man.
  • Depth and leverage: Defensive backs may line up closer or tighter to the receiver in man coverage. If you see a tendency to align inside to cover the crossing route, think man. Outside leverage can indicate zone since the defender has help inside.
  • Stance: If the feet are closer together and more square to line of scrimmage, think man. If the feet are wider and hips angled toward the ball, think zone.

Recognizing defensive tips and identifying pass coverages is a skill that separates great quarterbacks from average ones. It's this ability to recognize defenses and know what they're giving up that can make the difference between a completed pass and disappointment. 

Terry Shea is a longtime football coach at the professional and collegiate levels, with Rutgers head coach and Chicago Bears offensive coordinator among his stops. He's helped train many NFL quarterbacks, including Robert Griffin III, Matthew Stafford, Sam Bradford, Josh Freeman, Aaron Murray, Blaine Gabbert and Trent Green. Click here to view his book, “Eyes Up,” which instructs and energizes quarterbacks and their coaches to improve on the field.  

This is an updated version of a blog that originally published March 23, 2015.

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