Defensive Back: Playing the Run

As a DB, your first concern must be pass defense. Second, but still vital, is knowing what to do when the offense runs the ball. Your action and technique will be determined by the defense your coach has called for the play. In this situation as a DB, you must:

1. Understand your responsibility during the play
2. Know what the offense must do for you to leave your pass coverage and attack the line of scrimmage
3. Know where and what your responsibilities are when you force the run
4. Understand which offensive player can block you
5. Know how to meet the blocker

When the defense is called, you'll be playing either zone or man-to-man pass defense. If you're covering a deep zone, you must go to that zone until the ball carrier crosses the line of scrimmage. When you're in man coverage, you'll need to run with him until he blocks OR the ball crosses the line of scrimmage - whichever happens first. In both cases you will be chasing the ball carrier after you are certain the ball can not be passed.

Tune in next time as we wrap up Playing the Run for Defensive Backs!

Defensive Backs: More on Zone Coverage!

Zone defenses will usually be broken down into three different types of zone pass coverages. There's the two-deep zone, a three-deep zone, and an occasional four-deep zone. In all three zone defenses, the first rule is, if you're in coverage, that you can backpedal deep enough so that you stay between your goal line and the deepest offensive receiver in your zone. Before the play begins, make certain you know what type of pass coverage has been called - zone or man. If it's zone:

1. Know where you need to go and/or which zone you must cover
2. Know how you're going to get to your zone
3. Know what your responsibilities are once you reach and are set up in your zone

A two-deep zone will usually involve both safeties dropping deep, each covering half of the field. It's important they backpedal as quickly as possible, get as deep as they can, stay deeper than any receiver in their half of the field, look at the QB, and react the instant the quarterback steps and throws.

At the same time, both corners, who will be covering the outside underneath zones with the linebackers should:

1. Leave their original alignment before the play began
2. Move up to five yards from the line of scrimmage
3. Take a position just outside the offensive receiver as he moves up field
4. Bump the receiver to the inside, interrupt his run up the field, and force the receiver in toward the safety
5. Drop back to 12 yards using a backpedal
6. Focus on the QB
7. React when the ball leaves the quarterback's hand

Next time we'll be covering the three-deep zone!

Defensive Back: Zone Coverage

Playing zone coverage is much different than man-to-man. In man-coverage, you're concerned with covering one receiver potentially all over the field through the entire play. You focus on the receiver, recognize the pass pattern he's running, and react properly to that pattern. By watching the receiver, he tells you where to go. Your only chance to look for the ball is when you're in position to see the receiver and the ball at the same time during your coverage.

Playing zone requires you change your way of thinking and understand that your priorities must change as well. The main differences you'll discover when switching to zone coverage is that:

1. On the snap of the ball you'll move to a predetermined area of the field
2. Your focus will be on the QB, not necessarily a receiver
3. The direction the ball is thrown will tell you where to go, not the receiver's pattern

This doesn't mean you should discard all you know about man-to-man coverage to play zone - far from it! You can backpedal into your zone or angle-backpedal if necessary to stay in the proper position on the field. Once the ball leaves the QB's hand, you should implement your rollover to leave the backpedal. There are no new physical techniques for you here, just knowing where you have to cover and that your focus will shift more to the QB than the receiver.

More to come!

Defensive Backs: Intro to Man Coverage

As a DB, there will most likely come a time where your coach will ask you to play man-to-man pass coverage. In man coverage, you must focus your eyes on the man you're covering instead of focusing on the QB as you would for zone coverage. As you won't be focused on the QB, you may not see the ball until the very last instant.

Man-to-man pass defense is one of the most exciting and challenging techniques for any DB to master. It has all the trappings of a true one-on-one battle - just you and your coverage target. 

When you line up to play man defense, it's important to familiarize yourself with and get used to the three main pass route zones - short, medium, and long. The short zone extends from the line of scrimmage to 6 yards downfield. Medium covers the territory between 7 and 15 yards beyond the line of scrimmage. Finally, the deep zone encompasses the remainder of the field beyond 15 yards all the way to the goal line.

It's important these zones become second-nature to you as they will help you identify individual pass patterns developing within them.

This is a pretty heady topic, so it's going to be broken up into a couple parts. On Monday, we're going to get into how to recognize patterns and your interception points.