Football Coverages Explained: Cover 0 to Cover 6

Every pass play is a question, and the coverage is the defense’s answer. This is football coverages explained the way I teach it on the board: what each coverage is, where its holes are, and how a player can tell which one is coming before the ball is snapped.

The names sound like code, but the numbers mostly tell you one thing: how many defenders are playing deep. Learn to count them and half the guessing is gone.

Football coverages explained: count the safeties first

Before the snap, look past the linebackers to the two safeties. Where they stand is the first clue to the coverage.

No safety deep (0 high): Cover 0. Nobody is protecting the deep middle.
One safety deep in the middle (1 high): usually Cover 1 or Cover 3.
Two safeties deep (2 high): usually Cover 2, Cover 4 or Cover 6.

That’s the first sort. One warning that never goes away: good defenses disguise. A safety can show two high and spin down at the snap. Your first read tells you where to look, and the snap tells you if you were right.

Cover 0: everybody’s covered, nobody’s deep

In Cover 0 every receiver has a defender on him in man coverage, and there is no deep safety helping anyone. Usually the defense is sending extra rushers too.

The hole: there’s no help behind anybody. Beat your man and nobody is coming over the top.

What it means for the QB: the pressure is coming now. The ball has to come out fast to the receiver who wins first.

Cover 1: man coverage with one safety deep

Cover 1 is man coverage with one free safety in the deep middle. Each receiver has a defender on him, and the safety helps over the top on deep throws.

The hole: the safety can only be in one place. A receiver who beats his man on the side away from the safety has room.

How it differs from Cover 3: both show one safety deep. In Cover 1, defenders follow receivers. In Cover 3, they drop to spots on the field.

Cover 2: two deep halves

In Cover 2 the two safeties split the deep part of the field in half. The corners sit shallow and take the flats. The Sam and Will linebackers take the curl zones, and the Mike linebacker runs to the deep middle, right between the two safeties.

The hole: the space between the corner and the safety, deep along the sideline. Coaches call it the honey hole. The corner is sitting low, and the safety has a long way to run to get there.

Before the snap: two high safeties, and corners close to the line with their eyes inside.

Cover 3: three deep thirds

In Cover 3 three defenders split the deep field into thirds: the free safety takes the middle and each corner takes a sideline third. Four players cover underneath. On my board, the strong safety and the nickel take curl to flat on the outside, and the two linebackers take the hook and curl zones in the middle.

The hole: the flats and the seams. With four underneath, there’s room short to the outside and in the space between the deep defenders.

Before the snap: one high safety, and corners playing off the receiver who back up when the ball is snapped instead of turning to run with him.

Cover 4 (Quarters): four deep

On paper, Cover 4 has the two safeties and two corners each taking a quarter of the deep field. On the field it plays more like a match coverage. Each corner matches the #1 receiver, the one widest outside. Each safety reads the #2 receiver, the next one in. If #2 goes vertical, the safety takes him. If #2 stays short or blocks, the safety is free to help or come down on the run.

The hole: play action. The safeties are reading #2 and the run, so a good run fake pulls them up. That opens the post behind them. Play-action post shots over the safeties’ heads are how you hurt Quarters.

Before the snap: two high safeties, often a little closer to the line than in Cover 2, with the corners playing deeper.

Cover 6: half and half

Cover 6 is two coverages at once. One side of the field plays Quarters, and the other side plays Cover 2. Defenses use it when the offense has more receivers to one side.

The hole: it depends on the side. Read it as two smaller pictures: attack the Cover 2 side like Cover 2 and the Quarters side like Cover 4.

Man or zone: the motion test

The fastest way to tell man from zone is to send a receiver in motion.

A defender runs with him across the formation: that’s usually man (Cover 0 or Cover 1).
The defenders shift over and nobody follows him: that’s usually zone (Cover 2, 3, 4 or 6).

It isn’t perfect, but it’s the best tell a young quarterback has.

What to look for before the snap

Count the safeties. Zero, one or two deep.
Check the corners. Close to the line with eyes inside points to Cover 2. Off the ball and backing up points to Cover 3 or Cover 4.
Use motion. Someone follows the motion man? Think man coverage.
Count the box. If a safety has walked down near the line, there are more defenders up front and fewer deep. Watch for blitz and Cover 0 or Cover 1.
Pick your hole. Every coverage leaves one. Know where it is before the ball is snapped.

Want a picture of the run side too? The gap article shows where every defender fits up front. To test yourself on these right now, take the free coverage quiz: Cover 0, 1, 2 and 3, one picture at a time.

FAQ

What is the most common coverage in football?

It changes by level and by team. Cover 3 is one of the most common, especially in youth and high school football, because it protects the deep field with three players and still keeps four underneath. Cover 2, Cover 1 and Quarters all show up every week.

What does “two high” mean?

It means both safeties are deep before the snap. That usually points to Cover 2, Cover 4 or Cover 6. “One high” means a single safety in the deep middle, which usually points to Cover 1 or Cover 3.

How do I tell Cover 2 from Cover 4?

Both show two deep safeties. In Cover 2 the corners are usually close to the line, ready to take the flats. In Cover 4 the corners are usually deeper, because each one is matching the #1 receiver deep. Confirm it after the snap: if the corners stay on top of #1 and the safeties jump the #2 receivers, it’s Quarters.

See it before the snap. Read & Rip teaches every one of these coverages one picture at a time, then asks you to call them on every snap in Season Mode. Try Read & Rip free in any browser or on Google Play.