Cover 4 Defense
Feb 07, 2024Cover 4 defense are great for stopping deep routes on the field while also having safeties in a position to help in the run game.
Imagine the field is split into four equal parts. Four DBs are responsible for defending one of the four equal parts on the field.
They will be in dark blue zones called quarters.
They are the last line of defense in this coverage. They cannot let any offensive player get closer to the endzone than they are or it will result in an easy touchdown for the offense!
The purple zones in a cover 4 defense are called the Quarter/Flats. They are played by outside linebackers (OLBs) or DBs.
This zone will defend from the sideline to just beyond the numbers. They are responsible for helping the outside quarters with all of the short and intermediate passes thrown underneath their zone.
Curl/Flats can get anywhere from 5-12 yards of depth while defending.
The MLB will be in a yellow zone called a 3 Rec/Hook.
This zone helps out the two inside quarters with all of the short and intermediate passes thrown over the middle of the field.
They will defend from hashmark to hashmark and will get 5-10 yards of depth while defending.
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