Football 101: Basic Defensive Coverages

A new(ish) series we’ll put out each Sunday morning to help get you – not that you needed it – into a football mindset. A basic Football 101 series that will look at a concept or scheme with the intention of making you a smarter football fan.

We’re back talking defense today and taking a broad look to basic defensive coverages. We’re not going to get bogged down with some of the intricacies of coverage – not this time, at least – but keep it simple with the five main types of shells/coverages you’ll see from a defense. Cover 0, Cover 1, Cover 2, Cover 3, and Cover 4.

As a general rule of thumb, the number after the word “cover” tells you how many zone defenders are playing the shell. Cover 1…