There are a few basic techniques that a defender will utilize on any given play to get into pass coverage. At the snap of the ball, the defender will try to jam the receiver, bump the receiver then. Once the receiver declares a release – inside or outside – use the off-hand jam technique. For example, if aligned on the left side of the ball and a receiver releases to the outside, open the hips and get the right hand on the receiver’s left hip. CeeDee Lamb (Oklahoma) Lamb was a dominant receiver in 2019. According to Sports Info Solutions, Lamb ranked number one last season in yards per target (14.3), yard per route run (3.9), and yards after the catch per reception (11.2). Lamb also scored the fourth-most fantasy points of all wide receivers. Flat (1): A three-step, outside breaking route usually run from inside of the numbers (slot receiver, tight end, running back) with the receiver taking a quick, vertical release and then breaking.

(Photo via si.com)

When people talk about pattern match cover-3, they either oversimplify it or talk about it in a way that makes rocket science sound simple. With Nick Saban’s wild success at Alabama, you’ll hear people throw around terms like “rip/liz” loosely and at times incorrectly. Is it zone? Is it man? It could be both.

I know it sounds confusing. However, it’s important to understand the coverage and some, but maybe not all, of its nuances if you run a similar system as a high school coach. If you are scouting players from Saban’s system or adopters of the system, you have to understand the techniques and reads that players are using because they’re not always spot dropping or using classic man-to-man techniques.

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Derrick Ansley was a defensive backs coach for Saban before taking the same position for the Oakland Raiders this year, where they’ll implement pattern matching with defensive coordinator Paul Guenther. He led a clinic about their base cover-3 at the Nike Coach of the Year clinic in 2017 and did an excellent job of breaking it down and simplifying it. I’ll be using notes from the clinic to supplement this article.

For simplicity's sake, we’ll be talking about pattern match cover-3 out of nickel, which is used more than base in today’s football because of the rise of spread offense and 11 personnel (1 back, 1 tight end, 3 wide receivers).

Positions:

CB = Cornerback

M = Mike (middle linebacker)

$ = Sam (strongside linebacker)

* = Star (nickel)

FS = Free Safety

SS = Strong Safety

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An example of a defensive call made by a coach is “flex six bail.”

“Flex” tells the front how to line up, but we aren’t discussing the front or run fits right now.

“Six” is the coverage and tells the secondary it will rotate toward the weak side.

“Bail” tells the corners what technique they are going to use. The corners will almost always cover the number one receiver, but with an emphasis on not getting beat deep. Though the coverage could turn to cover-1, they won’t be as aggressive coming up on short routes and will shuffle to make their reads and get depth.

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Saban also teaches his corners to shuffle rather than back pedal. He explains his reasoning here.

Corners could also make an “under” call if the receivers run a route underneath five yards, which will just turn the coverage into a true cover-3 zone. More on that later.

The defense will initially show a two-deep safety look. “Six” is the coverage call, so the safeties know one of them will rotate toward the weak side — they will have to identify the weak side based on the offensive formation. If they determine the weak side is on the left, they’ll make a “liz” call and the left safety will rotate to the left. If the weak side is on the right, they’ll make a “rip” call and the safety will rotate to the right.

Ansley explains, “The ‘star’ is our rover. He goes to the passing strength of the formation. The rotation takes place away from the ‘star.’” So against a 2 x 2 formation, the star and safety should be on opposite sides. The star will be on the strength of the formation while the safety will rotate to the opposite (weak) side.

Here, the right side (top of the screen) is the weak side, so the call is likely “rip match left.” The right safety (No. 15) rotates down and will “match” the slot receiver while the star will “match left.” The slot releases vertical so the safety covers him man-to-man, but attempts to stay on top of him and push him toward the seam where there is potential help from the hook player or free safety. The corner bails, but has to rally up if the receiver runs a curl.

The rip/liz safety and star could make an “under call” if the No. 2 receivers run a route under five yards or break inside under five yards, which would essentially convert that side of the defense to a regular cover-2 zone. Because the No. 2 receivers on both sides ran vertical, there was no “under” call.

Ansley explains, “If [the inside linebackers] get no under call from their side, that means the No. 1 and 2 receivers are going deep and out of his realm. If they get no under call, they concentrate on the No. 3 receiver coming out of the backfield to their side.”

The linebackers have to figure out who is going to be the “final 3” receiver. It could be a back coming out of the backfield or a receiver running into their zone from the other side of the formation.

Final 3 - third-closest receiver to the quarterback after the route distribution.

In the clip above, both the Mike (M) sees the running back on his side release toward the other side on the screen. The back should actually be the Sam’s ($) responsibility because he becomes the “final 3” receiver on the Sam’s side, but the Sam doesn’t see the back release for a screen quick enough to make a play and ends up getting blocked, which springs the play for good yardage.

“Under” call

As mentioned earlier, either the star, liz/rip safety, or corner could make an “under” call if either the No. 1 or 2 receiver runs a route shorter than five yards. Threy have to make that call within the first five yards of the route.

The inside linebackers (Mike and Sam) have to be alert for an “under” call. If they hear it, they have to play regular cover-3 zone and are “hook” defenders.

Ansley explains, “We define the hook zone as 10 yards from the line of scrimmage and 2 yards inside the hash marks.”

If the hook defenders hear “under,” they have to look for receivers who work inside and also know that they’ll have the star or rip/liz safety helping them outside for curl/flats. If the No. 2 receiver runs a wheel route, the flat defender is responsible for it.

The weak side of the formation is to the defensive right, so the defense makes a “Rip” call for the right safety to rotate down to match the No. 2 receiver. The No. 2 receiver runs an arrow route underneath five yards, so the safety makes an “under” call to convert the side into regular cover-3.

The Sam linebacker to that side gets the under call and knows he is a hook defender and has to get depth and does. He drops right into where the quarterback tries to throw the post route to the No. 1 receiver and tips the ball for an interception.

Tip for play-action recognition from Ansley:

“We tell the pass coverage units to key the uncovered linemen. We tell them that the line of scrimmage is a pane of glass. If the linemen bump the pane, that is play action pass. If he backs up from the pane, that is pass, and if he breaks through the glass, that is run. We try to get that visual picture in the head of our defensive players.”

Defending Smash

Nearly every offense has the smash (outside hitch, inside corner) concept in its playbook. Ansley says, “We have to play the smash route every week. You must learn to play it with an under call and without an under call.”

To play the combination without an “under” call, the corner and either the star or rip/liz safety would play it like cover-1.

As you can see, because the corner is bailing or shuffling out, the hitch route is left open. Saban’s philosophy has always been to let the underneath routes go and rally up and make tackles with superior athletes. Most teams would be reluctant to continually take short passes all the way down the field.

However, if a team keeps throwing the hitch, the corner could make the “under” call, which means the safety or star would buzz out to the defend the hitch while “The corner has to accelerate to make sure he can cover the flag route running up the seam,” explains Ansley.

Defending 3 x 1

Against a 3 x 1 formation (three receivers to one side and one to the other), Alabama will check to “skinny” coverage.

The corner to the one receiver side will play man to man on that receiver.

The free safety will either play the running back to his side or look for the first crosser from the other side of the formation.

The strong safety has a deep third.

The cornerback on the three receiver side has a deep third.

The Sam will push toward the No. 2 receiver.

The Mike will push toward the No. 3 receiver and carry him (play underneath him) if he crosses the field.

The weakness in the defense is either one-on-one matchup to the single receiver side, but Saban could also make a call to double a receiver with the free safety with the same look if an offense is exposing that matchup.

Another weakness is that there is no underneath coverage toward the No. 1 receiver on the three-receiver side. This is by design because offenses typically don’t throw to that receiver because of the far distance from the quarterback.

However, if they have a quarterback that could continually make the throw, Saban could call “skate,” which is the same defense, but the star will get inside of No.1 to his side rather than match No. 2 vertical or out.

Saban’s system is result of years of figuring out how offensive coordinators want to attack the weaknesses in his defense and coming up with adjustments and answers to address those weaknesses. After over 30 years of coaching, the dialectic process has shaped Saban’s pattern-match cover-3 into what it is now. There’s a lot to it, but hopefully this article gave you a better understanding of that system.

Follow Ted Nguyen on Twitter at @FB_FilmAnalysis

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Wide receiver is quietly one of the Detroit Lions’ more pressing needs.

With last year’s third receiver Anquan Boldin still a free agent (he won’t sign with a team until closer to training camp), and fourth receiver Andre Roberts signing in Atlanta, the Lions will be looking to replace their production.

Tight end Eric Ebron’s opportunities are expected to grow (possibly through the Boldin slot receiver role), and recently signed Keshawn Martin is hoping to re-spark his career, but the Lions will likely still be looking to add depth to the wide receiver position.

Will they be looking to add players who thrive in the slot? Maybe a vertical threat? A kick returner? Regardless of the role, the most important question is: which players fit what Lions general manager Bob Quinn’s is looking for?

To attempt to answer this question, I created a system called Quinn Influenced Benchmarks (QIB), which is my synthesis of Quinn’s athletic preferences.

Important QIB categories for wide receivers

With unique differences in wide receivers roles, it’s no surprise that we find wide receivers flourishing in various athletic areas.

Golden Tate wins with explosion (35-inch vertical jump, broad jump 10-foot-0), and it shows in his burst in and out of routes. Deep threats like Marvin Jones Jr, rely on vertical speed (4.46-second 40-yard dash), while slot receivers like Keshawn Martin perform well in agility drills (6.85-second three-cone, 4.13-second short shuttle).

With such a wide variance in areas of success, QIB focuses on four categories: vertical jump, broad jump, 3-cone drill and short shuttle.

While only one current Lion receiver (Keshawn Martin) fully passes all four QIB categories, it’s worth recognizing former Lions, Andre Caldwell and Jeremy Kerley, also fully passed the benchmarks. Undrafted free agent Jace Billingsly just misses fully qualifying (broad jump) and Ryan Spadola (the first player signed in the Quinn era in Detroit) misses full qualification by 1″ in the broad jump.

While passing QIB in all four areas in not required, there is a significant preference given to those who do.

Which wide receivers from the 2017 draft class are full QIB qualifiers?

Of the 80 wide receivers I have in my 2017 draft database, only eight are full QIB qualifiers and only two are likely to be selected in the first four rounds.

Jones has been on the Lions radar since before the 2016 season. A source told me, scouts visited East Carolina during the season to get a closer look at Jones.

Jones hold the FBS career reception record with 399 catches, breaking the previous mark by 44. In 2016, the highly productive receiver had 158 catches for 1746 yards.

As seen in the Matt Harmon tweet above, Jones found success by running four routes 64.3% of the time, but unsurprisingly, he found high rates of success in those routes.

Based on his play style and production, Jones best role in the NFL is likely as a “Big Slot” receiver. Boldin prospered in this role last season for Lions, and while Jones isn’t as strong as Boldin, his athleticism would immediately impact the offense.

If the Lions want a vertical threat, Reynolds has the potential to be what the Lions want Marvin Jones to be.

In the Lions Wire staff mock draft 1.0, we selected Reynolds in the fifth round, and targeted him because we believed he has day two value. Scott Bischoff expanded on why we liked him, “Great hands and size, advanced route runner, really sound in his releases to create separation, works the boundary incredibly well, decent blocker.”

Chesson’s ability to play multiple roles fits perfectly into what Bob Quinn looks for in a day three prospect.

On offense, Chesson is a deep speed vertical threat, as well as an elite blocker. He can also play in all phases on special teams, as a returner, blocker and gunner.

Chesson had his best season in 2015, where he established great chemistry with current Lions backup quarterback Jake Rudock. If Quinn is checking Chesson’s references, Rudock surely gave a glowing review.

After suffering a PCL injury in the 2016 Orange Bowl, Chesson never looked fully recovered the following season and his draft stock has suffered. Now fully healed, Chesson could be a value addition in the middle rounds.

While he still has areas of his game that need to be developed, his ability to contribute elsewhere and his QIB profile should make him appealing to the Lions. It’s worth noting the most important drill for receivers is the 3-cone, and Chesson’s 6.7 was the second fastest in the wide receiver class.

The Lions didn’t select a wide receiver in the 2016 draft, instead targeting several undrafted free agents. Even if they select a receiver in the draft this year, they will still likely bring in other players to compete for spots in training camp.

With that in mind, keep tabs on the following late round/free agent full QIB qualifiers: Jerome Lane (Akron), DeAngelo Yancey (Purdue), Michael Rector (Stanford), Isaiah McKenzie (Georgia), Krishawn Hogan (Marian, IN).

Slot Receiver Techniques Without

Partial QIB qualifiers

Players passing three of the four QIB categories are considered “partial QIB qualifiers”.

Heading this list are day two prospects, Chris Godwin (Penn State), Amara Darboh (Michigan) and Juju Smith Schuster (USC). Godwin (one of my combine winners) has wide receiver one upside, Darboh is one of the best possession receivers in the class and Smith-Schuster has some Boldin-like traits.

Day three possibilities include, Kenny Golladay (Northern Illinois), Chad Williams (Grambling) and Robert Davis (Georgia State). All three received visits from Lions offensive coaches at their pro days.

Slot Receiver Techniques Vs

QIB non-qualifiers to know

Isaiah Ford (Virginia Tech) only passed two of the four QIB’s but only missed in the agility drills by a small margin (each by 0.02). The Lions interviewed him at the combine and could be in the conversation on day two.

While North Carolina has three talented wide receivers, the Lions are most likely keeping track on Ryan Switzer who overall agility score is second best in the class.

The top overall agility score belongs to Trent Taylor (La Tech), whom the Lions offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter put through drills at his pro day.

Slot Receiver Techniques

Lastly, Tim White (Arizona State), had a private workout with Bob Quinn and Jim Caldwell in March. An explosive slot receiver and return man, White could be a undrafted free agent the Lions prioritize.