What is Cover 1 coverage in football?
Cover 1 is man coverage with one defender kept in the deep middle and no assignment except everything behind everybody. Every other defender has a receiver and follows him wherever he goes. The one deep player is the whole point: he turns a beaten defender into a twelve-yard gain instead of a touchdown, which is why this is the man coverage most teams should actually play.
Why Cover 1 works
It forgives the mistake that decides youth games
Man coverage fails when one defender loses one receiver, and in Cover 0 that is six points. In Cover 1 the deep player is already standing where the play was going to end. The defense still gave up a completion, but it gave up a completion instead of a game.
Every route still has a body on it
This is still man coverage, so option routes, scrambles and anything improvised stay covered. A zone defense against a receiver who breaks off his route is guessing. A Cover 1 defender simply keeps running with him, and now there is somebody deep in case he wins.
The deep player becomes a ball hawk
He is the only defender on the field facing the quarterback the whole time with nobody to chase. Young players love this job, it is the easiest one to teach on any man call, and it is where most of a man-coverage team's interceptions come from.
The same insurance at five players and at eleven
One deep defender is one deep defender. The team size only changes how much he has to cover on his own.
- Five players, one deep · 5v5Five players, one deep in 5v5: Man-to-man with one safety deep, and the base every other call in this install is measured against. Four defenders take the four eligibles and the fifth plays the deep middle from twelve yards, which is what takes away the post, the fly and every scramble ball thrown over the top. Nobody rushes, and that is the trade a coach should say out loud: with four receivers and five defenders you can cover everyone and keep help deep, or you can send somebody, but you cannot do both. Tell the deep man he helps nobody and everybody. He is the last line, and nothing gets behind him.
Three defenders in man and one kept deep, with the fifth rushing. The deep player here owns the entire width of the field by himself, so he plays much deeper than instinct tells him to.
- Eleven players, one deep and one robber · 11v11Eleven players, one deep and one robber in 11v11: Man across the board with the free safety over the top and one backer sitting in the hole underneath. The four-man rush is the two ends and both outside backers, so the offense has to decide who is blocking the edge before the snap. Tell the hole player to squeeze anything crossing.
The same single-high picture, with a spare underneath defender sitting in the short middle. At this size Cover 1 leaves enough bodies over to buy help at two depths instead of one.
How to teach Cover 1 in one practice
- 1
Pick the deep player first, and pick the right one
Not your best cover defender. Your best reader and your loudest talker. He is going to stand fifteen yards back and tell everybody what he sees, and the job is judgment rather than speed.
- 2
Put him deeper than feels right
Every young deep defender lines up too shallow, because the ball is in front of him and he wants to be near it. Walk him back until he is uncomfortable, then take two more steps. Nothing is allowed to get behind him, and everything in front of him is somebody else's problem.
- 3
Point and call the man assignments out loud
Each cover defender points at his receiver and says the number. This is where man coverage of any kind actually breaks: two defenders on one player and nobody on another, decided before the snap and discovered too late.
- 4
Trail inside, and let the deep man have the top
Cover defenders play a half step behind and inside their receiver rather than trying to get in front. Inside leverage pushes every route toward the sideline, and the sideline is where your deep player has the shortest distance to run.
- 5
Rehearse the switch on crossers
Two receivers crossing close together is the one thing effort cannot beat. Both defenders shout switch and trade as they meet. Ten minutes a week against a mesh concept, every week, and it stops being a problem.
Three ways to change the picture
Turn the spare man into a robber
If you have a defender over and you do not need him rushing, stand him in the short middle facing the quarterback instead. He takes away the crossing route that man coverage hates and he is the second set of eyes on the ball. This is the single best upgrade to Cover 1 available.
Rush the spare man, and you are in Cover 0
Same coverage rules, no deep help, one more player coming. It is the aggressive version of the identical call and it is a fair halftime adjustment when the quarterback is getting too comfortable.
Add a second deep player, and you are in Cover 2 Man
Two safeties splitting the deep field instead of one in the middle. Far harder to throw deep against, and it costs you the underneath help or the rush. This is the version to reach for when their best receiver is genuinely faster than anyone you have.
What changes in your format
5v5 and NFL Flag
Three in man, one deep, one rushing. The deep player has the entire field to himself, so he plays much deeper than a coach's instinct wants, and the trade is that the short middle is wide open all game. Against a team that only throws short you are better off in a zone shell; against a team with one fast receiver this is the call.
6v6 and 7v7
This is the natural home of Cover 1 and the most common man call at this size. Five receivers covered, one deep, one rushing, and it holds up because a one-man rush still forces the ball out eventually while nobody stays open. If you play only one man coverage all season, play this one.
9v9 and 11v11
Cover 1 here is a full structure rather than a single instruction: a four-man rush, man coverage on the eligible receivers, one free safety in the deep middle, and usually a spare linebacker robbing the short middle. It is the most common man coverage in football at this size for the same reason it is at seven a side, which is that it is sound without being passive.
When not to call Cover 1
Against a team that runs the ball well
Every cover defender has his back to the ball and is running away from the line. A running play into that is a defense that finds out late. Cover 1 is a passing-down call, and against a run-first team it needs the deep player cheated up or a different shell entirely.
Against a quarterback who runs
Same problem, worse. Nobody underneath sees him leave. Any Cover 1 call needs one player specifically told to keep his eyes on the quarterback once the rush lanes collapse, or the scramble is free yards every time.
When the deep player is your slowest starter
One deep defender covers the whole width of the field, which is more ground than any other job on defense. If the player you can spare cannot cover it, Cover 1 is a lie: you have the picture of help without the help. Play a two-deep shell instead.
When crossing routes have already beaten you
If they have run mesh twice and scored twice, the answer is not more man coverage with one more safety. The answer is zone, where crossing receivers run into defenders who are standing still and facing them.
Take it to your team
Draw your plays in the free flag football play designer, collect them in the flag football playbook builder, and print printable play cards so every player knows them come Saturday.
Draw cover 1 for your own team
Open the designer, put your defense on the field, and save it to your playbook.
Open the free play designerRelated questions
What does Cover 1 mean in football?
Is Cover 1 man or zone?
What is the difference between Cover 1 and Cover 3?
Who should play the deep safety in Cover 1?
How do you beat Cover 1?
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Coach Ray Carroll
Coaches 5v5 flag football from kindergarten through 7th grade in San Mateo and San Carlos, California, and built RC Football to design, teach and print the plays his own teams run.