Spread passing offenses will typically see some variation of cover 4, whether it be true cover 4 or some type of pattern match coverage. These 5 passing concepts will help your offense beat cover 4 coverage and 2 high safety defenses altogether. These concepts are true progression concepts that will put horizontal and vertical stress on multiple defenders in coverage. Here are a few must have pass concepts to beat cover 4 defenses.
5 Must Have Pass Concepts to Beat Cover 4 Defense
Post – Dig – Shallow (Mills)
This is a great concept against 2 high structure teams that also play cover 4. I like to think of this concept as having two layers of hi/low action, which happens on the near safety and ILB. If you want to add horizontal stress on the OLB then you can put the back into the flat on a shoot route to influence him into the flat. That will open the window for the shallow cross as he approaches the opposite tackle. If you’re looking for pass concepts to beat cover 4, then this is a good place to start.
| X | Go route. Best release off the line of scrimmage depending on the depth and alignment of the corner |
| A | Shallow cross. Run 1-3 yards and expect the football early if there is pressure. IF there is no pressure from ILB’s, then you must cross the centerline as fast as possible, expecting the football between ILB and OLB. |
| Y | Outside release on “R” to move him horizontally and create more space when breaking in at the top of the route. Great route runners can make the break in their first stem at 10 yards, gain ground over the middle to 12 yards before getting flat. Others can square cut at 12 yards. Don’t run through open windows. Find space in grass and expect the football |
| Z | 7 step post. Must win inside on the Corner to get inside release on the break point. |
| Q | Progression 1 – Post, 2 – Dig, 3 Shallow. Pre snap Alert X on a Go route if Corner is under 7 yards and it’s a + matchup. Key the near safety on the 3 step drop, if he pedals into his 1/4, then hitch and look for the dig. If his eyes are on the dig and he’s sitting on the route, throw the post. If ILB robs the dig in the Hook/Curl then reset feet and throw the shallow cross. |
Drive Concept
If you run Post – Dig – Shallow out of 2×2, then you have to implement the drive concept out of 3×1. You can get a lot of mileage out of these routes just by lining up in a different formation. The same progression applies in this concept, but now the shallow cross is coming from the same side of the progression.
I tell my WR running the shallow cross to slow play off the LOS to buy himself time. If he’s catching the football then he’s going to catch it on the same side of the centerline (imaginary line down the center of the football splitting the box in half). We are trying to put a hi/low combination on the near safety and near inside linebacker. If the shallow cross hurries and crosses the centerline, then he’s not affecting the near inside linebacker who will be working to sit under the dig route. If you’re WR’s have a hard time slow playing off the LOS to naturally buy time for themselves, then this route can turn into a whip route to clean up the timing of the route.
| X | Go route. Best release off the line of scrimmage depending on the depth and alignment of the corner |
| A | Slow play shallow cross. Foot fire off the LOS while bleeding to the outside. Once you see Y get vertical past the OLB (“R”), work under his route and under the “R”. Expect the football Immediately after working in if there is pressure. |
| Y | Vertical and outside release on “R” (if R is mid point between A and Y, then get vertical without an outside release). Great route runners can make the break in their first stem at 10 yards, gain ground over the middle to 12 yards before getting flat. Others can square cut at 12 yards. Don’t run through open windows. Find space in grass and expect the football |
| Z | 7 step post. Must win inside on the Corner to get inside release on the break point. |
| Q | Progression 1 – Post, 2 – Dig, 3 – Shallow. Pre snap Alert X on a Go route if Corner is under 7 yards and it’s a + matchup. Key the near safety on the 3 step drop, if he pedals into his 1/4, then hitch and look for the dig. If his eyes are on the dig and he’s sitting on the route, throw the post on 3rd step. If the post is taken by the safety and the ILB robs the dig in the Hook/Curl, then reset feet and throw the shallow cross. |
Dagger Concept
This is a great way to get your #1 WR’s involved in the intermediate pass game. There is still elements of post-dig-shallow, but again we are changing how we are attacking the defense with the route responsibilities. You can also utilize the back in this concept to widen the OLB by putting him into the flat with a shoot route or swing route. You can even use him on a wheel route to attack the deep 1/4 if you have a really speedy back who can cover ground from the backfield. Once again you can put the back into the flat on the right to pull the OLB into the flats. That will create more space for the shallow cross to catch the football if the LB gets depth in his drop and sits under the dig route.
| X | Go route. Best release off the line of scrimmage depending on the depth and alignment of the corner |
| A | Shallow cross. Run 1-3 yards and expect the football early if there is pressure. IF there is no pressure from ILB’s, then you must cross the centerline as fast as possible, expecting the football between ILB and OLB. |
| Y | Route will depend on the number of safeties and if middle of the field is open (MOFO) or if middle of field is closed (MOFC). If MOFO then we want to attack the middle of the field with a 7 step post. If MOFC then we will run a slot fade to put horizontal stress on the OLB and vertical stress on the Corner. |
| Z | This route takes a lot of patience. There are a lot of WR’s that are so eager to get open and catch the ball that they cut their route short and don’t sell the vertical stem off the line of scrimmage. When they do this, they don’t get behind the 2nd level defenders and are not able to show up for the QB in the open windows. Sell the vertical stem and make it look like a go route. Eat up the Corner’s space before breaking the stem at 10 yards as you work 45 degrees inside until 12 yards. Get flat at 12 yards and start anticipating the ball being thrown in the open window (between OLB and near ILB). |
| Q | Same progression working 1 – Post (slot fade), 2- Dig, 3 – Cross. Pre snap Alert X on a Go route if Corner is under 7 yards and it’s a + matchup. Key the near safety on the 3 step drop, if he pedals into his 1/4, then hitch and look for the dig. If his eyes are on the dig and he’s sitting on the route, throw the post. If ILB robs the dig in the Hook/Curl then reset feet and throw the shallow cross. |
Double Post Cross
The main reason why I like this concept is because of the two posts opening up space for the deep cross working from the other side of the field. Essentially the two posts are cutting the top off the cover 4 defense for the deep crosser to come open as Safety and Corner are occupied with each post. It’s a long way to travel for the slot WR working the deep cross, so it’s best to have that be your fastest WR whether he plays the slot, or you motion him to that position pre-snap.
| X | Burst corner. 45 degree inside release for 4 steps, vertical for 4 steps and then break back at 45 degrees on the corner route. |
| A | Deep Cross over the LB and work to get 18-20 yards to the opposite hash. |
| Y | 7 step post. Inside release on OLB and attack inside pad of the near safety. |
| Z | 9 step post. Inside release on CB and work to get skinny and over the top of the Safety. |
| Q |
Another variation of this concept that will change the progression is to put the back into the flat on the left. This now creates a Smash concept with the deep cross, as A still has his Cross, X on the burst corner and T into the flat on the shoot. QB’s primary progression would be 1 – Cross, 2 – Burst Corner, 3 – Shoot.
Double Post Wheel
Similar to the concept above, this pass concept will beat cover 4 defense by occupying Safety and Corner with Double Post in hopes of creating space for the Wheel Route from the #3 WR. This is a great concept because we are putting 4 routes to one side of the field and are neutralizing the defense’s man advantage (Distributing 4 routes against 4 defenders — Safety, Corner, OLB, ILB). On top of that, we are putting 3 vertical routes to one side of the field where there are only two defenders responsible for vertical space (Safety in his 1/4 and Corner in his 1/4). Think of it like a 3 on 2 fast break in basketball.
Most likely the OLB will carry #3 vertical on the wheel in quarters, and most offensive coaches will take that matchup when it comes to a speedy slot WR running vertical with a linebacker. If OLB happens to take away the wheel, then the RB into the flat should come open nicely as the ILB has to push hard to become the new “flat defender”. That’s a matchup that every offensive coach would take on any given day.
This double post concept has the perfect blend of vertical and horizontal stress and putting multiple defenders in conflict with space they are responsible for covering.
| X | Burst corner. 45 degree inside release for 4 steps, vertical for 4 steps and then break back at 45 degrees on the corner route. Occupy near safety with your route to create more space for the inside post. |
| A | Wheel route. This is not a chair route, do not look back at the QB as you work to the flat. Keep your shoulders downfield as much as possible while getting outside Y and Z on their post. Start working top of the numbers to bottom of the numbers if the ball is in the middle of the field. |
| Y | 7 step post. Inside release on OLB and attack inside pad of the near safety. |
| Z | 9 step post. Inside release on CB and work to get skinny and over the top of the Safety. |
| Q | Work inside – out in the progression. 1 – inside post, 2 – outside post, 3 – Wheel, 4 – Shoot. Use the Burst Corner as a pre-snap matchup if Corner is Down and Safety if shaded away from the Single WR. |
Pass Concepts to Beat Cover 4 Defenses
These pass concepts are almost enough for any coordinator to base their entire drop back pass game against a 2 high structure. WR’s can get a lot of reps running posts and digs since you’re now able to use these to attack the defense from anywhere on the field. There is also a lot of carry over from one concept to the next, which can help build consistency with QB’s progression and more quality route running. Hopefully this has been helpful for coaches out there looking for pass concepts to beat cover 4 defenses next season.