Playbooks
Quick Reference
Breakdown
Cover 1 Contain is a man coverage defensive play out of the 46 Normal formation's Base 4-3 personnel. The diagram shows five underneath defenders in press or short man alignment (marked with X icons) spread across the formation, four defensive linemen dropping straight downhill at the snap for a four man rush, and a single deep safety (the blue oval) rotating to the middle of the field for center field help. The brown circle with an attached defender indicates a spy or contain rusher assignment, keeping outside leverage to prevent quarterback scrambles and shutting off the edge on rollouts. This is a man beater killer, built to lock down receivers with tight man coverage underneath while the deep safety erases any vertical shot down the middle.
Defensive Reads
Watch for trips or bunch formations pre snap, since your man defenders will need to navigate through traffic and rub routes can create separation against tight coverage. Post snap, key the quarterback's eyes to identify which receiver he is locking onto, then user your closest defender to jump the route since underneath defenders in man coverage are vulnerable to double moves if you bite too early. This play beats teams that rely on man beater route concepts like slants, drags, and out breaking routes since the single high safety only helps on deep shots, not intermediate crossers. Look out for scramble drills against the contain rusher, if the quarterback escapes the pocket, spy him and force him to throw on the run rather than letting him find running lanes. This play struggles against pick plays and rub concepts out of bunch or stack formations, so if you see those pre snap alignments, consider audibling to a zone match play like Cover 3 Match instead.
Usage Tips
Call this play on passing downs when you expect the offense to attack with double moves or deep crossers, since the single high safety cleans up busts over the top.
Check the offensive formation pre snap and look for stacked or bunch releases, since press man corners can get picked, so consider bumping your corners off the line if you see a bunch set.
Use the contain rusher assignment to bait mobile quarterbacks into stepping up into your interior rush instead of escaping the pocket on play action rollouts.
Pair this play with Cover 1 Hole in your call sheet to disguise the middle read, since both show similar shells pre snap but Cover 1 Hole adds a robber defender for extra protection against slants and digs.
Best used on third and medium to long situations where the offense is more likely to test man coverage with route combos designed to beat man to man matchups.
Other Plays in Normal
Cover 1 HoleCover 1, Cover 1 Hole, Man Coverage
Cover 2 InvertCover 2, Inverted Coverage, Zone Coverage
Cover 3Cover 3, Zone Coverage
Cover 3 MatchCover 3, Cover 3 Match, Zone Coverage
Engage EightRun Stop
Fire Zone 3Cover 3, Zone, Blitz +3
Inside BlitzBlitz
Rush OutsideLine Stunt- Zone BlitzZone, Blitz, Zone Blitz +1