Playbooks
Quick Reference
In 22 playbooks
Breakdown
Okie Roll 2 is a zone coverage defensive play out of the Dime 1-4-6 Big Dime personnel group built to defend against passing situations. The diagram shows a Cover 2 shell with two deep safeties splitting the field, two outside cornerbacks carrying vertical route responsibility, and underneath zone defenders (including the SAM and MIKE) dropping into short and intermediate zones while showing a four man rush look with arrows crashing off the edges and interior. The primary read progression for the defense starts with the two deep safeties reading quarterback eyes for the deep half throw, then works down to the underneath zone defenders squeezing any crossing routes or curls between the hashes.
Defensive Reads
Watch the two deep safeties pre-snap, if they are aligned at equal depth with a wide split, the offense may try to attack the seams between the numbers and the hashes. Key the flat defenders after the snap, since they need to widen and carry any speed out or flat routes before the ball is thrown. This play struggles against quick slant flat combos and levels concepts that attack the shallow middle before the underneath zone defenders can rotate over. Watch for user controlled linebackers or the MIKE dropping into the middle hook zone, as this closes the throwing window over the middle and forces the quarterback to hold the ball or check down. Man beater route combinations like flood concepts or four verticals can stress the deep safeties if they bite on play action, so keying the quarterback's initial drop and eye direction post-snap is critical to staying disciplined in the deep halves.
Usage Tips
Call this play on passing downs like 2nd and long or 3rd and 7 plus when you expect the offense to attack vertically. Read the offensive formation pre-snap: if you see stacked or bunch receiver sets, be ready to pass off zone matchups to your underneath defenders instead of chasing motion. Use the flat defenders to squeeze the shallow crossers and force the quarterback to hold the ball for the deep safeties to close on outside vertical shots. Combine this with Cover 2 Sink or Tampa 2 in the same set to disguise your safety depth and keep the quarterback guessing between two deep safety splits and a single high shell. Mix in Cover 4 Drop on early downs to bait shorter throws before dropping into Okie Roll 2 on definite passing downs, since both plays share the two deep safety shell but rotate underneath coverage differently.
