Playbooks

Cover 4 Quarters

Dime·2-3-6·Big Dime 4-1-6

Cover 4 Quarters Zone Coverage

Play diagram for Cover 4 Quarters from Dime 2-3-6 in Madden 27

Quick Reference

FormationDime

Set2-3-6

Personnel

Big Dime 4-1-62 EDGE2 DTMIKE3 CBFS2 SS

In 49 playbooks

3-4 DefenseDefense Bears DefenseDefense Bills DefenseDefense Broncos DefenseDefense Cardinals DefenseDefense Chargers DefenseDefense Colts DefenseDefense Cowboys DefenseDefense Eagles DefenseDefense Falcons DefenseDefense Franchise Defense QuartersworldDefense Giants DefenseDefense

Breakdown

Cover 4 Quarters out of the Big Dime 4-1-6 aligns four deep defenders in quarter zones with three underneath zone droppers, splitting the field into even quarters to take away the deep pass first. The two outside deep defenders (purple ellipses) sink and widen to their sideline quarters while the two remaining deep defenders bail into the middle quarters, and the underneath zone defenders (blue ellipses with X markers) drop to their landmarks in the shallow and intermediate zones to wall off crossers. The lone MLB (green ellipse) spins to a shallow middle zone with eyes on the QB, and the rush lanes (red arrows) show a standard four man rush with no blitz sent. This is a pure zone defense designed to prevent explosive plays over the top, and the primary defensive read progression starts with reading the QB drop and eyes, then working from deep quarters down to intermediate crossers, and finally to the shallow check-down zone.

Defensive Reads

Watch the two deep purple zone defenders first, since they key on any receiver running a vertical stem past twelve yards and will sink to take away corner routes and deep posts. If the offense runs four verticals, trust the quarter defenders to funnel receivers to the sideline and squeeze the seam, but be ready to user the safety over any receiver who breaks toward the post for a leverage advantage. Man beater route combos like slot fades or double moves off play action will not hurt this shell nearly as much as they hurt Cover 2 Man or Cover 1, since every deep defender has zone help on both sides. This coverage is vulnerable to quick game and RPO concepts underneath, so if the offense comes out in bunch or trips looking to attack the shallow zones with speed outs or slants, get an early jump with the underneath zone defenders and consider a nano blitz on early downs to disrupt the quick throw timing. Post snap, watch for the MLB spinning late into his shallow zone drop, since a hesitant user there opens a throwing lane for drag routes and check-downs that can move the chains against this call.

Usage Tips

Call this on early downs or anytime you suspect a vertical shot play, since Cover 4 Quarters is built to shut down four verticals and deep post shots before anything else.

Pre-snap, identify if the offense has bunched or stacked receivers trying to create natural picks against your zone landmarks, and be ready to bump your underneath defenders with the right stick to jump likely crossing routes.

Use this play to bait the CPU or opponent into throwing intermediate digs and out routes, since your underneath zone defenders sit in those windows, then user the MLB to rob any shallow drag or check-down.

Pair this call with Cover 3 Match or Cover 3 Buzz Match on the next snap so the offense cannot get a clean pre-snap read on whether they are facing quarters or thirds, forcing hesitation on their route conversions.

On third and long, alternate this with Cover 9 Show 2 or Cover 6 to disguise the deep shell while still keeping two high safety help over the top against double moves.