Playbooks
Quick Reference
In 11 playbooks
Breakdown
1 Double Wr2 is a Cover 1 man coverage blitz look out of the Dime 3-2-6 set, showing five defenders in press or tight man alignment across the formation with three underneath defenders spying or blitzing off the snap. The green zone bubble over the middle linebacker area combined with the diagonal blitz arrow signals a single high safety robbing the deep middle while a defender rushes off the edge or through a gap. This is a man beater designed to force the offense into quick, high percentage throws since the coverage is playing tight with only one deep safety helping over the top, and the primary read progression starts with any option or shallow crosser working against the man defenders before working to the deep middle if the single high safety bites on run action or a decoy route.
Defensive Reads
Identify pre-snap if the offense is running a bunch or stack alignment on either side, since this tight man look can get rubbed off natural picks if your defenders do not fight through traffic. Watch the single high safety depth before the snap, if he is shallow he is likely robbing an underneath route or crosser rather than staying true deep middle. Post-snap, key the tight end or slot receiver release, if he works to the flat immediately that is often the primary progression against this coverage and your nearest underneath defender needs to squeeze the throwing lane. This shell is vulnerable to double moves and deep out-and-up combos since only one safety is helping over the top, so avoid clicking off your assigned man to jump underneath routes. Blitz packages with extra rushers complement this call well since the man coverage behind it holds up better with an extra pass rusher forcing a quick throw before route combos fully develop.
Usage Tips
Call this on early downs or third and short when you expect the offense to test man coverage with a quick game or option route since the tight alignment invites picks and rubs. Check pre-snap for the single high safety cheating toward a bracket or shading a slot receiver, that tells you where the help defender is playing so you can rotate your zone drop away from the naked side. Use the flat defenders' hot routes to widen their landmarks if you anticipate a flood concept, this keeps outside leverage on wide receiver stems and prevents easy completions to the boundary. Pair this call with Cover 1 Robber Press or Cover 3 Lock in your play-calling sequence so the offense sees a similar pre-snap picture but gets a different post-snap rotation, this disguises whether you are playing true man or a robber technique underneath. Avoid calling this against heavy run personnel since the underneath defenders are locked in man reads and can be susceptible to misdirection or option routes if the running back releases late.
