Playbooks
Not in any team playbook.
Cover 1 Hole Press is a man coverage defensive play out of the 3-3 Will Nickel set that puts press man on the outside corners with a robber or hole defender sitting in the middle of the field underneath. The linebackers and nickel defender lock up on their assignments while the free safety plays true center field, and the "hole" defender squats in the intermediate zone to take away in cuts, drags, and crossing routes that usually torch man coverage. The primary read for the defense is the hole defender diagnosing the quarterback's eyes first, then the underneath man defenders trusting their press technique long enough for the deep safety to help over the top on any vertical shots.
Pre-snap, check if the offense bunches receivers or stacks the formation, since that can create natural picks against the press corners and force the hole defender to widen Watch the free safety depth before the snap, if he is shaded to one side the quarterback may attack the opposite hash on a deep out or comeback route Post-snap, key the quarterback's shoulder turn to find the hole defender's drop, he should be sitting on any in breaking route that crosses the middle of the field This shell gets exposed by rub routes and pick concepts at the line since press corners can get tangled up in traffic, losing their man before the safety can rotate over Verticals from a true number one receiver against a press corner can win downfield if the corner does not get a clean jam, so watch for the deep safety cheating late to help
Call this out of the 3-3 Will Nickel when you expect quick game or shallow crossers, since the hole defender is designed to jump in cuts and mesh concepts before the quarterback can reset his eyes
Trust the press corners to disrupt the release on outside verticals and comebacks, but be ready to spot a user coming off a blitz assignment late to rob a curl or flat
Use this on early downs or third and medium when offenses lean on drag and slant combos, since the underdneath robber negates most quick man beaters
Pair it in a sequence with Cover 1 Robber and Cover 1 Robber Press so the offense cannot key on hole defender depth or leverage from formation alone
Mix in Cover 1 LB Blitz or FS Will Blitz 0 from the same set after running this a few times, forcing the quarterback to hold the ball against press corners while disguising when extra pressure is coming