Cover 4 Palms

Pre-snap, check safety depth and alignment. Two safeties sitting at depth with corners loosened off the line signals quarters or palms leverage, which tips off your route concept adjustments before the snap. Watch the flat defenders (corners) closely at the snap. Their initial hard jab step toward the flat tells you the defense is reading number two and squeezing outside stems, so hi-lo route combos with a flat and corner route from the same side can stress that conflict. Post-snap, key the linebackers underneath. If they widen or sink late into their hook/curl zones, drag routes and shallow crossers sitting behind them create YAC opportunities against slower zone drops. This coverage struggles against quick option routes and stick concepts that attack the flat defender's conflict between run support and the pass, so option routes and RB flares can exploit the seam before the corner fully commits. It shuts down four verticals and deep ball attempts since the quarter defenders have inherent deep help, so avoid forcing throws to the boundary numbers when you see the safeties holding depth pre-snap and the corners softening their outside leverage.