Cover 3 Cloud

Read the flat defender rolling down presnap, if the corner shows cloud technique that tells the offense the boundary flat and quick game are taken away, so key on whether the quarterback resets to the opposite side. Watch the two underneath yellow zone defenders, their depth and width tell you if the play is vulnerable to seam routes or crossing patterns that split the hook zones. This shell is strong against man beater combinations like slants and outs because of the extra flat help, but it can be exposed by high low stretches on the underneath defenders or by deep comebacks against a corner playing too much cloud technique. Look for the deep third safeties biting on double moves, since Cover 3 Cloud sacrifices some deep speed help to load the flat, making it susceptible to skinny posts or deep crossers attacking the middle third. Blitz packages or run heavy formations can exploit the rolled down corner if the offense reads run first, so track linebacker fits quickly if the play flips to run support.