Great article on the basics of man to man D (from a former player) LINK FIXED

[MightyGiants]

A Defender’s Look At Man Defense
Man-to-man coverage in the NFL has taken a back seat lately because of the emergence of the Tampa 2 defense and zone-blitzing schemes. But as pressure defense becomes popular again, man-to-man defense is going to make a comeback.

The Pre-Snap Read

As a defender is the NFL, you can gain an advantage by knowing and understanding how a wide receiver’s pre-snap alignment affects the route he’s going to run. This is gained in film study throughout the week leading up to the game, and it’s something that every good defender must know to succeed at the NFL level.

Pro defensive backs look at the football field like grid, using the numbers and the hash marks as landmarks.  Where a receiver aligns as it pertains to the field is the first thing a good defensive back looks at once he leaves the huddle.

Aligned outside the numbers? OK, you can expect an inside release and an inside breaking route — such as a slant, an underneath crossing route or a dig route (square in). You know this as a defender because there isn’t enough room outside the numbers for a receiver to work with, so you can align to the inside and prepare for a route that breaks back into the field — toward the football, and a shorter throw for the quarterback. T.O. made a living doing this in Philly.


Aligned inside of the numbers? Well, you can expect something that’s going to come back across the field, as is always expected with a reduced split. Remember, he’s aligned inside the numbers for a reason, as offenses use the landmarks on the field as much as the defense does. That receiver is most likely going to run underneath the linebackers, and that equals a long run for the defender. Think of Anquan Boldin and the Cardinals. Get the ball to the receiver on the run with field to work with.

Obviously, there are instances when offenses break their tendencies, but most often, if you study the film, you know exactly what they’re going to do before the ball is snapped.

But that doesn’t mean you’re going to stop it — which I hardly ever did.


MORE AT THIS LINK

http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/2009/03/a-defenders-look-at-man-defense/

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[Painter]

I don't know that we can anticipate more man-coverage in the future. The use of Covers 2 and 3 Zone defense has grown largely because there are so few DBs who can consistently cover the bigger, faster WRs who have entered the league in the past 15-20 years. Zone defenses are designed to prevent the big play off a deep throw.

The advantage of a Zone defense in that regard is that the DBs are able to keep some distance from the receivers, face forward and follow the ball whereas in man-coverage the CBs are blind to where the ball is going until the last second. The disadvantage of zone is that it allows some open areas usually in the middle of the field. The Tampa 2 variant of the standard Cover 2 Zone is designed to better defend the middle area in front of the Safeties by dropping the MLB fifteen yards deep. The Colts, Bears, Vikings, Chiefs and Lions have played it that way. But it takes an MLB with above average speed and agility to do it well. And it requires DB who are a bit smarter and faster, at least quicker, and who are especially good tacklers.

Many 3-4 teams like the Cows, Chargers, and Bills play a base Cover 2 Zone. The Fire Zone blitzing, 3-4 Steelers more often play zone in a Cover 3. And so have the Giants in many of their zone blitz packages under Spags.

The more teams adopt a 3-4, the more zone behind it we are likely to see.  That's not to say that we haven't already seen more man coverage, as we have more recently with the Giants. But I think the main reason for it is not so much because of an increase in "pressure" defenses as it is an effort to disguise the coverage. Obviously, man coverage can be riskier if you aren't able to pressure and hurry the QB. But pressure is the objective of all teams whether they favor zone or m2m coverage based on their personnel.

The Giants have tended to switch back and forth between zone and man when playing in a Cover 2 shell ( two deep Safeties).  It helps disguise their intentions both in terms of coverage and blitz pressures.  In fact, they sometimes run counter to  traditional pre-snap alignments.  It used to be that we could anticipate whether a defense was playing man or zone by where the CB was positioned relative to a WR. If he was up tight on his man, or playing off and inside the the WR's shoulder, he probably was playing Man. If he was back and lined up on the receivers outside shoulder, he likely was playing Zone. There even was a time when he would follow his man across the field if he went in motion. But no more.

If we see more man coverage, it will be by teams who have above average cover Corners, and by more teams who seek an advantage by mixing coverage in a Cover 2 shell to better disguise it.

Cheers!   

[spiderblue43]

Mighty & Painter,

Great stuff. Very enlightening.