Single high is the counterpart to a 2 high formation (middle field open). Single high is very easy to identify with the prominent feature being the single high safety. In my first article I covered a split safety coverage. In this next article the language will remain the same, the biggest difference will be that I will be covering the check calls that defenses employ to roll out of 2 high safeties into 1 high.
Another prominent feature is since there is an extra defender in the box, that defender will be the extra Hook defender underneath. The obvious advantage of an extra defender is the ability to stay extra sound against the run, allowing for the defensive linemen up front to 1 gap with the hook defenders filling the leftover gaps in the interior. This 1 gap assignment scheme also allows to spill inside zone runs to the outside where the Apex and corners can kill the play. The 2 hook defenders also can take better angles to both sides of the formation in order to have an open pursuit to the ball carrier.
The basic 1 high coverage call is the much revered “Cover 1” also known as “Man free” and “1 Rat”. Now usually when I used to refer to Cover 1, it would be seen as cover 1 man, which is just simple man coverage across the board. This coverage call is more so of a zone scheme, maybe even man matching zone. The reasoning is how to handle the underneath calls to receivers that run 5 yards underneath cross field routes.
We will go over each defender’s assignment now, but before that, I need to explain the Rat defender assignment against a 2 by 2 offensive formation.
The Rat defender is usually the Hook defender that has no coverage assignment, against 2 by 2 offensive formations the strong hook is the Rat defender and against 3 by 1 the hook to the weak side (Weak Hook) is the Rat. The Rat defender (RD) is just the defender that backpedals to the 10 yard mark and reads the quarterbacks eyes and intentions. The RD is in charge of robbing anything over the middle but below the Deep Safety. It can also be seen as the QB spy, usually in a QB spy assigment that’s seen as a soft rusher used to hunt QB’s that are known to be mobile, think of Kyler Murray for example of an assignment for a spy, not exactly the same role but similar.
Vs 2 by 2:
Strong Corner: He plays man to man on the #1 receiver unless the receiver runs underneath across the formation, if so the strong corner will yell “Rat! Rat!” where the strong hook (The RD) will pick up the crosser. The strong corner will now become the new RD where he will be at around the 10 yard line reading the QB’s eyes and robbing routes underneath.
Strong Apex: Man to man on the #2 receiver UNLESS! the #2 runs less than 5 yards underneath crosser, the strong apex will then yell “Rat! Rat!” and After the strong hook picks up the crosser the Apex will become the new RD doing the responsibilities.
Strong Hook: The strong hook takes the #3 (usually the RB in the backfield) if he releases to his side, if not he will be the RD, backpedaling to around the 10 yard line (from the QB) reading his eyes and intentions while looking to rob any route to over the middle. If he hears a “Rat! Rat!” call from the corner or apex, he works to pick up the crossing route.
Weak Hook: He is the RD to the weak side, backpedaling and reading the QB intentions while looking to rob any route over the middle. If he hears the “Rat!” call by the Weak Apex or Weak Corner, The Weak Hook then picks up the route by whoever made the Rat call.
Weak Apex: Man to man on the #2 receiver to the weak side, unless the receiver runs an underneath crosser less than 5 yards across the offensive formation, which at that point he will yell “Rat! Rat!” then passes the route off to the Weak Hook and takes over as the new RD.
Weak Corner: By this time you can already figure out that the weak corner is just a mirror of the strong corner, he’s responsible for the #1 to his side man to man. Again if the receiver releases underneath less than 5 yards then the weak corner yells “Rat! Rat!” to the Weak Hook, after which he will become the new Rat defender to the weak side.
Deep Safety: The deep safety’s responsibility is to essentially midpoint the #2 receivers from both the strong and weak side. He is to read the releases of both taking whichever goes vertical, if no player does then he robs any vertical posts by any of the #1 receivers.
Here’s a look:
Against 3 by 1 looks the rules are slightly different pertaining to just the Hook defenders. For the sake of simplicity, I’ll go over the positions that are different while the positions listed below all have the same responsibilities as before:
- Strong Corner
- Strong Apex
- Weak Corner
- Deep Safety
We’ll start with the Strong Hook, he’s responsible for the #3 if he releases to his side unless the #3 runs under less than 5 yards, he will then yell “Rat! Rat!” passing the route off and becoming the new RD to the weak side.
Weak Hook: the Weak Hook is responsible for the running back if he releases to the flat on the strong side, if he doesn’t then he plays as the RD UNLESS he gets the Rat call from the strong side in which then he will pick up any of the crossers from the strong side that are from the #1, #2, or #3 receivers.
Weak Apex: He is responsible for the running back if he releases to the flat on the weak side, if the running back does not release then he becomes the RD to the weak side. He still has to listen for any “Rat” calls from the weak corner, but also be aware of any crossers by the #1, #2, #3 coming from the strong side of the formation.
The difference between cover 1 defending the 2 by 2 formation and 3 by 1 is just bumping responsibilities of who the RD’s will be, from the Hook defenders to the Weak Hook and Apex. This is done because the strong side now has 3 eligible receivers, which can always happen with the offense motioning before the snap in order to get a numbers advantage to the strong side.
I have examples of the Arizona Cardinals defense hook defenders being employed to be the RD’s.
Note: this does not mean that the coverage call was cover 1.
Lastly, there are checks that can be done in 2 high in order to adjust to what the offense is doing formation-wise OR to disguise what you’re doing on defense. I will go through each check rapid fire because all these checks involve is 1 safety coming down to bump a defender over, this can also bump defenders inside or outside.
1 Sky:
The Strong safety comes down to become the Strong Apex, the Former Apex bumps over to become the Strong Hook.
Advantage: This is a check call against 21-12 personnel to move the linebacker, who is on the slot, back in the box.
Example: this is like Budda or Jalen coming down and moving Isaiah or Zaven back to the box.
1 Buzz:
The Strong Safety comes down to become the Strong Hook bumping the original Hook to become the Strong Apex.
Advantage: This is a risky call as making this call means your linebacker that was the Hook Defender before (this is on a 3 by 1 formation as you see in the picture above) in coverage is now lined up against a slot receiver. Thus this call is made if you have a good coverage linebacker. This is usually used as a bait call when the offense recognizes 2 high giving the illusion of a light box, so then offenses can check into a run only for the safety to come down on run support right before the snap.
Example: Budda coming down and bumping Isaiah to the slot, since Budda is a good run defender and Isaiah is good in coverage linebacker.
1 Robber:
The Weak Safety comes down to play the Weak Hook bumping the former Hook to play the Weak Apex position.
Advantage: Another check call right before the snap, this is done to disrupt blocking schemes by the offensive line, but unfortunately it places a linebacker in coverage so having a good coverage linebacker is essential.
Example: Jalen Thompson bumping Ben Neimann out to cover the attached Tight End or Running Back from the backfield.
1 Weak:
Normally against 2 by 2 formations, the Weak Safety bumps the Weak Apex (normally a linebacker on this call) to the Weak Hook, the safety is now the Weak Apex.
Advantage: This is simply a call to free up the linebacker from being in coverage and moving him back to the box.
Example: Jalen or Budda coming down to bump Zaven or Neimann back in the box.
1 Invert:
This next call involves both safeties, one or the other is coming down and it depends on the offensive formation and which side the running back is on.
Against a 2 by 2 formation with the Running Back to the strong side, the Weak Safety comes down to play the Weak Apex bumping the linebacker back to the box.
Against a 3 by 1 formation with the Running Back to the weak side, the Strong Safety comes to play the Strong Hook position bumping the linebacker or slot corner (nickel) back in coverage on the Slot WR. This is to ensure that the safety is lined up across the Tight End.
Example: Placing Budda or Jalen in coverage against the tight end (like the 2019 Holloween game against the 49ers when Budda was in coverage on George Kittle).
1 Funnel:
Same concept as Invert when handling the 2 different offensive formations
This does the complete opposite of Invert, this places the linebacker to be in coverage against the Tight End, against 2 by 2 the Strong Safety comes down to become the Strong Hook bumping the Linebacker to the Strong Apex to be in coverage.
Against 3 by 1, the Weak Safety comes down to play the Weak Apex bumping the Linebacker back to the box. Once again this places best coverage linebacker into coverage. It also creates confusion against offenses that think they have keyed in on a weakness. This is a viable option against RPO’s as linebackers typically are better at blowing up WR screens where they have the size advantage.
Example: Budda or Jalen bumping Isaiah or Zaven in coverage against a Tight End.
1 Clue:
This check call brings the opposing Safety on the opposite side of where the running back is aligned, down to the box to become the Strong Hook. Just like Buzz, the defense wants to give the illusion that there aren’t enough defenders in the box right before the safety crashes down.
Advantage: Moving the linebacker into the Apex position can help the edge crash on the running back if he is handed the ball in an RPO call. The linebacker is also now in a better position to scrape outside in the case that the QB keeps the ball and just like funnel, the linebacker is in better position to handle WR Screens.
1 Alert:
When an offense has a move Tight End/H-back or fullback used in the run scheme (cough cough San Fran), a common call out of 2 high is to have the safety opposite of that moving player to come down when said player is motioned. Whoever gets replaced by the Safety just bumps into the box. The idea is to counter what the offense is doing, by motioning a blocker over that creates an extra gap to account for, which is why bringing the Safety down to that side is a great way to counter.
Advantage: This is a great way to counter a motion-heavy zone scheme, as motioning lead blockers creates extra gaps that the defense has to fit. It’s ideal for taking advantage of teams that think a defense is staying in 2 high to make this check often. The safeties are also in prime position to counter the run scheme.
1 Mirror:
1 Mirror is just simply man coverage across the board with a Safety playing mirror technique on the QB. This is used to counter a mobile QB who is athletic enough to scramble for yards and this is typically a 3rd down call.
1 Cross: It’s the same defensive look and also called on third downs, this time the safety is coming down to play the RD at the sticks. This places the Safety in good positions to rob anything over the middle at the sticks.
Advantage: If you have a Safety that’s capable of playing the role of QB spy or RD, it’s a great answer on 3rd down to neutralize a mobile QB. It is also good on short over the middle throws.
1 Double Jersey#:
A Bill Belichick staple, one that sits in the Hall of Fame as we speak, and a play that should be in every defensive coordinators playbook. 1 Double Jersey # is a weapon deployed to shut down the opposing teams number 1 receiver. This play call typically has the Number 1 Corner defending the number 2 receiver and the number 2 Corner on the teams best wide receiver. The number 2 receiver will have Safety help hence the name “1 Double Jersey #”. If a team uses motion for favorable matchups, then the safety on that side the receiver motioned to is now the double team safety.
Advantage: It’s a great way to game plan against teams that have a great WR 1 but lack a good WR 2, like in the instance where the defense is trying to make the offense beat them by means of targeting the number 2 receiver. It is especially hard if the team implements the plan of having the number 1 corner on the number 2 wideout, so by that time it’s gonna come down to a career game by the running back, tight end, or number 3 wideout.
1 Shoot:
Last but not least, 1 Shoot is the final cover 1 check call, this call is simply one side of the field will play triangle coverage (zone), while the other side of the field will play straight man coverage. It’s actually a great way to effectively counter an offensive game plan that is targeting one side of the field heavily. Most QB’s are strong against 1 type of coverage, so this brings the best of both worlds.
In conclusion, these calls are made in a 2 high structure. It’s essential to have safeties that are disciplined in not showing the hand too quickly (so to speak) so timing is very important, which is why practice and live snaps are the way to gain experience pulling off these checks into Cover 1.
We have the personnel to excel this year, and after the draft, we sure hope we get reinforcements. At the end of the day, it’ll come down to the players and coaches. Next up is Full Field Coverages.
Thank you for the time you spend reading my articles, it means the world to me.
