Glossary

Every term in the guide, grouped by section.

Defensive fronts

• 4-3 Base — 4 down linemen · 3 linebackers
• 4-3 Wide 9 — Ends aligned way outside the tight end
• Leo — Weakside edge rusher · 4-3 Under
• 3-4 Base — 3 down linemen · 4 linebackers
• Nickel 4-2-5 — 5 defensive backs
• Nickel 3-3-5 — 3 linemen · 3 stacked backers · 5 DBs
• Dime 4-1-6 — 6 defensive backs
• 46 Defense — Bear look — 8 in the box
• Goal line 6-2 — Six down · two backers
• Goal line 5-3 — Five down · three backers

Front alignments

• Even fronts — 4 down linemen
• Odd fronts — 3 down linemen
• Over front — Even front shifted to the strong side
• Under front — Even front shifted to the weak side
• Bear front — 46 alignment — both guards covered
• Tite front — Mint — 4i-0-4i
• Defensive line techniques — The 0–9 numbering system

Coverage shells

• Man coverage — Every defender locks onto a receiver
• Zone coverage — Defenders guard areas, not players
• Cover 1 — One deep safety · man underneath
• Cover 2 — Two deep safeties · five underneath
• Cover 3 — Three deep · four underneath
• Cover 4 — Quarters
• Cover 6 — Quarter-quarter-half
• Cover 9 — Rip/Liz match · 3-deep match
• Cover 3 Sky — Safety down · force player
• Cover 3 Cloud — Corner down · bracket the star
• Cover 3 Buzz — Backer buzzes · secondary stays deep
• Cover 2 Man — 2-man · safeties deep, man under
• Cover 2 Hard Flat — Corners attack the flat
• Cover 2 Sink — Corners bail · soft Cover 2
• Cover 2 Trap — Corner traps the flat
• Tampa 2 — MIKE carries the middle

Personnel groupings

• 11 personnel — 1 RB · 1 TE · 3 WR
• 12 personnel — 1 RB · 2 TE
• 21 personnel — 2 RB · 1 TE · 2 WR
• 10 personnel — 1 RB · 0 TE · 4 WR
• Heavy packages — 22 / 13 personnel · extra linemen

Blitz packages

• Cover 0 blitz — All-out pressure · no deep safety
• Zone blitz (zone dogs) — Rush five, drop a lineman
• Creepers / simulated pressure — Show blitz, bring four
• Double A-gap pressure — Both inside backers mug the gaps
• Nickel / slot blitz — The slot corner comes

Offensive run schemes

• Inside zone — Zone blocking, downhill cuts
• Wide zone — Stretch · Outside zone
• Duo — Double-team downhill
• Power — Kick-out + lead through the hole
• Counter — Misdirection · Pullers going the other way
• Draw — Delayed handoff vs the rush
• RPO (run-pass option) — QB reads a defender, run or throw
• Zone read — QB reads the edge defender

Pass concepts

• Four verticals — Verts · 4 go routes
• Mesh — Crossing drags · Pick at the middle
• Flood — Three levels to one side
• Smash — Hitch + corner · High-low the cornerback
• Levels — High-low the hook defender
• Dagger — Clear-out + dig
• Option routes — Receiver reads the leverage
• Rub / pick routes — Legal picks vs man
• Bunch formations — 3 receivers stacked tight
• Play-action and bootleg — Fake the run, throw off it
• Screens — Let the rush through, throw behind it

Madden adjustments

• Hard flat — Flat zone, jump the short route
• Soft squat — Flat zone, sink and protect deep
• Cloud flat — Flat zone with deep help
• Deep blue — Deep zone, play the man not the spot
• Match coverage vs spot drop — Pattern-match vs drop to a landmark
• Press vs off coverage — Jam at the line vs cushion
• Shade inside / outside — Leverage the receiver
• QB spy — Mirror the quarterback
• QB contain — Edge rushers keep outside leverage
• Finesse vs power pass-rush moves — Speed rush vs bull rush

Run fits and gap control

• Gap responsibility — Every defender owns a gap
• 1-gap vs 2-gap — Shoot one gap vs control two
• Force defender — Turn the ball back inside
• Spill and box — Spill it out vs keep it in
• Alley defender — The run support between box and sideline
• Fill and scrape — Linebacker run fits

Jargon buster

• Honey holes — The soft spots in Tampa 2
• Conflict defender — The guy the RPO is reading
• Light box — Fewer defenders near the line
• Pattern-match coverage — Match the routes, not the spots
• Rat in the hole — The underneath hole defender
• Bracket coverage — Double-team a receiver
• Banjo coverage — Switch the crossing routes
• Green-dog blitz — Rush when your man stays in

Offensive scheme overviews

• Air Raid — Spread it out, tempo, spacing.
• West Coast — Rhythm passing sets up the run.
• Power Run (Gap) — Dictate physically. Duo, power, counter.
• Spread Option — 11-on-11. The QB is a runner.
• Vertical — Concept passing + vertical shots.

Defensive scheme overviews

• Fangio Two-High — No explosives. Disguise everything.
• 4-3 Attack — One-gap penetration. Rush four, man behind it.
• Single High — +1 in the box. Beat our man coverage.
• Quarters Match — Match, don't spot-drop.
• Simulated Pressure — Overwhelm the protection.
• Multiple (Disguise) — Show everything, major in nothing.

Defensive line stunts

• Texas Four Man — Full-line interior twist
• El Paso Four Man — Ends in · tackles out
• Tempe Four Man — B-gap crash · loopers behind
• Pirate Three Man — Crash in · nose loops out
• Tex Two Man — Tackle-end exchange · the classic
• Tom Two Man — Mirror of Tex · tackle loops
• Exit Two Man — Slant in · loop out
• Custom stunt — Draw your own rush path

Pre-snap coverage reads

• Step 1 — Count the safeties — 1-high vs 2-high · the first read
• Step 2 — Read the corners — Press vs off · leverage
• Step 3 — Check the box — Count the numbers
• Step 4 — Motion to confirm — The man/zone test
• Step 5 — Watch for rotation — The picture changes late
• Cheat sheet — If you see this... — The one-glance decoder