Inside the Cover 3

A nice look at a coverage oft employed by the Colts

I put the defense in a 2-shell, giving the secondary the look of two safeties ready to roll to the deep half. The corners are aligned at a man-to-man depth (around 7 yards) where they can walk up to the line to jam in Cover 2, play Cover 4 responsibilities or drop to the deep third. At the snap, the strong safety drops down into the box and the free safety rolls to the deep middle of the field.

Think of Bob Sanders — when healthy — of Indianapolis. In my opinion, the best in-the-box safety in the game because he has the ability to contain any run that presses the edge of the defense, fill any cutback lanes on weak-side runs and make plays in the passing game when he is part of the defensive front.