What Is Cover 0?

Cover 0 is the pass coverage this site is named after: man-to-man on every receiver, no deep safety, and usually six or more rushers chasing the quarterback.

Tip: If no defender stands deep and every receiver has a defender lined up right in front of him, expect Cover 0 and a quick throw.

How to Recognize It

Pass coverages are named for how many defenders guard the deep part of the field. Cover 1 keeps one safety back. Cover 2 keeps two. Cover 0 keeps none. Every defender who is not rushing plays man coverage, which means he follows one receiver wherever he goes. Nobody is left over to help.

Before the snap, look at the top of the defense in the diagram. If no X sits deep in the middle of the field, that is the first sign. Next, check the cornerbacks and safeties. In Cover 0 they tend to line up close to their receivers, sometimes right in their faces. Then look at the line. Extra defenders crowd the box, the area near the ball between and just outside the offensive tackles, because several of them are about to blitz, which means rushing the quarterback instead of dropping into coverage.

Defenses work hard to hide it. A safety may stand deep until the last second and then sprint down. That is one reason cover0 asks you to name the front and the formation and never the coverage: a picture frozen at the snap cannot show what defenders do after it.

Why Defenses Call It

Cover 0 is a bet on pressure. With six or more rushers against five or six blockers, someone should come free, so the quarterback has to throw before he wants to. Defenses like it near their own goal line, where there is little deep field to protect, and on must-stop downs such as fourth and short.

The risk is plain. If one receiver beats his man, or one defender misses a tackle, there is no safety behind the play, and a short pass can turn into a touchdown. Offenses answer by keeping extra blockers in, throwing quick slants and hitches, or calling a quarterback draw into the space the rushers left behind.

Famous Moments

One famous forerunner of this all-out style is Buddy Ryan's 46 defense. Ryan built it as the Chicago Bears' defensive coordinator and named it for the jersey number of safety Doug Plank. It crowded eight defenders near the line and sent more rushers than offenses could block, often leaving cornerbacks one on one. The 1985 Bears rode it to Super Bowl XX, a 46-10 win over New England.

The most famous Cover 0 call of recent years went the other way. On December 6, 2020, the winless New York Jets led the Las Vegas Raiders 28-24 in the final seconds. Defensive coordinator Gregg Williams called an all-out blitz with man coverage and no deep help. Derek Carr threw deep to Henry Ruggs III, who got past rookie cornerback Lamar Jackson for a 46-yard touchdown and a 31-28 Raiders win. The Jets fired Williams the next day.

Coaches Known for It

Buddy Ryan. Chicago Bears defensive coordinator from 1978 to 1985 and creator of the 46 defense. He went on to coach the Philadelphia Eagles from 1986 to 1990 and the Arizona Cardinals in 1994 and 1995.

Gregg Williams. A longtime NFL defensive coordinator known for aggressive, blitz-heavy defenses. The Jets hired him in 2019 and fired him on December 7, 2020, the day after the all-out blitz against the Raiders.

Wink Martindale. As Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator from 2018 to 2021, his defenses led the NFL in blitz rate in three of his four seasons. He kept blitzing heavily as the New York Giants' defensive coordinator in 2022 and 2023.

Why the Site Is Called cover0

The name cover0 nods to this coverage. In Cover 0 every defender has a job and nobody is left over to help. Reading a formation here can feel the same way: just you and the dots, with no labels to fall back on.

Play Today's Plays

Defensive fronts

4-3 DefenseThe 4-3 puts four linemen up front, three linebackers behind them and four defensive backs, and it is the classic early-down base defense.11.2%3-4 DefenseThe 3-4 uses three linemen, four linebackers and four defensive backs, with the outside linebackers often standing on the edges to rush.12.2%Nickel DefenseNickel puts five defensive backs on the field, usually with four linemen and two linebackers, and it is now the most common defense in football.65.8%Dime DefenseDime puts six defensive backs on the field, usually with four linemen and one linebacker, to defend obvious passing downs.10.3%Goal Line DefenseGoal Line packs eight or more defenders into the box with three or fewer defensive backs, for plays at the goal line or a yard or two to go.0.6%

Sources

Written for cover0. Usage numbers come from the play data credited on the About page.