Adjusting Firezone Coverage

Here is a nickel personnel 5 man firezone pressure from the Arizona Cardinals.

The Rush:

4 from a side concept with a long stick DT (Nose) while ILB and Safety overload the inside gaps with the DE as contain.

The Coverage:

3 under 3 deep firezone with the 3RH dropper locked on #3

This coverage adjustment is not new in the NFL firezone world.

This "Mable" adjustment is from the 1997 Carolina Panthers defense and Dom Capers. The Cardinals are using this type of coverage adjustment. 

By locking the DE on the TE to the flat the Cardinals avoid the DE dropping into space. The DE's assignment of covering the TE to flat is a job the DE can do. Consider the alternative:

The DE would need to push the Nickel from the Seam out to the flat. That would force the DE to drop with depth and width to cover a WR on the out cut. 

By adjusting the 3RH drop the Cardinals gave the DE a winnable assignment in coverage. Having these types of coverage tools is part of making firezone pressure packages successful for all skill sets in coverage. Good stuff from Coach Holcomb.