Robber Coverage

I decided to make a thread and a blog post about robber coverage after discussing zone coverage and what particular zones do. This post, from a separate thread was the reasoning for it.

poster at MB wrote:

technically its not a hook zone in football terminology it would be called a robber... a buzz is actually called curl/flat... which is why "purples" aren't really broken like ppl say b/c it plays the way it is supposed to... but explaining football terminology to somebody who doesn't know football is hard to do especially if they are not even familiar with madden..

No, no, no. A "Robber" is a concept. It's typically utilized by teams that play a fair share of 2 deep - man under. When they are getting beat underneath by superior wide receivers working against the man coverage, or getting beat by the power run, they will take the safety on the side of the field as the WR or strong side of the run formation, and let him play short middle. This is called "robber coverage". A hook zone is not also known as a robber.

In fact, Robber coverage is one of my favorites to utilize in Madden. It's very effective against many of the popular strategies. I actually utilize it in every game I play...unlike a lot of the strategies that are presented in the community where players tell you one thing and then do another. I'll actually have the 3rd installation of my blog about Robber coverage up some time within the next week.

I'll allow using the "curl/flat" zone as a synonym for a "buzz" zone..but I'll tell you right now that 8 out of 10 coaches in college/NFL call that assignment a "buzz" zone.

Furthermore, the "Inverted Cover 2" is not all that innovative. It's actually known as the Cover 2 Robber coverage in which your safety/safeties play short and the corners play deep.

ZAN is my hero.

Yea no real pattern reads in the game so cant implement it fully but if you can play good robber technique you are ahead of the game.. 425 ie TCU ( wish NCAA books were in Madden )..

I like to play more as a hash defender though..

What is your blog?

ZAN wrote:

Furthermore, the "Inverted Cover 2" is not all that innovative. It's actually known as the Cover 2 Robber coverage in which your safety/safeties play short and the corners play deep.

its not about being innovative its about being effective and putting 9 defenders in the box to load up on the run is effective.

gotta give it a name and in football most times its called the inverted cover 2.

i think most importantly is giving it a name to help people understand what it is - never heard it called a cover 2 robber before

Zan what is the url of your blog? It sounds interesting, your breaking down football stuff which i always find an entertaining read.

http://www.coachteed.com/freedl/Defense/Virginia%20Tech%20Cover%202%20Robber%20Package%20-%208%20pages.pdf

There's a link to Virginia Tech's Cover 2 Robber Scheme that Beamer loves to utilize vs. option heavy offenses. I haven't looked, but I'm more than willing to bet that when VT beat Georgia Tech's Paul Johnson flexbone attack, they employed a LOT of cover 2 robber.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5D6z92KvEM

HAHA, I knew it!

There are a couple great clips in this video of VT going with the Cover 2 - Robber.
Go to 6:10 in the video. Georgia Tech is in an obvious passing situation, and Beamer knows it. So he dials up a Cover 2 Robber look with a rush off the weak edge of the formation. The corners press and follow (the right corner follows inside since his OLB support is no longer there due to the rush, while the left corner follows deep). The linebackers play stout press coverage underneath, and the FS plays a mid field robber, and tries to read the QB's eyes. Beautiful execution of the Cover 2 Robber!

Here's a look at the Cover 2 Robber out of a 4-3 or a Nickel package. Western Michigan's defensive coordinator does the chalk talk in this video, and by the way he refers to it, he calls his nickelback the "nickel linebacker". So, to me, that makes it sound like Western Michigan probably plays the run as a priority in this defense. He actually tells his guys to "clear the draw" first...which confirms my assumption...but this is another great breakdown that you can hopefully utilize into your Madden scheme.

Larry_A wrote:

Zan what is the url of your blog? It sounds interesting, your breaking down football stuff which i always find an entertaining read.

Hey Larry_A,

My blog is over at compete4ever.com.
I'll have 2 blogs up tonight or tomorrow! One is a call to action in the community. And the other is how to employ the Robber in YOUR defensive scheme, regardless of your base preference.

Cool thanks ill check it out man.

ZAN wrote:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5D6z92KvEM

HAHA, I knew it!

There are a couple great clips in this video of VT going with the Cover 2 - Robber.

Go to 6:10 in the video. Georgia Tech is in an obvious passing situation, and Beamer knows it. So he dials up a Cover 2 Robber look with a rush off the weak edge of the formation. The corners press and follow (the right corner follows inside since his OLB support is no longer there due to the rush, while the left corner follows deep). The linebackers play stout press coverage underneath, and the FS plays a mid field robber, and tries to read the QB's eyes. Beautiful execution of the Cover 2 Robber!

you beat me to it Zan. i am a Virginia Tech boy! i was just about to say that the "Robber" concept is what my Hokies run.

~Mili

I edited the OP for clarity. The conversation is a good one.

Hey guys,

I write my weekly to bi-weekly blog over at Compete4Ever.com known as "Forward Progress: My Attempt to Take Madden Into the Future"

My latest blog is appropriate to this thread so I figured I'd share!

http://compete4ever.com/2011/12/17/forward-progress-4-robber-coverage-2

When I run a zone blitz brining 5 or 6 from a 3 shell I'll often shade the corners in and switch the shell to inverted 2 and I'll play rover with a FS.

Someones usually open but I'm getting 2 guys free so the balls out of their hands quick. They might guess right and get some yards, but often they guess wrong and its a pick.

I especially enjoy this mixed in vs snugs. Bring six get 2 free. Shade safeties down. put a purple to the field and a yellow to the boundary and play rover 8-10 yards deep with my FS.

yup. that's exactly what I'll often do...except i tend to send 4-5, tops...

Tru Statement wrote:

When I run a zone blitz brining 5 or 6 from a 3 shell I'll often shade the corners in and switch the shell to inverted 2 and I'll play rover with a FS.

Someones usually open but I'm getting 2 guys free so the balls out of their hands quick. They might guess right and get some yards, but often they guess wrong and its a pick.

I especially enjoy this mixed in vs snugs. Bring six get 2 free. Shade safeties down. put a purple to the field and a yellow to the boundary and play rover 8-10 yards deep with my FS.

im scared to do it vs snugs lol. Im too busy trying to compensate for the d@mn purps.

I run man/zone combo versus compression sets, WF.

I still employ a robber concept so the outside corners fly with any vertical threat, while the FS is responsible for jumping patterns over the middle as well as marking any quick swing patterns.

Any other player I deem to be a threat on an outward breaking pattern (whether it be a slant out or corner pattern) I will place my bandit backer (a SS that I'll often use over a nickel corner for run support as well as basic man coverage...Morgan Burnett is perfect for this) in a buzz zone or assign him in man coverage.

I'll also utilize robber theory with a half man - half zone defense. Say I'm bringing heat off of the left side, I'll often man up any receiving threat on the side with the heat to ensure that I have a man on any quick throw towards the direction of my heat. Then I'll leave a basic zone coverage on the side with less threat....

Perfect example would be if I were facing a trips bunch look with the HB on the strong side. I'll often bring heat on the WEAK side of a trips look, as there is only 1 player (a WR) on that side that is a receiving threat. Because it's one threat, I'll allow him to float freely through zone and make the QB make a throw into a zone coverage, while I'll manually mark the trips look opposite of that WR, as well as the strong side halfback. What I end up with is a man-zone-blitz combo with a a corner taking away the lone WR side vertical threat, my robber jumping underneath on the lone WR side, since I'm bringing heat on it, and 4 guys manned up on the trips/hb side, along with remaining strong side players NOT needed to bring pressure releasing into the flats, hook zones, or buzz zones; making the trips side very difficult to throw into with odd zones intermingled with the man coverage...