Defensive Coverages

A useful thing to know when setting lineups and building playbooks is what the players on the defensive side of the ball are actually doing. While they are usually consistent with the NFL, DR has some oddities, so reading through this is a worthwhile exercise.

An asterisk '*' indicates that the current author of this page (williams482) is not entirely sure if the marked player actually does whatever it says he does. After some testing/confirmation the asterisks and ultimately this disclaimer will be removed.

There are 11 "basic" (non-goal-line) packages available to use, split into two basic types depending on if they have three or four defensive linemen. They are conventionally matched up against the 8 different offensive packages in such a way that there are as many cornerbacks as wide recievers. The following section will show what each player in the defensive package does against one or more appropriate offensive packages.

All down linemen (DEs and DTs) automatically rush the passer, and all packages have four rushers by default. This means that in packages with three down linemen (3-4-4, 3-3-5, etc) there is a player designated as the default rusher who will automatically "blitz" on their own.

Additionally, the FS will always play a deep zone (even if it leaves an offensive player open) unless he is explicitly told to blitz. Each package has a "roamer" who roams about with no man assignment and attempts to make plays. Note that while the SS is usually not the roamer, the "roamer options" in the advanced playbooks do control the SS. Cornerbacks and nickelbacks will always cover WRs unless there are more CBs than WRs on the field, in which case their assignment will be specified. Finally, note that "WR1" does not mean the player in the WR1 slot, but the WR with the highest overall rating. The CB1 will cover the WR with the highest overall on the opposing team, the CB2 will cover the next highest, the N1 will cover the third highest, and so on. This is not the case for TEs.

The above paragraph assumes that the defense is playing man to man, technecally Cover-1 or man-free. If the defense is using a zone coverage, matchups will vary significantly depending on the specific zone assignments and the routes run by the offense.

"Base" defense: 4-3-4 or 3-4-4
3-4-4 Default Rusher: WOLB

Against HFT12: Against HTt12: Against HF123:
 * WLB (4-3-4)/WILB (3-4-4) gets the FB
 * SLB/SOLB gets the HB
 * SS gets the TE
 * MLB/SILB is the roamer
 * SS gets the TE1
 * WLB/WILB gets the TE2
 * SLB/SOLB gets the HB
 * MLB/SILB is the roamer
 * SS gets the WR3
 * WLB/WILB gets the FB
 * SLB/SOLB gets the HB
 * MLB/SILB is the roamer

Nickel Package: 4-2-5 or 3-3-5
3-3-5 Default Rusher: WLB

Against HF123: Against HT123:
 * SLB gets HB
 * SS gets FB
 * MLB is the roamer
 * SS gets TE
 * SLB gets HB
 * MLB is the roamer

Dime Package: 4-1-6 or 3-2-6
3-2-6 Default Rusher: SLB

Against H1234: Against T1234:
 * MLB gets HB
 * SS is the roamer
 * SS gets TE
 * MLB is the roamer

Quarter Package: 4-0-7 or 3-1-7
3-1-7 Default Rusher: MLB

Against T1234: Against 12345:
 * N3* gets TE
 * SS* is the roamer*
 * SS is the roamer

"Max Protect" Package: 3-0-8
3-0-8 Default Rusher: N4

Against 12345:
 * SS is the roamer

"8 in the box" Package: 4-4-3 or 3-5-3
3-5-3 Default Rusher: WOLB

Against HFTt1:
 * C2 gets TE1
 * WOLB/XLB* gets TE2
 * WILB* gets FB
 * SOLB gets HB
 * SILB is the roamer