Fade Technique

In this post I will highlight what Coach Cordell from Glenbard West had taken from Air Force and installed into his Cover 3.

I have taken this from him and adapted it into our Cover 3 - Green system.

The need for a new Technique to cover the Fade was needed in the 2011 Season as we faced multiple Offences which flexed our Hybrids out and forced us into a position to play the Fade poorly. We played it poorly as we Apexed (Splitting the distance between EMOL and #2) which caused us, especially when on the Field side, to play #2 very loose. This led us to playing a more Country 3  Fade Zone. The benefit was that we where standard against the Run, but as the League became more Pass orientated something new was needed.

In a short time we had to find a better way to play the #2. During a game I had made the decision to align shaded on #2 and have the Tandembacker/DT play Force. This worked out ok for a Gameday tweak and I had made the decision to find a way to play the Fade better from a shaded Pre Snap alignment.

On Chiefpigskin I found a Video which was exactly what I was looking for.

Basically you are aligning shaded on the #2 WR and getting hands on him then reading his cut to adjust to the Fade.

This is how we play the Fade:

If #2 breaks In then the Hybrid would break to the Fade looking to get underneath #1. "In! In!" call given to the near side Tandem.

If #2 breaks Out then the Hybrid will Match this route.

If #2 breaks Vertical then the Hybrid will get his hands on the route and read #1. If #1 is short then Match the Route and deliver any In routes to the Tandem. If #1 is deep then come under the two Verts.

This technique was installed within a Game week and we practiced against the following Patterns:

#2 WR Only: In, Out, Deep, Slant and Wheel

#1 and #2WR: Square In, Square Out, Smash, Wheel

The Following Cut-Up shows how our Field Hybrid matched up on the first Game after installing this Technique: