Clip Coverage

Clip coverage is technically a quarters coverage but you can run it without having to be a quarters team. Clip coverage is used against inside breaking routes and deep shots for the number one (outside in) receiver. The corner will play inside leverage one to two yards and five to seven yards off. He will take away any in breaking underneath routes by number one unless the number two receiver runs to the flats. The nickel or outside linebacker will take number two inside and underneath and if the number two receiver goes to the flats he will look to the new number two (the number one receiver coming in). The middle linebacker has the number three wide receiver inside and will carry the number three receiver vertical (This is usually a TE). If the middle linebacker has a miss match and wants help vertically, he can make a poach call and that will tell the weak safety to help on number three vertical. The safety must communicate to the corner that he might not have the cone or bracket that they had before the play. If three goes out he needs to squeeze number three down and look for a new number three coming in.

(Clip in black) (Clip Rat Spy in red)

A poach call would move the weak safety just a bit to help better the middle linebacker but from this formation we can see that Y is a TE (green) and that Y is off the ball which is an indicator that he is probably not going to go vertical. So here a poach call is not needed so the weak safety can look to bracket the X receiver.

If there is a good running back or a quarterback that likes to get loose, you can call Clip Rat Spy. This allows the weak safety to play the running back and have a linebacker on the quarterback. You also have the ability to switch the role here and put the safety on the quarterback if you want a better athlete on the QB and have the linebacker take the running back and leave the corner by himself.