Cornerback

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A cornerback (also referred to as a corner) is a position in American and Canadian football, more broadly classified as a defensive back. Widely accepted as being the most difficult of all the positions, the modern cornerback is ideally very fast, agile, and has good football instincts. Like any defensive player, he must be able to react faster than his opponent, since he does not have the luxury of knowing where a play is going to go. Essential skills for a cornerback include jamming, backpedaling, jumping, shadowing his man, anticipating a pass route, reading the quarterback, and of course...tackling.

Most modern NFL defensive formations use four defensive backs (two safeties and two corners; CFL defenses generally use five defensive backs (one safety, two defensive halfbacks, and two corners). A corner's responsibilities vary depending on the type of coverage called. Coverage is simply how the defense will be protecting against the pass. A corner will be given one of two ways to defend the pass (with variations that result in more or less the same responsibilities): zone and man-to-man.

In zone coverage, the cornerback is responsible for a particular area of the field. A zone may consist of any number of areas such as the "deep third", (the deepest one-third of the field in a "3 deep zone"). In a "3 deep zone" (aka "cover 1"), each cornerback is responsible for covering his prospective "deep third" (the outside third, hence the term corner) of the field while a safety ( usually the free safety ) covers the "middle third". Another type of zone coverage is called "cover 2" or a "2 deep zone".

In "cover 2", the weak-side cornerback (lets just say the "left cornerback" for simplification purposes)is supposed to cover half the field. The safety's job is also to cover half the field, the other half of course. The strong side cornerback, (or "right cornerback" in this instance) may be in a variety of different coverages. He may be in "loose man, man-under, or man-up" ( different one-on-one coverages ) but most likely his responsibility would be to cover a specific "zone" called the "void", which is a common requirement of "cover 2" aka the "2 deep zone". One interesting aspect sometimes encountered is that it is possible for one half of the secondary to be in a zone coverage, while the other half in a man coverage.

"The void" is a specific area often included in "cover 2" , extending downfield starting from the outside receiver, towards the sideline, in a diagonal trajectory anywhere from ten to twenty-five yards. Typically, when a cornerback has void responsibilities, coverage would entail the cornerback to line up accross from the outside receiver approximately 4 x 1 (four yards off the line discrimmage and one yard to the outside of him ( 4x1 ). As the ball is snapped, the cornerback must prevent the receiver from running outside of him (around the corner) and should aggressively "funnel" the receiver to the inside, ( usually a yard, sometimes more) all the while looking to see if there is a play in the backfield, or an additional receiver whom may suddenly appear and become a threat. A good "jamming, pop, check, chuck or smash" is neccessary when funneling for a few good reasons: 1. Disrupt the quarterback/receiving timing, 2. Prevent the receiver from getting downfield in a speedy manner which would thus render him a legitimate deep offensive threat, and 3. Allow inside coverage help from either a linebacker in a "curl to hook coverage" or a "hook to curl coverage", or from a safety in the "cover 2/deep half/2 deep" zone. 4. Finally, and most importantly, a good cornerback should demonstrate complete "authority" over the receiver.

In a 2-deep zone, it cannot be stressed enough for the cornerback to aggressively disrupt or "funnel" the receiver to the inside and then to swiftly disengage, so as to redirect his attention to a potential #2 offensive threat which may be a sweeping running back, a half-back in the flat, or a tight-end looking to catch a sideline pass over the cornerback's head while the cornerback is still funneling the #1 receiver. If the cornerback fails to adequately "funnel" the #1 receiver, the whole premise of the 2-deep zone is defeated as the cornerback is then forced to turn his back to the quarterback (turn and run), and shadow the receiver downfield, usually along the sideline, forcing the safety to cheat in this direction thus creating huge coverage gaps which stretch the defense unneccessarily. Therefore, a solid funnel or containment is of vital importance for the 2 deep zone to work effectively.

Once a successful "funnel" occurs, the strong-side cornerback's next duty in a "void" coverage, or cover 2, is to focus attention to the next available receiver or the "#2 receiver", such as a half back in "the flat", a "streaking tight-end" or even the #1 receiver shaping it's route 12-15 yards downfield, such as the "sideline route". ( It is common for receivers to recognize these zone boundaries otherwise known as "seams", which are areas where zones overlap. Receivers that are exceptional at recognizing these "seams" often prove most difficult to cover. Whether posing as decoys or running delayed routes, an alert receiver may not need be exceptionally gifted with speed or athleticism to create tremendous headaches and coverage lapses for the defenders in "zone" defenses intending to cover them.

Zone is a more conservative defensive scheme meant to contain offenses and provide awareness and cooperation across the defensive secondary. While often sacrificing tight coverage, they are designed to prevent the "big play" such as a "bomb", "streak", or "deep post". For the most part, the cornerback in zone coverage is usually responsible for making sure nobody gets outside and downfield of him, especially in cases where there is little if not any deep safety help.

In man coverage, the cornerback is solely responsible for the receiver across from him, usually the offensive player split farthest out. In man coverage, rarely is the corner tasked with keeping his assigned wide receiver "inside" of him. For example, for man-coverage in the "red zone" (an area between the goal-line and the twenty-yard line ) its better to prevent the receiver from going inside (towards the middle of the field such as in a crossing route or a quick-post) because these routes are difficult to stop, especially when there's a lot of traffic on the inside. Although illegal, defenders are easily "picked" by opposing receivers and sometimes by their own teamates. To avoid this, it is favorable for cornerbacks to line up close to the line discrimmage if the ball is inside the 5 yard line, and force the receiver toward the sideline (outside) without violating the 5 yard no touch rule.

There is not one set way the cornerback position should be played. A good means to improve at this difficult yet rewarding position is to play against a good experienced cornerback and identify what they do to make getting downfield or catching a pass difficult. Ask yourself... Does the corner bump you? funnel you? twist your arm backwards? Does the corner disguise coverages with masterful deception?

Good cornerbacks know how to play to their own strengths, know their limitations, and offer "different looks to the offense". This may avoid effective counter-attacks to the misery and frustrations levied upon unwitting receivers. With this in mind, perhaps YOU too may sentence wide receivers to four quarters of relentless intimidation, bone-jarring hits, and masterful interceptions. So be it.


[edit] Notable cornerbacks

[edit] See also

Offense: center · fullback · Guard · H-back · offensive line · quarterback · running back · tailback · tight end · Wide receiver
Defense: Cornerback · defensive line · defensive back · linebacker
Special teams: Gunner · punter · placekicker · long snapper

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