by Safeties are the last line of defense, so they need to be fast and athletic. They also need to know how to read coverages in real-time.
Generally, scouts are looking for a versatile safety who can play strong or free. That gives coach a lot of flexibility when it comes to their roster.
Reads
A safety has to be a well-rounded player with a combination of speed, quickness, size and tackling ability. He also needs to have the endurance and agility needed to cover a lot of field on any given play.
A key part of a safeties overall job is reading plays. They have to see plays develop and then react quickly. This is different from a linebacker, who has a specific goal of stopping the offense.
When safeties reads a run play, they have to get downhill and try to contain the running back. They must be able to read the blocking scheme and make the tackle or guide the ball carrier to another teammate to make the tackle.
In pass coverages, a safety must read the routes of the receivers and be able to match up. This is especially important on screen passes.
For example, if an offense runs a bubble screen, the safety must have a good idea of the route to be matched up on. He may need to watch into the quarterback’s eyes or check out his hands to help him figure out where he wants to go.
Similarly, if an offense runs a jail screen, the safety must have a good sense of where that route is going. He can then move his feet or turn his body to be able to take on the receiver.
Tackles
Tackling is an important skill to master in football. Not only does it help a team win games and limit touchdowns, but it also allows the player to get the ball back to their team without getting injured. However, it is important to learn how to tackle safely in order to make sure that you don’t cause any unnecessary injuries or accidents.
The goal of tackling is to bring the ball carrier to the ground or force them into a position where they are likely to catch or drop the ball. This can be done by securing the ball or causing it to pop, and is the primary reason a player is given the privilege of tackling in the first place.
There are many different types of tackling in football, each with its own set of rules and technique requirements. But no matter what type of tackling you’re trying to do, there are some fundamentals that you should keep in mind before you try it out.
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Get Low
To be safe and to avoid a penalty for hitting the player too hard, you should get low as you approach their torso. That means squatting down slightly, keeping your shoulders down and back. You should also keep your feet shoulder width apart, as you shuffle forward in quick steps.
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Watch Their Torso
Once you’re able to mirror the player’s hips, you should be able to tell exactly which direction they’re moving. You might have an instinctive idea of which way you’ll want to tackle them, but it’s always a good idea to see where their hips are going before you jump in.
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Wrap Your Arms around Their Legs
When making contact with the ball carrier, it’s important to make sure that your arms are wrapped around their legs. That will give you the leverage and power that you need to pull them down sharply and then drive through with your feet to take them down.
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Lead With Your Shoulder, Not Your Head
Another common mistake that players make when tackling is to initiate contact with their helmet. This is dangerous, as it can cause serious injury and could even be a reportable foul.
Coverage
Safety is a position in football that requires a high level of play making ability and a deep knowledge of the rules of the game. Good safeties can discourage quarterbacks from throwing passes in their direction and make sure receivers are covered. They can also create turnovers for their team with interceptions, forced fumbles and big tackles to force punting situations.
When a quarterback is thinking about where to throw the ball, he usually looks at where the safeties are headed during a play. This is a reason that safeties must be aware of what area they are dropping to in man coverage and what checks are coming up.
There are many different ways to play safety in football, and it’s important to know how to do it effectively. Below are some of the most common types of safety positions and how to play them safely:
Cover 1
In cover one, every receiver gets a defender, and there’s only one high safety in coverage. This makes the defense very versatile, but it also leaves the high safety free to blitz or roam downfield on every play. This can be dangerous, as it could leave your defense vulnerable to multiple deep threats, such as a team with 2 “deep threat” wide receivers plus an athletic pass-catching tight end.
This is why some teams choose to play 2 safety deep when they face this type of offense. This is done to protect their defensive backs against a team’s multiple deep threats, while still leaving them free to blitz or roam downfield.
Another role for a single-high safety in cover one is to be the “rat.” This is when a player drops to the middle of the field and denies any crossing routes, which can help nickel backs or linebackers who need to cover speedy players in the slot.
Run Support
The safety position is one of the most difficult positions to play in football. They have the responsibility of covering some of the fastest players on the field, and they are required to do so in a wide range of situations. This means that safeties must be able to read plays as they develop and react quickly.
They also need to be able to change directions quickly, so they can keep up with running backs. This is a similar skill set to what linebackers need to be able to do.
In terms of run support, the safety’s main role is to block the ball carrier in an attempt to stop the run. They typically start each play lined up about 15 yards off the line of scrimmage. This gives them more time to read the play, but it also requires them to run a lot farther than other defensive players.
When a play is read as a run, the safety must attack the ball carrier as quickly as possible and put him in a position to make a play on the ball. They are often given the responsibility of filling gaps in the defense that a running back might try to break, and this is a very important part of their job.
Traditionally, there are two types of safeties in football: the free safety and the strong safety. The free safety covers the outside of the offense, while the strong safety covers the “strong side” of the offense (the side on which the tight end lines up).
Both of these safeties are capable of playing in a variety of coverages and can often be positioned deeper than other defenders to make up for their lack of speed and strength. In addition, they often have a great deal of experience dealing with the pass.
Cover 2: In this coverage, the safety shows a cover 2 disguise and drops to his landmark as the QB goes through his cadence. The landmark for the safety is between the numbers and hash at about 12 yards from the line of scrimmage.
