Glossary

Flat zone

DefenseAssignmentCBOLBS

What it is

The short outside area from the numbers to the sideline, roughly five yards deep.

Why it matters

The flat defender is the one every high-low concept is built to stress: he cannot cover the flat and the curl behind it, and the offence's job is to make him choose and then throw the other one. What a coach wants is a decision made early and hard — the flat player who splits the difference covers neither.

Also called

Programs call this flat, curl to flat or sink and widen. The Coach answers to any of them.

Related

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