We're setting up a zone that will have 2 mid's (5, 6) and a deep (7).
the "cup", or the 3 people guarding the markers, will always be marking straight up (until we melt and go person-to-person). Our two women will play the "wings" (#'s 2 and 3).
So the mark is straight up. When the disc is in the middle of the field, the 2 other "cup" members act as wings to help stop forward throws. As a consequence of this, they'll let sideways throws happen to the other handlers.
When the disc is thrown towards a sideline, the cup member on that side crashes down and applies a straight up mark.
The other two members of the cup (2,1) will now play man on their handlers (or anyone who enters the handler space). They can play very tight, but would still rather give up a backfield throw than a forward one.
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As the disc goes back to the middle, we take our original formation (flat mark with 2 ears).
When you see this play out in real-life, it's not at all this clean. Handlers and popping in and out, a 4th handler is brought back, and it's tough to tell when the disc is "on the sideline" or "in the middle of the field". Communication is important.
The most important thing though is when it seems like the cup is in disarray, everyone should just be doing what they can to limit forward throws. If that means backing up and stopping a stall count, that's fine.