1r: prevent any throws to the break side, in this case to 2b. 2r: prevent any throws between himself and 1r. Generally these are to upfield and toward the breakside 3r: prevent any throws between himself and 2r; these will be upfield throws CUP as a whole: force the disc to the open side of the field, to 3b. 4r, 5r, 6r: prevent any players in their respective areas from getting the disc; they want to prevent the disc from moving upfield; they are not as concerned with 2b and 3b. 7r: prevent any deep throws. If 7b or any other player cuts deep, it is 7r's job to stop them.
Red forced the disc to the sideline. 1r: prevent any breakside throws to 1b or 2b 2r: prevent any throws between himself and 1r 3r: prevent any upfield throws; this should force 3b to throw a hammer or scoober 4r: because the throw to 4b is so hard, 4r may come in and guard 2b 5r, 6r: prevent anyone in their area from getting the disc 7r: continue to prevent deep strikes. TRAP: sometimes on the sideline a zone defense will play a trap, to be discussed below (part 7).
Blue gets the break throw off. CUP: The red cup needs to stay together. Instead of running straight to 1b, they should run across the field to CONTAIN the the throws. Once they prevent the disc from going any farther to the break side, then they can close in on the handler. 4r: consider guarding 2b to prevent that throw, but more important is preventing the the throw to 4b. 5r, 6r, continue to guard players in their areas 7r: prevent deep strikes; as mentioned before, this is most dangerous when the disc is in transition
Blue manages to get the disc all the way across the field. The cup will reset there and try to force blue back the to flickside sideline. 1r: put on a hard mark, letting nothing go up the sideline 2r: prevent any throws between himself and 1r 3r: prevent throws between himself and 2r CUP: The focus is the same: nothing upfield, force blue to dump to the open side 4r, 5r: guard players in their areas. 6r: Continue to guard your area. It is tempting to guard 3b, but the priority is still preventing upfield throws. 6b (or anyone else in this area) is most important. 7r: note that 7b has cut deep because before the cup has set up is the best time for blue to huck it.
See instructions for step 1 Note that 7b did not get the disc, so he cuts in. One of the offensive mids (e.g. 4b) may cut long. 4r: do not follow 4b too deep. watch out for players in your area (7b) 7r: do not follow 7b in; 4b is coming deep, cover him.
4b continues to cut deep, 7r is covering him. Red has forced the disc back to the sideline and can compel Blue to make another hard throw.
The TRAP When the disc has reached the forced sideline, the defense may put on a trap. 1r: Guard the DUMP. Whichever blue player (1b) is the dump, prevent him from getting the disc. 2r: now the mark. Prevent break-throws. 3r: prevent upfield throws. Let nothing out between himself and 2r. 4r: may come in a little to guard 2b, but not too much. 5r: Continue guarding middle area. Guard the gap between 2r and 3r. 6r: prevent upline throws 7r: prevent deep cuts NOTE: the trap only works on the sideline. If blue gets it off the sideline, red goes back to a regular cup.
What happens if Blue gets through the cup or the trap? This is absolutely the MOST DANGEROUS thing for red. Blue now has at least 4 players (4b, 5b, 6b, 7b) and red has maybe 3 defenders (5r, 6r, 7r). It is very easy for blue to score in this circumstance.
Red's goal is to CONTAIN and RESET. 1r, 2r, 3r: put the cup on around the disc as quickly as possible (see step 1) 4r, 5r, 6r: prevent upfield throws. Cover whoever is in your area. Do not mark the handler. Worry about the cutters. 7r: Continue to play behind the deepest blue player. Prevent deep throws or points until red can reset the cup.