pull (deep should usually pull)
offense takes position, in this case in a vertical stack
our wall (2-3-4) recognizes the stack and positions itself around it, facing the stack players. deep and mark move into position. note that THE WALL IS NOT IN A STRAIGHT LINE, since the offense is bunched together in one spot.
now we'll simulate a variety of possible offense motions against the zone, and how the defense should react. a common first pass is a break/swing. the poppers begin to move around and a third handler comes to help.
2 now tries to go deep. Defender 4 sees this and sees that the deep defender is occupied, and goes deep to help
Now the deep sees O2, and can cover him/her if D2 drops back and covers O3. Note that D3 is free to try to prevent a forward dump or swing pass, since all of the upfield cutters are well covered. It is a very major mistake for 3 to hang back and take position--he/she shoudl actively move foreward and try to disrupt the swing until the downfield cutters become a threat again.
probably, the offense will play some backward or horizontal dumps/swings. note that 4 has nobody to guard, so he/she moves closer to the offensive cutters to help out
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at any given time, there should be 1-2 open players behind the marker, but one of the wall players should be able to prevent yardage gains from give and goes or floaty swings.
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if a big gainer is thrown, the zone sets up as quickly as possible
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close to the end zone, the wall players must make sure to defend all the way to the goal line, but also to cover deep cuts, which the deep will only be able to prevent on one side of the field.
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swing
D3 and D4 need to stop the handle cut up the line to prevent an easy point