What it is

A robber is a defender, usually a safety, who plays underneath the deep receivers and reads the quarterback’s eyes in order to “rob” a pass: he jumps a crossing route and takes it away.

In a game

Instead of following a receiver, the robber stays in the middle of the field about ten yards deep and watches the quarterback. When the quarterback looks toward a crossing route or a route that breaks inward, the robber breaks on the ball. He takes away throws over the middle that man-coverage defenders cannot see.

More detail

A robber gives a coverage some extra help in the area where it is weakest. The price is that a safety who plays shallow is not protecting the deep field, so a deep route can beat the defense if the robber guesses wrong. Many Quarters calls use the safety this way: he takes the #2 receiver if he goes deep, and if #2 does not go deep, he robs the #1 receiver’s route.

The diagram

1. The robber stays in the middle, about ten yards deep.
2. He watches the quarterback’s eyes.
3. When a route crosses the middle, he jumps it.