Cover 2
Cover 2 is an American football defense scheme based on zone coverage . In this scheme, four defense players exercise the pass rush and seven take cover.
principle
The basic idea of Cover 2 is to take the safer short passing game away from the offense. Especially with the increasing popularity of the West Coast Offense in the 1980s, Cover 2 became an important system.
Lineup and tasks
In cover 2, both safeties are about 15 yards away from the line of scrimmage and after the snap they move three yards backwards at the height of the numbers. They each cover half of the deep field against the pass and fill the alley between the cornerbacks and linebackers against the barrel. The cornerbacks stand close to the line of scrimmage and force the receivers inside. This is important because otherwise the safeties would have to go further outwards and the center of the playing field would open up. In running plays, the cornerbacks attack runs outwards. The middle linebacker takes a few steps back and aligns his hips on the side that has more receivers. The two outside linebackers move about 10 to 12 yards from the line of scrimmage and position themselves between the hash marks and the numbers on the field. After they get into their zone, they read the quarterback and then try to intercept the pass. The four defensive line players try to put the quarterback under pressure and thus bring him to a quick pass, which limits the possibility of explosive plays. In some game situations (e.g. 3rd & 11) the defenders line up in their final position.
Offense against cover 2
The four verticals and flat-7 passes are popular against Cover 2 . In the Four Verticals, the two outer receivers run straight ahead and the two inner receivers run a route that takes them to the border area between the zones of two defenders. They put both safeties under stress and force the middle linebacker to stay in the middle, opening up holes in defense. With Flat-7, the outer receiver runs forward and pulls the cornerback back with it. An inner receiver now runs outside into the vacated zone and can thus gain space. Due to the large area that must be covered by the safeties, there are also weak points here. If a receiver hits the cornerback, he is already in the safety zone after eight yards, while the safety has to run about 20 yards to the receiver. However, since safeties receivers are often unable to adequately cover, there is an imbalance in favor of the offense. Since the Cover 2 mainly needs fast players, the run is also an effective backlash. Strong running backs can often overrun the smaller linebackers and are often only stopped by the safeties. Using a third wide receiver can also be effective. In the classic cover 2 there would now be a linebacker facing the third receiver, which also creates an imbalance in favor of the offense. However, this can be countered by replacing a linebacker with a nickelback . By using three wide receivers, the passing game is also stretched horizontally, which allows faster pass delivery and makes Pass Rush ineffective. Since the 3-wide receiver game now accounts for 50% of the offensive game, the use of cover 2 is dwindling.
Tampa 2
A further development of Cover 2 is the Tampa 2, invented by Tony Dungy . The middle linebacker is brought back further and covers the deep zone together with the safeties. While with cover 2 each cornerback and linebacker had to cover 1/5 of the short zone and the safeties each had to cover half of the deep field, with Tampa 2 the middle linebacker and the safeties had to cover 1/3 of the deep zone and the cornerbacks and outside Linebackers each 1/4 of the short zone.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Matt Bowen: NFL 101: INTRODUCING THE BASICS OF COVER 2. In: bleacherreport.com. Bleacher Report, April 25, 2014, accessed February 12, 2017 .
- ↑ a b c Chris Miraglia: Guest Column: The Cover 2 Explained. In: footballoutsiders.com. Football Outsiders, Inc., February 27, 2004, accessed February 12, 2017 .
- ↑ Andy Benoit: How Cover 2 Became an Endangered Species. In: mmqb.si.com. Time Inc., September 25, 2013, accessed February 12, 2017 .