Scheme Session

What is Tampa 2? And why do so many teams run it in today's game?  In today's installment of The Playbook, we take an inside look at the defensive rage of the National Football League and examine why it is so successful. Tampa 2 is a defense built on speed and athleticism, one that when run properly can create constant turnovers and headaches for quarterbacks. Tampa started it in the early 2000's and now it is run in Detroit, Buffalo, Chicago, Indianapolis, Minnesota, and of course, Tampa Bay. So, let's get into it. Tampa 2 is not your father's Cover 2 (5 under-2 deep). Instead, it is a 4 under-3 deep. Doesn't sound right, does it? Let's examine it a little more closely to figure this out. In Tampa 2, the Mike or middle linebacker, drops to the middle of the field when he reads run, mirroring any vertical route that pushes up field, allowing the two deep safeties to play any outside vertical routes, as well as overlapping on top of the linebacker on the throw. In this example (see here), we can see that instead of carrying the inside vertical route to ten yards and squaring back up to the quarterback (original Cover 2 rules), the Mike will drop as deep as the safeties if the middle of the field is threatened (think of Brian Urlacher in Chicago). This is key to the Tampa 2, and it requires its Mike backers to be athletic enough to run with a TE or a slot receiver if need be. Long gone are the days when Mike backers weighed 270 pounds and played down hill versus the run. In Tampa 2 they play as an extra safety, one who runs vertically with receivers.  What about the other players? Well, the rest of the seven men in pass coverage have different assignments in Tampa 2 versus the original Cover 2 as well. In Tampa 2, safeties align at 15 yards and work their way back to 18 on a pass read, hitting their landmarks at two yards on top of the numbers. They play the "top" of the coverage, keeping everything in front of them, and break downhill on any pass into their zone (think of John Lynch during his days in Tampa). They are responsible for half of the field, but will overlap any ball thrown at the Mike backer, oftentimes collecting INT's off of tip passes from the underneath zones. The two extra linebackers, the Sam (strong side backer) and Will (weak side backer) drop to 12 yards in between the hash marks and the numbers. The key here in Tampa 2 is that they move with the quarterback, often stepping in front of underneath passes in the middle of the field (Derrick Brooks of Tampa is a great example). The corners, jam at the line of scrimmage, preventing an outside release by the receiver, thus funneling all vertical routes to the safeties. An outside release by the wide out (a no-no in Tampa 2) forces the safety to widen from his landmark and puts more pressure on the Mike backer versus inside vertical routes. Once the corners have forced an inside release, they sink to 12 yards, forcing all throws to go to the flat, breaking on the throw to make the tackle. This is the idea behind Tampa 2-- it puts a cap on the defense, forcing throws underneath, where fast, and athletic players can run downhill and make a tackle for a marginal gain. On the flip side, the Tampa 2 is beatable (just like any defense). The offensive routes most often used to beat the Tampa 2 are 4 Verticals and the OVS (outside vertical stretch). The 4 Verticals (or "999" as some teams call it) puts two outside vertical routes on the two safeties, thus leaving the Mike to run with the other two. Quarterbacks then have a choice to throw away from the Mike or to hit the outside verticals in the safeties that cheat toward the middle. The OVS, consists of a 9 route (fade), 7 route (flag), and flat route. This puts three routes on the safety and corner to one side. The safety has to stay deeper than the fade, and if the corner is tempted by the flat route in front of him, the quarterback will look to hit the 7 route, right between both defenders. Sure, there are other routes that teams run, but these two are in everyone's playbook when they face a Tampa 2 scheme.  The keys to Tampa 2 are athleticism and discipline. Each player on the field has to be able to drop into coverage, hit their landmarks, and then react quickly to any balls thrown into their zones. When run properly, it can be a turnover machine, as balls are constantly tipped into the air, and the players (all of whom are facing the quarterback) can break on the ball. It is fast, effective, and can be downright nasty for opposing offenses. Check in next week when I will break down another aspect of the NFL game.

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