Tampa 2
The Tampa 2 is an American football defensive strategy popularized by the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers National Football
League (NFL) team in the 1990s-early 2000s. The term rose to popularity due to the installation and excellent execution of
this defensive scheme by then-head coach Tony Dungy, defensive coordinator
The roots of the Tampa 2 system actually are in the Steel Curtain days of Pittsburgh football. Tony Dungy has been quoted to say "My philosophy is really out of the 1975 Pittsburgh Steelers playbook," said Dungy during media interviews while at Super Bowl XLI. "That is why I have to laugh when I hear 'Tampa 2'. Chuck Noll and Bud Carson — that is where it came from, I changed very little." [1]
After Dungy became head coach of the
The Tampa 2 typically consists of four linemen, three linebackers, two
Tampa 2 description
The personnel Dungy uses in the Tampa 2 are specific in position and required abilities. All positions in his defense place a
premium on speed, and often the result is that they are all undersized by league standards. The defensive linemen in his scheme
have to be quick and agile enough to create pressure on the quarterback without the aid of a
The three linebackers and two cornerbacks are responsible for covering the middle of the field. The outside linebackers general zone is between the cornerbacks covering the area of the field from the line of scrimmage to 10 yards back. The middle linebacker must have better-than-average speed, and additional skills to be able to read the play and either maintain his central position to help the outside linebackers cover short passes, drop behind the linebackers in coverage and protect the zone of the field behind the outside linebackers from 11-20 yards out, or run up to the line of scrimmage to help assist in stopping the run. The cornerbacks protect the sidelines of the field from the line of scrimmage to anywhere between 15-20 yards out. An additional requirement for all of Dungy's linebackers and cornerbacks is to be above-average tacklers, as they are usually the primary tacklers in the defense.
The two safeties are responsible for covering their respective halves of the field from 20 yards out and more. The safeties in Dungy's system are expected to be above-average cover men with the ability to break up passes, but each safety also is expected to have additional specific skills. The strong safeties, while not expected to be great tacklers, are expected to be hard hitters. The hard hitting strong safety protects the middle of the field from being exploited by small, fast wide receivers, and running backs on 'Wheel' routes, by intimidating them to not run their routes in that direction. The free safety in Dungy's system will be called upon to do one of two things in certain situations, either blitz the quarterback, requiring him to have the skills necessary to beat a blocking running back or fullback, or to assume the coverage zone left by a blitzing cornerback.
When executed properly, Dungy's Tampa 2 defense is difficult to beat, which speaks for its longevity that it has fundamentally not changed since first introduced when he came to Tampa in 1996. Teams that have been successful against his defense have managed to run the ball up the middle past the defensive tackles, or throw passes in the seams between the outside linebackers and the cornerbacks (often the most effective receiver against a Tampa 2 defense is a Tight End, since they often line up against this seam).
Other tactics that have shown to be effective on occasion are misdirection plays that take advantage of the defensive speed and rely on the defense 'overrunning' the play (such as the middle linebacker rushing to the line of scrimmage on a play-action pass), or overloading the safeties by having multiple receivers running deep routes, creating more targets in a zone than defenders. Recently, certain teams have also been able to exploit the seam between the cornerbacks and the safeties, when the quarterback can throw a pass to a receiver in that seam faster than the safety can rush up to close it and cover the receiver.
Pass defense
The Tampa 2 is a variation of the Cover 2 formation in which all pass responsibilities are zone coverage (instead of Man-to-man). Zone coverage is where players are assigned an area on the field which they are to cover:
- The safeties and middle linebacker cover the deep third: areas of the field usually extending from about 15 yards beyond the
line of scrimmage to the endzone, divided into thirds by the middle of the field). The middle linebacker drops into deep coverage, making what first looks like a Cover 2 into a Cover 3.
- The cornerbacks cover the flats: the area of the field extending about 15 yards from the line of scrimmage, and from the last man on the offensive line to the sideline.
- Outside linebackers cover the box: the two outside linebackers split the middle of the field consisting of the area within 15 yards of the line of scrimmage and in between the two flats into halves.
Run defense
To defend running plays, the Tampa 2 is a single gap defense where each player is responsible to defend his own gap. The assigned gap changes with game conditions and personnel.
Typically this style of defense utilizes smaller but faster linemen and linebackers with above average speed. Also the defensive backs must be above average hitters as well.
See also
References
- 'Simple' scheme nets big gains for trio of defenses by Michael Smith, ESPN.com, December 28, 2005 (Last accessed January 3, 2006)
External links
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