Playing "Cover 2"

A cover 2 scheme can be very effective for a defense because it allows more defenders to stay in the shorter passing lanes or pressure the passer. However, most high school defensive coordinators get into that cover 2 the same way every time: Simply dropping the free and strong safeties into a coverage that divides the deep "halves." This scheme is a textbook rotation into a cover 2 and is one of the more simple reads for a spread passing QB. Most offensive coaches will tell you that you will have a very long night on defense if you continue to show the same look and rotate into a coverage the same way. This is especially true for the pass only offenses that you see during a 7-on-7 tournament or camp.

So, as a defensive coach, how can you vary the coverage rotation so that you keep as many defenders as possible in the short zones while still playing a fundamentally sound cover 2 scheme? This article is intended to give a defensive coordinator some different ideas to confuse and frustrate a passing attack that usually feasts on cover 2.

In the video below, we first show a cover 2 base defense versus a "Doubles" formation. We then show different ways to rotate into that coverage beginning with a cover 3 base. Here is the order of the slides in the video.

1. Base Cover 2

2. Dropping the SS back to halves and rotating FS and LB's accordingly. As stated above, this is the most popular method to roll into cover 2.

3 & 4. Shift the LB's out to cover for a CB that will drop into deep halves. #3 is the same as #2, just going the opposite way.

5. Pull the FS down and drop the SS and OLB into deep halves.

6. This is not roll as much as a variation of cover 2. Cover 2 Buc (or Tampa 2) which is actually a hybrid cover 3 of sorts as the MLB drops into the deep middle while the two safeties can cover further outside the hash. This keeps teams from exploiting the deep middle -- the weakness of the cover 2 defense.

By no means is this an exhaustive list, but hopefully this will give you some ideas to work from. The reason this can be effective is that, when you are facing good teams where the quarterback is making pre-snap reads and the receivers are adjusting routes based on coverage, it can confuse either or both. This confusion will lead to positive plays for your 7-on-7 defense.

2010 Harding University 7-on-7 Team Camp

The Harding University Bisons coaching staff will be conducting a 7-on-7 Football camp June 11-12. Last year, the camp (held in Searcy, Arkansas) hosted about 25 Varsity teams from 8 states. This year, the staff is planning to host both Varsity and JV competitions between teams from Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Oklahoma.
Some highlights that we see in this camp:

• Lots of football on Friday and Saturday
• Admission is FREE for spectators
• Teams can work on their passing game against other quality opponents from different states
• Players get exposure to a college campus, a sample of dorm life, and contact with NCAA Division II Football Coaches
• Teams get a chance to start working on chemistry by spending a weekend together

The cost of the camp is very reasonable. For a small additional fee, the Bison coaching staff can handle the overnight arrangements for your team. If you want more information, the brochure for the camp is located at the Harding University Athletics site (Sports Camps). Special thanks goes out to Coach Clay Beason for the information!

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We are just starting to hear from coaches and players about the schedules for the 2010 7-on-7 Football season. As those dates firm up and we hear from organizers, we will get that information out to you. If you have information for us, leave a comment or email us at arkansasfootballbloggers@gmail.com. Also, check the sidebars for "Camps". We will put links to the camps that we hear about there.