Cover 2 and Tampa 2 — The Holes and How to Hit Them

How to identify it

• Two high safeties.
• Outside corners ~5 yards off the ball (deeper than press cover 2 man, shallower than cover 4's 8 yards) and squatting — they sink to the flats at the snap.
• In Tampa 2 a linebacker carries the deep middle at the snap; watch the Mike bail post-snap.

How to beat it

The weak points are the deep middle, the sideline hole between the squatting corner and the half safety, and the flat defender's conflict.

Make the half safety pick

Setup (pre-snap):

1. Put a corner route and a TE streak (or two verticals) into the same deep half.

The read:

1. Watch the half safety — he can only take one route.
2. Throw the other one.
3. The outside receiver settling into the soft spot behind the corner is the classic hole shot.

A post into the vacated middle beats the shell almost every time — the LB carrying the middle can't stay with a receiver bending behind him. "Any type of post route will fry cover 2."

High-low the flat defender

Setup (pre-snap):

1. Same-side RB flat + outside streak.

The read, in order:

1. Watch the flat defender post-snap — don't pre-determine the throw.
2. If he sinks, throw the flat immediately for free yards.
3. If he jumps the flat, throw the sideline streak behind him into the hole.

Why it works: the flat defender must stop and rally down to the back; the streak runs right behind him.

Notes

• The middle-read verticals from cover 3 also work here — the seams stress both safeties.
• If your opponent adds a middle-third user or lurks the deep middle:
  1. Work the flats and sideline holes instead.
  2. Once he commits underneath, come back to the post.