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Tampa 2

2 meanings

also: Tampa two

Cover 2 with the middle linebacker running to the deep middle, turning a two-deep shell into something closer to three deep after the snap.

2 meanings, all below. Jump to the one you heard.

Defense

Tampa 2, the classic 4-3 version

A Cover 2 variation in which the middle linebacker drops deep down the middle of the field to take away the seam between the two safeties, which is the hole a standard Cover 2 leaves. The cost is where he came from: he is no longer in the run fit, and the underneath middle he vacated is open.

Also calledTampa two
Not to be confused withCover 2, Cover 3
Defense

Tampa 2, the modern tag

A live second sense that has outgrown the first. Tampa is now used as a coverage tag meaning simply that somebody runs the deep middle, and that somebody is frequently a safety or a nickel out of a two-high shell rather than a middle linebacker out of a 4-3. Treating the term as a 1990s relic is behind how it is currently used, particularly behind simulated pressures.

Also calledTampa tag, running the pole
Not to be confused withthe classic 4-3 version

Where you will hear it

  • Cover 2 families
  • the Tampa Bay and Chicago coaching trees
  • modern two-high pressure systems

By level

Asks for a middle linebacker with real range, which is the practical reason it is more common at higher levels than in youth football.

Related terms