How to Play Cover 2

[Old Coot]

The Bills D plays alot of Cover 2.  This Youtube video explains basically how Cover 2 is played.  Pay particular attention to the middle LB's assignment in Cover 2.  It's the reason the Bills like Tremaine Edwards.  He has the range to cover the hole in the middle of the cover 2 D.  There are variations within cover 2 not discussed in this video.  The variations are dependent on what the coach likes, defensive personnel strengths and what the opposing offense has shown what it likes to do in particular situations (down, distance, field location).

 

 

[Buffalo716]

21 minutes ago, Old Coot said:

The Bills D plays alot of Cover 2.  This Youtube video explains basically how Cover 2 is played.  Pay particular attention to the middle LB's assignment in Cover 2.  It's the reason the Bills like Tremaine Edwards.  He has the range to cover the hole in the middle of the cover 2 D.  There are variations within cover 2 not discussed in this video.  The variations are dependent on what the coach likes, defensive personnel strengths and what the opposing offense has shown what it likes to do in particular situations (down, distance, field location).

 

 

McDermott utilizes Tremaine in the Tampa two drop typically

 

he gets a lot deeper than your typical cover 2 to take the seems away .

 

At 6'5 he's nearly impossible to throw over

 

Last year the Bills played cover4 more than anything.. cover 2 and 3 about the same rate .. with a heavy dose of man on third down

 

Edited May 15, 2021 by Buffalo716

[BarleyNY]

The Bills mostly utilize Cover 3 and Cover 4.  They mix it up and use some others ofc - including Cover 2 - but primarily they’re in C3 or C4. 

[Augie]

4 minutes ago, Buffalo716 said:

McDermott utilizes Tremaine in the Tampa two drop typically

 

he gets a lot deeper than your typical cover 2 to take the seems away .

 

At 6'5 he's nearly impossible to throw over

 

Last year the Bills played cover4 more than anything.. cover 2 and 3 about the same rate .. with a heavy dose of man on third down

 

 

Hardy Nickerson was a freak at dropping deep and fast for the Buc’s. A very underrated piece of that defense, IMO.  People don’t give Edmunds enough credit for how disruptive he is in the pass game just by eating space. 

[Buffalo716]

1 hour ago, BarleyNY said:

The Bills mostly utilize Cover 3 and Cover 4.  They mix it up and use some others ofc - including Cover 2 - but primarily they’re in C3 or C4. 

I'd say over 3 years that was McDermott's MO

 

Last year he played a lot of cover 4 palms , with a lot of cover two and three sprinkled in

 

But the most surprising wrinkle was a heavy dose of cover one man on third down which he hasn't utilized since last season

[GoBills808]

1 hour ago, Augie said:

 

Hardy Nickerson was a freak at dropping deep and fast for the Buc’s. A very underrated piece of that defense, IMO.  People don’t give Edmunds enough credit for how disruptive he is in the pass game just by eating space. 

They also don’t realize how complex his assignments are...he’s got zone responsibilities along with both Agap plus cues on RBs, QB and TEs. McDermott asks a ton of that position.

[BADOLBILZ]

1 hour ago, Old Coot said:

The Bills D plays alot of Cover 2.  This Youtube video explains basically how Cover 2 is played.  Pay particular attention to the middle LB's assignment in Cover 2.  It's the reason the Bills like Tremaine Edwards.  He has the range to cover the hole in the middle of the cover 2 D.  There are variations within cover 2 not discussed in this video.  The variations are dependent on what the coach likes, defensive personnel strengths and what the opposing offense has shown what it likes to do in particular situations (down, distance, field location).

 

 

 

Yeah we know......on paper Edmunds sounds like a great fit.

 

The problem is........despite a 7' wingspan and 4.5 speed........Edmunds lack of instincts negate much of his physical talent.

 

In 2020 he was like a 7 foot stiff who can't jump in the middle of a basketball 2-3 zone........if that guy shows that he can't move his feet and block shots teams will still attack the paint and defeat the purpose of having him there.

 

Edmunds gets easily manipulated.........and then he doesn't make plays on the football when the opportunities arise.........the book is out on him now.........which is why he got lumped up with that ghastly 114 passer rating against last season.

 

Maybe the light comes on in year 4.

 

 

[Augie]

Now that he has just turned 23...... Year 4 can be taken as a bad thing, or an amazing thing at the age of 23. Time will tell, but his age and Pro Bowls lead me to lean toward the optimistic side. I know that doesn’t sit well with some arm chair GM’s. 

 

 

 

 

. 

Edited May 15, 2021 by Augie

[GoBills808]

9 minutes ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

Yeah we know......on paper Edmunds sounds like a great fit.

 

The problem is........despite a 7' wingspan and 4.5 speed........Edmunds lack of instincts negate much of his physical talent.

 

In 2020 he was like a 7 foot stiff who can't jump in the middle of a basketball 2-3 zone........if that guy shows that he can't move his feet and block shots teams will still attack the paint and defeat the purpose of having him there.

 

Edmunds gets easily manipulated.........and then he doesn't make plays on the football when the opportunities arise.........the book is out on him now.........which is why he got lumped up with that ghastly 114 passer rating against last season.

 

Maybe the light comes on in year 4.

 

 

He’s the 23 year old 2x Pro Bowl captain of the 2nd, 3rd, and 14th ranked defense over the last 3 years respectively, I’d argue the light could be reasonably construed as on

[BADOLBILZ]

40 minutes ago, GoBills808 said:

He’s the 23 year old 2x Pro Bowl captain of the 2nd, 3rd, and 14th ranked defense over the last 3 years respectively, I’d argue the light could be reasonably construed as on

 

 

Tyrod Taylor was a Pro Bowl player,  had the 7th scoring offense in the NFL that had turned over the ball fewer times than any NFL team thru 15 games since the NFL merger in 2016.   

 

He wasn't that good though, was he?

 

Edmunds hasn't been that good either.  

 

He occupies a larger footprint than most and is pretty effective chasing the ball to the sideline...........otherwise he's become very vulnerable in pass coverage(114 pr and 4 TD's in 2020).........not good in run defense (goes without saying)........a terrible blitzer (67 blitzes and 0 pressures in 2020)..........and doesn't create or collect turnovers (he hasn't forced a fumble in 42 regular season games and has never recovered one).    

 

Players who are strong in those areas are generally considered to be instinctive and/or aware.  

 

 

Edited May 15, 2021 by BADOLBILZ

[Richard Noggin]

7 minutes ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

Tyrod Taylor was a Pro Bowl player,  had the 7th scoring offense in the NFL that had turned over the ball fewer times than any NFL team thru 15 games since the NFL merger in 2016.   

 

He wasn't that good though, was he?

 

Edmunds hasn't been that good either.  

 

He occupies a larger footprint than most and is pretty effective chasing the ball to the sideline...........otherwise he's become very vulnerable in pass coverage(114 pr and 4 TD's in 2020).........not good in run defense (goes without saying)........a terrible blitzer (67 blitzes and 0 pressures in 2020)..........and doesn't create or collect turnovers (he hasn't forced a fumble in 42 regular season games and has never recovered one).    

 

Players who are strong in those areas are generally considered to be instinctive and/or aware.  

 

 

Genuinely wish I could disagree with you here. But the combination of qualitative and quantitative analysis of Edmunds's impact so far is what it is: the guy does NOT make impact plays, almost ever.

 

Therefore, the argument becomes: is the defense's success due in (large) part to his unheralded, nuanced play, or is his individual success (2 pro bowls, for example) due mostly to the system and players around him? 

 

 

[Old Coot]

Edmunds isn't elite.  He doesn't like sticking his nose in there on running plays.  He must have something going for him, however.  He has two pro bowl selections & has his 5th yr option picked up.

 

I don't have access to the all-22 film so I can't say for sure but it may be that offenses are gamplanning him as a conflict defender; that is, for example, a high-low technique.  One receiver runs high & the other low.  Whichever receiver Edmunds covers the throw goes to the other receiver.  For what its worth, most defensive schemes will have him cover the high receiver for that's the completion that will net the O the most yards.  Others with access to to the all-22 may have more insight.

 

Stastistics can be deceiving.  They measure only what they measure and are only as good as that which they measure.  For example, Tyrod was a decent QB.  His low interception rate was mostly due to the fact that he didn't throw until the receiver was open rather than throwing with anticipation or  throwing the receiver open.

[GoBills808]

8 minutes ago, Richard Noggin said:

Genuinely wish I could disagree with you here. But the combination of qualitative and quantitative analysis of Edmunds's impact so far is what it is: the guy does NOT make impact plays, almost ever.

 

Therefore, the argument becomes: is the defense's success due in (large) part to his unheralded, nuanced play, or is his individual success (2 pro bowls, for example) due mostly to the system and players around him? 

 

 

It’s almost certainly the former. I have no idea where the stats are coming from in the argument upstream but it’s pretty hard to have zero QB pressures and two sacks. And while I don’t know what you’d qualify an ‘impact play’, he makes plenty of important ones. 

Tyrod Taylor was a backup that Rex Ryan tried to make a starter. Edmunds is the first round leader of a Frazier/McDermott system taught by Bob Babich. Can we stop pretending the two are comparable

[Dr.Sack]

I like that cover 3 Tampa ran vs Mahomes.

[Richard Noggin]

36 minutes ago, GoBills808 said:

It’s almost certainly the former. I have no idea where the stats are coming from in the argument upstream but it’s pretty hard to have zero QB pressures and two sacks. And while I don’t know what you’d qualify an ‘impact play’, he makes plenty of important ones. 

Tyrod Taylor was a backup that Rex Ryan tried to make a starter. Edmunds is the first round leader of a Frazier/McDermott system taught by Bob Babich. Can we stop pretending the two are comparable

I'm trying to unpack your post here one point at a time: 

 

1) You don't trust the official stats for Edmunds? Specifically, with respect to his QB pressure numbers? Okay, I'm still reading; but why not? Also, you're not sure what qualifies as an impact play, which is totally reasonable. I think BADOL especially was working with the term "impact" specifically with respect to turnovers forced and QB pressures. Edmunds, unfortunately, doesn't really "flash" there in any of his three seasons. Still, are you suggesting that Tremaine's stats aren't accurate? It seems that way when I read your post.

 

2) The Tyrod Taylor comparison is simple: Taylor was good enough to make a pro bowl and to be an average-ish starter in the league, but history will concretely show that he just wasn't good enough to make the Bills a championship-caliber franchise. Great athlete, but not a "great" QB. Taylor was a responsible steward of the ball, and an athletically dynamic player. Hell of a long ball. Spins the ball well. He developed in his time as a starter for the Bills. But, he simply was not decisive enough, or aggressive enough (over the middle), to lead an above-average passing attack. He had to see it first. Much like Tremaine. 

[K-9]

27 minutes ago, Dr.Sack said:

I like that cover 3 Tampa ran vs Mahomes.

I liked the pressure Tampa brought with their pass rush even better. 

[delirious]

4 hours ago, K-9 said:

I liked the pressure Tampa brought with their pass rush even better. 

 

Bucs dline was good, but I think there wouldn't be so much focus on it if KC had Fisher and Schwartz starting. 

[DJB]

Ahhh....another Edmunds thread. 

 

Edited May 15, 2021 by DJB

[BADOLBILZ]

8 hours ago, Richard Noggin said:

Genuinely wish I could disagree with you here. But the combination of qualitative and quantitative analysis of Edmunds's impact so far is what it is: the guy does NOT make impact plays, almost ever.

 

Therefore, the argument becomes: is the defense's success due in (large) part to his unheralded, nuanced play, or is his individual success (2 pro bowls, for example) due mostly to the system and players around him? 

 

 

 

The defense looked great for much of the 2017 season with Preston Brown leading the NFL in tackles at MLB and in the games that Edmunds has missed since he took over his understudy's haven't missed a beat.

 

In a passing league, all that the Bills rankings under McD have proven wrt the MLB position is that pedestrian MLB play is good enough to rank well statistically against a bad schedule and to be middle of the pack against a good one.

 

 

 

 

 

[Old Coot]

A basic intro to the Tampa 2 version of Cover 2:

 

https://footballadvantage.com/tampa-2-defense/