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PERIMETER PERIMETER TRIANGLE Deny the ball the ability to penetrate the ALLEY and deny it the ability to go vertical. The perimeter triangle is made up of the MIKE backer and both Defense Ends. Their job is not to allow the offense to get into the alley unless they do it going away from the LOS and moving east-west. The first objective is to turn them away from the alley (squeeze) but if the runner does get by the end it must be on his outside shoulder as he gets more and more depth away from the LOS This method is used on any sort of perimeter play whether it is a sweep, a pass to the flat, or an option play. We do the same thing all the time; we force the ball to go east-west and deny it the ability to go north-south. The “Shoot the Side Lines” concept forms the basis of how the perimeter triangle and pass triangle support one another when defending perimeter plays.

PERIMETER PASS TRIANGLE The PASS TRIANGLE is based on Tampa Cover 2 Scheme. The root of the Tampa Cover 2 is using two inverted CB’s (Cover 2) with a hybrid mike/safety over the snapper. Meaning when the MIKE reads vertical pass or pass threat to the vertical middle of the field he drops to the deep middle turning the INVERTED COVER 2 into COVER 3. In the case of bootlegs and rollouts the MIKE will either attack downhill at the passer or given enough time to read flow will drop and flow into mid field/funnel coverage. The main reason we use an inverted coverage with our corners is they sit right in the middle of the deep vertical out and the depth is set to put the corners on their three step drop at a position to intercept the ball and out position the receiver (defend the grass and the ball).

PERIMETER PASS PASS TRIANGLE The purpose of the PASS TRIANGLE is to stop the vertical pass and the easy score over the top. The pass triangle is made up of the MIKE at 6 to 8 yards and aligned over the snapper and the two CORNERS 8 to 10 yards deep and aligned somewhere in the deep out on each side. The hybrid action of the MIKE makes this defense very hard to throw the three vertical and even the four vertical due to the nature of our zone coverage and the fact that we defend field and ball, not a man.

ZONE COVERAGE The back five defenders including the Defensive Ends each have an assigned area or ZONE to cover during pass situations. CORNERBACKS The Cornerbacks playing at a depth of 8 to 10 yards are assigned the to deep left and right zones of the field. The CB’s always defend pass first, with the vertical pass being their first priority and all other underneath routes a close second. They never let a receiver get behind them, ever! OUTSIDE LINEBACKERS Our OLB’s are stacked behind the DT’s at a depth of 1 to 3 yards in our base alignment. They are the alley defenders and have a gap responsibility when in Stack calls. They play run first and always maintain outside leverage when doing so. When they read pass they flow into their zone reading the QB in the same fashion as Mike. The OLB are assigned to the mid-left and mid-right areas of the field. DEFENSIVE ENDS Using his peripheral vision The Defensive Ends check if the passer is attempting a quick pass to his side. If he sees the passer bring the ball to his ear and point his offhand shoulder towards his perimeter he will immediately drop and rotate towards the passers line of sight and cover pass. If the DE sees pass on the backside he will divert his path and go after the passer immediately. The DE is assigned to near area of the field just beyond the line of scrimmage. MIKE Mike, as mentioned is our hybrid MLB/Safety. The Mike is aligned over the snapper at a depth of 6-8 yards and is the center piece of both the perimeter and pass triangles. He is assigned to the middle and deep center of the field. Mike plays run first, but If he reads pass he will then begin to drop (using a defensive back drop) and begin rotating towards the passer’s line of sight reading the up field shoulder/face mask of the QB. He continues to drop until the ball is in the air. DEFENSIVE LINEMEN The Defensive linemen aggressively attack their gaps to get into the backfield and pressure or sack the QB. DEFENSIVE STRENGTH Overlaying our Pass and Perimeter triangles onto the Zone areas we can see the full strength of our Defensive System.

THE FUNNEL In the Inverted Cover 2 (Tampa 2) the weak spot is the space outside of the defensive end and inside of the boundary (alley) on each side. The FUNNEL can be described as the area consisting of the farthest outreach of our zones. As seen in the Image, the funnel sits in the area where the range of our defenders is at its farthest. FUNNEL

THE FUNNEL The area of Funnel can change based on our defensive calls. For example, if we have our Field Side OLB blitz into A GAP based on his stack call, he is not in position to cover the vacated area.

FUNNEL THE FUNNEL The area of Funnel can change based on our defensive calls. For example, if we have our Field Side OLB blitz into A GAP based on his stack call, he is not in position to cover the vacated area. THE FUNNEL As you can see the area of the Funnel has expanded due to the OLB no longer in position to defend the pass.

Here is our zone coverage in action