What it is

Cover 2 is a zone defense. Two safeties split the deep part of the field into halves, the two cornerbacks cover the short sideline areas called the flats, and three linebackers cover the middle underneath. Every defender guards an area, not a particular receiver.

In a game

Cover 2 is strong against the run and short passes, because five defenders play close to the line. Its weak spots are the deep middle between the safeties and the sideline above each corner. Offenses attack them with seam routes, corner routes and four verticals. Tampa 2 is a version where the middle linebacker drops deep to cover the middle.

More detail

The corners must stay low and funnel receivers inside toward the linebackers. The Mike linebacker can carry the seam to protect the soft spot, which is what Tampa 2 does. The safeties split the field along the hash marks, so each takes one half and must keep the receivers in front of him.

Animated diagram

1. At the snap the cornerbacks drop into the flats, the safeties back up to split the deep field in halves, and the linebackers drop to the hook zones.
2. The linemen rush the passer and the quarterback drops back. The tight end runs a seam route, straight up the field between the linebackers and the safeties.
3. The seam is the weak point of Cover 2, because no defender owns the deep middle. If the quarterback throws on time, the tight end catches the ball in the soft spot.