Is this the secret?

[Sellersfan]

In watching many games around the league, Is the secret to beating us the cover 2 defense?

I ask the question after 2 statements rang true for me.

In watching the Dallas game earlier this year, they showed the stats of brunell outside the numbers. Rarely does he throw in the middle. Lots of reasons why I suppose. I've heard he is too short, our qb protection, etc. I do notice his passes are almost always to the side lines for quick and small gains.

2nd, I heard Madden say that the way to beat the cover 2 is for throws up the middle.

Something we have not done this year. Which is why I think Cooley is not putting up #'s.

Any thoughts?

[chow184]

yup the weaknesses in the cover 2 are generally in the middle of the field,but brunell hates to throw there thus our offense sucks.

[Robbnva]

Here is the Cover 2 in a nutshell. Cover 2 = Death to redskins current way of playing.

The cover 2 completely neutralizes slants/outs/crossing routes by the receivers, drag routes by the TE's, & swings and flares by the RBs. Basically any short route is a no-go.

Think of the cover 2 defense as a wall. You're not going to be able to throw a ball through the wall, and if you throw to someone in front of the wall they'll run right into it. In order to beat it, you must chuck the ball over to someone on the other side.

The cover 2 can be quite easy to beat deep, as only two safeties are covering the entire field. If you have a play where the two outside receivers are running "go" routes (running straight down the field), this will hold the safeties outside and free up a post route from a slot receiver/TE. All you have to do is drop the pass over the inside linebacker and you're good for 15-20 yards a pop with an accurate quarterback.

[Audible_Red40]

Did you see the way Brady marched down the field with 5 WR sets vs. the Vikings on Monday? That's exactly how you beat the cover 2 - deep in's, slants and seam routes. As well it stops a good pass rush, but we seem to allow 3 men fronts get pressure.

Why we have not gone to a 5 WR set is beond me, penhaps it's on page 701 of the play book. Start the game with it having Moss, ARE, Lloyd, Cooley & Portis - spread out, no huddle and motion to other formations along the way - having CP or ARE as a single back.

Oh well, in Gibbs I trust, and we will get this thing turned around!! HTTR.

[BigRay]

I have to add another way of attacking cover 2 scheme is that you have to be to run the ball against that scheme that will force the safeties closer to the line of scrimmage once that happen you can go over the top.

[jeronimobrat]

Here is the Cover 2 in a nutshell. Cover 2 = Death to redskins current way of playing.

The cover 2 completely neutralizes slants/outs/crossing routes by the receivers, drag routes by the TE's, & swings and flares by the RBs. Basically any short route is a no-go.

Think of the cover 2 defense as a wall. You're not going to be able to throw a ball through the wall, and if you throw to someone in front of the wall they'll run right into it. In order to beat it, you must chuck the ball over to someone on the other side.

The cover 2 can be quite easy to beat deep, as only two safeties are covering the entire field. If you have a play where the two outside receivers are running "go" routes (running straight down the field), this will hold the safeties outside and free up a post route from a slot receiver/TE. All you have to do is drop the pass over the inside linebacker and you're good for 15-20 yards a pop with an accurate quarterback.

:applause: I could've sworn this subject was already examinated a while ago. Which is why alot of people are screaming for Campbell to be supplanted into there.

:logo:

[zoony]

In watching many games around the league, Is the secret to beating us the cover 2 defense?

I ask the question after 2 statements rang true for me.

In watching the Dallas game earlier this year, they showed the stats of brunell outside the numbers. Rarely does he throw in the middle. Lots of reasons why I suppose. I've heard he is too short, our qb protection, etc. I do notice his passes are almost always to the side lines for quick and small gains.

2nd, I heard Madden say that the way to beat the cover 2 is for throws up the middle.

Something we have not done this year. Which is why I think Cooley is not putting up #'s.

Any thoughts?

I've said it before... I pretty much agree.

But I think the issue is larger than Brunell's refusal to go down the middle of the field.

If anyone can recall back to Gibbs I... the New York Giants, with their "Soft Zone" used to give Gibbs' & Co. all they could handle.

"Soft Zone", of course, being what the cover 2 was called back then. NY used to play both safeties deep. Rypien used to hate playing the Giants... just for that reason alone.

I think Gibbs struggles with the intermediate crossing routes, and the skinny posts, and the seam routes down the middle... it's not all Brunell.

Of course, that's jmho.

....

[ceviker]

In watching many games around the league, Is the secret to beating us the cover 2 defense?

I ask the question after 2 statements rang true for me.

In watching the Dallas game earlier this year, they showed the stats of brunell outside the numbers. Rarely does he throw in the middle. Lots of reasons why I suppose. I've heard he is too short, our qb protection, etc. I do notice his passes are almost always to the side lines for quick and small gains.

2nd, I heard Madden say that the way to beat the cover 2 is for throws up the middle.

Something we have not done this year. Which is why I think Cooley is not putting up #'s.

Any thoughts?

That's EXACTLY how you beat a cover 2. You run your possesion reciever (i.e., Lloyd) in the middle on something like a slant route. It will get 7 yds or so everytime until they "cheat" on their Cover 2. Then you go over the top.

Besides, that's how it works in Madden

[zoony]

If you want to beat Joe Gibbs... you need a front 7 that can stifle our running game on its own.

then drop your safeties into a cover-2 shell, rotating the coverage to the sidelines deep...

and prepare for death by dink & dunk at the hands of the super-smart Brunell :doh:

[gca61087]

beating the cover 2 means you need to go deep yes...

in order to go deep, you need pass protection to allow those deep routes to develop.

from what i've seen, whether its brunell dropping back to far, a breakdown up front, or both, we havent allowed the time necessary to get those throws off.

we wouldnt need a five WR set. ARE and moss on the outside would give us the deep threat to occupy the safeties, and lloyd in the slot could run the seam post/deep in. cooley at TE on lloyd's side could run a shorter in or dig route to occupy the underneath coverage. that leaves the five lineman and a back to block four rushers. wonder what page thats on?

[TheGreek1973]

Did you see the way Brady marched down the field with 5 WR sets vs. the Vikings on Monday? That's exactly how you beat the cover 2 - deep in's, slants and seam routes. As well it stops a good pass rush, but we seem to allow 3 men fronts get pressure.

Why we have not gone to a 5 WR set is beond me, penhaps it's on page 701 of the play book. Start the game with it having Moss, ARE, Lloyd, Cooley & Portis - spread out, no huddle and motion to other formations along the way - having CP or ARE as a single back.

Oh well, in Gibbs I trust, and we will get this thing turned around!! HTTR.

yeap...You are correct and I saw that two. What pisses me off about Brunell we have 4 great receivers that can kill the cover 2. The speed our receivers have if we had a QB to get them the ball in the middle of the field we should score on almost every pocession.

[SC3]

If both receivers ran outside their respective mediocre cover-2 corners it would force the safeties out wide leaving the middle of the field open. The middle linebacker would have to back off to cover the middle of the field.

This is where Cooley needs to run out there and either beat the middle linebacker or square in or out in front of the him. Cooley has attacked the middle of the field successfully like in the Titan's game but Brunell over threw him trying to keep the ball away from the linebacker.

Or course if Randle El was in the slot, it could create interesting mismatches.

If the O-Line tackles can hold long enough we would kill the cover-2 easily and force other defensive formations.

[Skin Patrol]

The softest part of a Cover 2 is the middle of the field. Unfortunately, Mark Brunell only throws to the middle of the field 9% of the time.

[zoony]

I thought I'd bump this for the evening crew

[box8276]

We have 3 very good deep threats but we dink and dunk. Saunders knows how to beat the cover 2. How many times did we watch Tony G. catch the deep ball down the middle????? You wanna know why we dont? Heres a clue, its not the oline, or cooley cause neither one of them ever touch the dam ball.

[nightbird]

Cover 2 is not magic.

You should be able to run on it.

You should be able to go deep on it.

You should be able to hit intermediate routes over the middle.

You should be able to flood one side or the other and get results.

If you are any good . . .

[SC3]

What's interesting is that we once or twice have tried to run against the Colts playing a Cover-1.

[Muzzah]

Yup, I remember someone saying that Lloyd said "We need to learn to play against the cover 2" which is throwing over the middle. Brunell is short and likes to throw to sidelines. Being short he cant see very well down the middle.

All the more reason to start Campbell for his height :laugh:

[PleaseBlitz]

Cover 2 is not magic.

You should be able to run on it.

You should be able to go deep on it.

You should be able to hit intermediate routes over the middle.

You should be able to flood one side or the other and get results.

If you are any good . . .

Pretty close. You have to be able to run on it FIRST, then you can get the safeties to play up, THEN you can go deep on it.