Looks can definitely be deceiving

The Bucs' new defense, the Cover 4, closely resembles the Cover 2.

By STEPHEN F. HOLDER
Published November 21, 2007

TAMPA - The next time the Bucs line up in what looks like their famed Cover 2 base defense, pay particular attention.

There's a reasonable chance it won't be what it seems.

What might appear to be the Cover 2 look, commonly referred to as the Tampa 2, might actually be a Cover 4. In fact, this season it has been used as much or perhaps more than the Cover 2the team is renowned for.

"We've done a little of it in the past, but we've committed more to it this year," defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin said. "We were playing so much Cover 2 and, eventually, offenses start to catch up with it. You have to make some changes so long as your players can handle it."

As for opponents, they haven't fared as well.

The Cover 4 utilizes the same personnel and looks identical to the Cover 2. Still, the two coverages are entirely different. Good luck to opposing offenses trying to make an accurate read, because what works against one look could fail miserably against the other.

The Cover 2 is pure zone, with cornerbacks defending the flats and the safeties the deep halves. Linebackers man the underneath areas. Meanwhile, the Cover 4 is more a hybrid coverage, utilizing zone and man-to-man concepts. The members of the secondary each cover a deep quarter, with players more likely to be involved in man-to-man matchups. Linebackers are responsible for the underneath routes.

That might sound like a lot of meaningless X's and O's. But look at it in a practical sense. Say your opponent decides to unveil its new zone-busting pass play devised for the purpose of carving up a Cover 2.Imagine the surprise of the quarterback and receivers when they find themselves facing an unanticipated man-to-man matchup.

"They're trying to attack what they think is a Cover 2 because the Cover 4 is disguised," safety Tanard Jackson said. "Even though we've been running it so much, the fact is, it still looks like a Cover 2 and they don't know what's coming."

The Bucs have had one of the most consistent secondaries in the league in 2007. Tampa Bay - ranked No. 1 against the pass as recently as two weeks ago - is now No. 3 behind Pittsburgh and Indianapolis, allowing 173 passing yards per game. Opposing quarterbacks have a meager 70.9 quarterback rating, also third best in the league.

Cornerbacks Ronde Barber and Phillip Buchanon - along with Brian Kelly since his return from a groin injury - have been solid as expected. But the production of safeties Jermaine Phillips (strong) and rookie Jackson (free) has been key to the secondary's stability.

The safeties have five of the team's nine interceptions and are the reason the Cover 4 has been run so impeccably. At times, they will be called upon to perform as cornerbacks and must be up for the challenge. Jackson played cornerback at Syracuse while Phillips said he has gleaned much from watching standouts Barber and Kelly during his career.

"The safeties are the key to it," Kiffin said.

Said Barber: "Tanard is a perfect Cover 4 safety. He's built for it, like (Baltimore's) Ed Reed. He's in that same category as far as players at the position in that coverage."

But the cornerbacks are an important part of the equation, too.

"Another thing you have to realize is, when you play Cover 4, the corners don't have help like they usually do," Kiffin said. "It puts more pressure on them. And it's a whole different coverage underneath. ... It's not something you can just put in overnight."

It has taken time, Kiffin said, to reach a comfort level. For offenses trying to decipher what coverage Tampa Bay is using, there's little time to react once you realize seeing isn't believing.

"That's pretty much what you want to do," linebacker Cato June said. "We're a zone-concept defense, so you want to show that but then play different (coverages) out of that same look and keep people off balance."

[Last modified November 20, 2007, 23:45:42]