They're different Cover 2 Zone defenses found in Madden Football. In this Madden Strategies breakdown, we look at an in-depth look at them.
The Cover 2 defense scheme is a 2 deep half-field defenses a 2 deep half-field defense. Both safeties split the field in half, sideline to the goalpost and prevent any receiver to get deeper than them. This scheme is normally used with teams that have slower corners and teams that are trying to defend the short passing game. This coverage forces the receivers into deep routes to the middle or the outsides of the field but in this time the pass rush should generate pressure or a sack on the Quarterback.
There are two types of Cover 2 in Madden. One is where the corners and linebackers play in man coverage and the one is where the corners and linebackers play in underneath zones. In football video games, you will find a few Tampa Cover 2 defenses. The FS and SS split out wide, while a linebacker drops back over the deep middle.
The Basics of Cover 2 Zone
The Cover 2 Zone is designed to give quick corner support against the run and to flood the five underneath passing zones with defenders in an attempt to stifle the short and intermediate passing attack. The cornerbacks generally funnel the outside receivers toward the inside with all the pass defenders.
Strengths:
- Strong against the intermediate and short passing game.
- The two deep Safeties converge on deep middle and outside passes.
- The vertical hook defenders can convert to man coverage against the vertical route of an inside receiver.
- The mid-read defender protects the deep middle area of Cover 2 defenses.
Weaknesses:
- Multiple receiver sets (Trips, Bunch) to one side of the field.
- Vertical passing concepts are very effective against Cover 2 zone.
- There are few blitz schemes that can be found from Cover 2 zone coverage.
- Relies on a 3 or 4 man pass rush to apply pressure on the quarterback.
Breakdown of Cover 2 Zone Defenses
Here is a breakdown of several Cover 2 zone defenses that you will find in this year's game.
Cover 2 Buster
Cover 2 Buster looks like a traditional Cover 2 zone defense. A few things that stand out about this defense is the defensive ends are in QB Contain. The nose tackle is in QB Spy. The corners play a soft squat coverage.
Cover 2 Contain
The Cover 2 Contain has two defensive ends in QB Contain. The design of the play shows the weakside defensive tackle dropping back in zone coverage. However, he rushes the quarterback.
Cover 2 Hard Flat
The Cover2 Hard Flat features two corners playing the hard flats to protect the outside short areas of Cover 2. His priority is to protect against short outside routes first.
Cover 2 Press
Cover 2 Hard Press features two corners playing the flats to protect the outside short areas of Cover 2. Their priority is to protect against short outside routes first. The two corners play Cloud Flat coverage.
Cover 2 Invert
Cover 2 Invert is called to confuse the quarterback as the corners and safeties switch coverage. In the image above the left and right cornerback play the deep halves of the field, while the safeties cover play hard flats.
Cover 2 Show Cover 4
The Cover 2 Show Cover 4 gives the quarterback the look of a Cover 4 defense, but really it's Cover 2. The corners line up 7 yards off the line of scrimmage.
Madden Guides Strategy Tip: If your opponent is throwing to the flats often, run this Cover 2 defense to bait them into throwing a quick pass into flats. There is a good chance the corner just might pick the pass off and go the other way for an easy 6 points.
Cover 2 Sink
Cover 2 Sink has the two corners play soft squat coverage, which is referred to as “Trap” coverages. The corners playing this type of Cover 2 coverage can covert man coverage based on the pass route concept. They also have to jump certain types of out breaking routes by inside receivers such as flats.
Cover 2 Spy
The Cover 2 Spy does not have a defender that has a QB Spy assignment. Instead, he has two defenders in QB Contain. The corners are in hard press.
Tampa 2
Tampa 2 plays a lot like Cover 2 Carry, but with one exception. The middle linebacker drops further back over the middle than he would if he was playing Cover 2 Carry. Think Cover 3, but instead of a safety playing the deep middle, it's a linebacker.
Final Thoughts
As many of you may already know, Cover 2 is an effective defense to call when it comes to defending the pass. With several types of Cover 2 zone defenses, it can really confuse for the opposing quarterback to pass against. In future Madden Guides Strategy writeups, we will revisit a few of these Cover 2 zone defenses by going into more detail of their strengths and weaknesses are.
