The cover 2 is a 2 deep safety zone defense. In order for a 2 deep safety zone defense to work everyone else has to funnel the plays to the inside. The MLB has to account for a zone bubble extending from the line of scrimmage and going 12 yards deep and extending from the left to the right hash marks. The MLB has to be able to pre-snap read, call the D, post snap read, quick decision react, gap protect, stuff the run, and drop back into coverage. That’s his job.
You HAVE to have an incredibally talented player at MLB for the cover 2 to work. THe Chiefs never had one under Conningham, Vermeil or Edwards. Funneling things to the middle only works when your MLB can handle what you funnel there.

In reguards to D-backs the cover 2 REQUIRES “in your face” smash mouth players. The strength of the backfield is in having 2 deep safeties over the middle that zone cover sideline to sideline. Coverages are pushed to the Safeties so that you have double coverage as often as possible on every receiver on the field.

On the line of scrimmage a cover 2 CB absolutely MUST smack the receiver off the snap. Their whole objective is to disrupt the timing of the receiver and shade them outside. You force the receiver to release INSIDE not outside. This pushes the receiver into the MLB shallow and that allows a deep safety to read and react to stay in position. (Does he go middle and pick up the receiver comming off the MLB, or slide outside for another receiver). The Chiefs played some kind of screwed up 5 to 7 yard free no hit zone on the opposing WR’s. Instead of smacking the crap out of them at the line and forcing them inside to the strength of the scheme our CB’s played 5-7 yards off the ball and allowed receivers a free release to go whereever they wanted. This effectively playes the the weakness of the defense.

Every position in the cover 2 MUST push the play to the inside in order for the cover 2 to work.

An example:
From the snap, the Sam has to play outside shade on the TE (in pass coverage) and force the TE to choose a straight release or an inside move. The Sam CANNOT let the TE release outside.
The CB needs to play outside shade on the WR on the strong side and force the WR to make the same decision, striaght release or inside move after he breaks free from the timing destroying smack he takes at the line. The WR cannot have a free release because that sets up bad things for the defense. The WR must be delayed.
Same thing on the weak side. The CB must smack the crap out of the WR and play outside shade to push the WR inside or straight.

If the TE chooses a straight release then the Mike plays gap protect/inside roamer. The strong side safety then spies the QB and reacts to the ball, either stepping up in the zone and doubling the TE OR sliding outside to play double zone on the WR deep allowing the CB to play underneath and shallow.

If the TE chooses an inside release then the Sam backer hands him off to the Mike as he crosses the hash. The Mike pass covers the TE in the shallow middle and the weak safety slides up into the giant zone bubble of the Mike to react to the weakside slot or the TE and only engages if nothing is thrown to the weak side WR. The Sam, after handing off the TE to the Mike slips underneath in the middle and plays the gaps. If no rush comes the Sam assists in the shallow middle on the slot OR blasts a gap in a delay rush.

In either case the strong CB plays outside shade smash on the WR. This allows the the safety a second (maybe 2 if he’s lucky) of time to read the play. If the TE has a straight release then the safety needs to read/react the QB and not commit to either until they know where the play is going. If the TE took the inside release then the safety doesn’t need to assist the Sam in coverage because the Mike is sliding over to pick up the TE as the Sam plays the gaps. This allows the safety to play a double zone on the WR with the CB. The safety will read/react to the BALL and try to make a play on the ball if they can, and be there for the tackle of they cant.

Reverse that for the Slot and WR on the weak side.

The job of rushing the passer sits squarely on the shoulders of the DE’s in the base defense. There are times that other blitz variations can be called, but I’d have to spend 10 pages going over all the read keys and situationals for those.

The bottom line is that the whole system is predicated on the CB’s and Sam/Will’s FORCING the various receivers to play INTO the strength of the defense (the huge bubble covering MLB and the 2 deep safeties) while at the same time smacking the crap out of them at the line of scrimmage to disrupt the timing of the offensive play and taking away the quick no look dumps.

The Chiefs tried to play a cover 2 without a MLB able to read and react to coverages and hand off / pick up the correct receivers at the correct times, and with CB’s that were playing 5-7 yards off the ball and getting absolutely NO disruption on the WR’s off the snap. They allowed the receivers outside releases, and allowed TE’s the same. Becuase nothing was funneled to the inside there was almost no “hand offs” in coverage happening where the zone’s overalapped. Without the hand offs, opposing teams were able to create whatever match ups they wanted to and could dictate the coverage they would be facing. (there is alot more to it than that.. i’m just trying to keep it short) And with no time disrupting hits happening on the WR’s off the line the safeties were not afforded the time to read the play and make the correct reaction as the play developed. This resulted in safeties often being out of position to keep a small gain from becomming a huge one.

I’ll never tire of the cover 2, but I quickly tired of the crap we put on the field and called a cover 2. If you are going to allow WR’s a 5-7 yard free release off the line, and play a never ending train of poor excuses for cover 2 MLB’s on the field there really is no point in using a cover 2.
The one bright spot in our system was DJ. DJ was actually very good in the read/react and coverage hand off role as a LB. He seemed to grasp the scheme and play his part in it very well. It’s just too bad he was the only one. We lined up our CB’s 5-7 yards off the ball because (Law and Surtain) they were just too damn slow to smash a receiver at the line and still be able to run with them in coverage, and because (Carr and Flowers) we were afraid they would get beat because they were so young and inexperienced.

And we haven’t had a LB that could play the MLB “giant ass bubble from hell” on the team in a good 10 years. In the 43 cover 2 the MLB has to be a very special player. An average LB just won’t do.

That’s very very very basic, but about as short as I can keep it.