Chad Wilson
September 3, 2024
Continuing my series on man coverage and playing to your help, in this article, we will discuss 2-man coverage. Two-man coverage involves five men underneath playing hardcore man coverage, with two safeties on the hash over the top providing help on deep throws.
That explanation I gave seems pretty cut and dry, right? You’d be surprised how many times this beautiful coverage gets violated by the underneath defenders. At issue is the mindset of the defenders that are locked in man coverage. We will discuss that in just a minute.
First, let’s talk about where the help comes from. As mentioned in the opening paragraph, your help as one of the underneath man defenders comes from the safeties who are deep. From the safeties’ standpoint, they are aligned like it’s Cover 2. Their responsibilities are “relatively” the same as in Cover 2, but with a slight tweak. In Cover 2, the safeties are responsible for half of the deep parts of the field. This is also true in 2-man. However, in some Cover 2 schemes, a safety may be able to move off the hash at the snap. In 2-man, they are not going to do this unless the throw takes them there.
The safeties in 2-man are the help for the underneath defenders. They will get depth on the hash and wait for you to chase your receivers to them. The defense is basically setting a trap for the receivers and the quarterback. If you have ever seen a roach motel, this is what it is. The man defenders are coaxing the receivers into the deep parts of the field only to get the throw robbed by the safeties. When executed properly, it is one of the best coverages available for the defense.
As one of the underneath defenders, you must know a) that your help is on the deep throws and b) you have ZERO help on inside routes in the short to medium parts of the field. With this in mind, it is crucial that the underneath defenders force an outside release by the receiver they are covering and deny all throws that are inside, short, or medium. Anything 15 yards and under should be undercut by the underneath man defenders.
The biggest problem for the underneath man defenders is that playing this coverage the right way requires them to reverse their instincts. Whereas it is important to stay on a wide receiver’s hip or over the top of him in almost every other man coverage, doing that in 2-man hurts you. Now, the underneath defenders must allow their receiver to beat them over the top and trust that the safety will be there if and when the ball is thrown deep.
In addition, remaining patient on your inside leverage at the snap as the wide receiver makes a hard move outside can be nerve-wracking. However, this is what must be done for the coverage to work. Being patient on outside moves during the route is also a must, as you can’t get duped into jumping outside and leave the inside route open if the receiver is setting you up. This could lead to a big gain.
At the end of the day, 2-man requires a tremendous amount of patience for the underneath defenders. Aligning inside and forcing the outside release is a must. Focusing your eyes on the receiver’s inside hip and remaining inside of it is crucial. Finally, trusting your safety to be there when the ball is thrown deep is everything.
For coaches wishing to run this coverage, it is important that you run drills that simulate the patience required of the underneath defenders. It is a skill that has to be nurtured. You can’t just tell them what their job is, go over it in a walk-through, and then run it in the game. You must drill it, you must run it several times in practice, and then consider running it in a game. It’s a beautiful thing when run correctly. It’s a disaster when it is not.
For more information on running 2-man as well as other coverages, join me in the All Eyes DB Camp Member’s Area. Over 200+ videos on coverages, drills, tips, techniques, workouts, and more. Click here for more info.
Chad Wilson is the owner of All Eyes DB Camp and author of "101 DB Tips". He played college football at the University of Miami and briefly in the NFL for the Seattle Seahawks. Over his 15 year high school football coaching career, he tutored over a dozen Division I defensive backs and as a trainer has worked with NFL All Pros, first round draft picks, college football All Americans and Top 10 ranked high school football prospects.
