What makes the Seahawks' Tampa 2 work?

[Zordon]

What do they have that we're missing and what tweaks to the scheme did they make? I see their corners up at the line of scrimmage a lot more. Is that something we can do here too or would that compromise the scheme?

 

[Picksix]

Well, there DB's play a lot of press man, and they get very physical with the receivers - something ours don't do nearly as well or as often. They have Earl Thomas, which lets them play a lot of single-high safety, putting Chancellor more in the box. They also do a great job of getting to the QB, which is something we're good at as well, but I'm not sure if we do it as consistently. Plus, they play with a chip on their shoulder, and they flat get after it.

 

[supercowboy8]

Seattle doesn't run the tampa 2. Their corners play press man which we should doing. Also their dline depth is amazing and they have a 320 pound man playing DE in red bryant.

Seattle pretty much plays a 3-4 but with the weak side OLB, which would be ware for us, lined up at de with a hand in the dirt.

Imagine our depth chart last year but with Ware are a wide DE spot with his hand on the ground. Thats the defense we should be running.

 

[Cebrin]

Well, there DB's play a lot of press man, and they get very physical with the receivers - something ours don't do nearly as well or as often. They have Earl Thomas, which lets them play a lot of single-high safety, putting Chancellor more in the box. They also do a great job of getting to the QB, which is something we're good at as well, but I'm not sure if we do it as consistently. Plus, they play with a chip on their shoulder, and they flat get after it.

This. Having the safety in the box helps kill the TE dink passes and lets the LB's play the under routes.

 

[BAT]

What do they have that we're missing and what tweaks to the scheme did they make? I see their corners up at the line of scrimmage a lot more. Is that something we can do here too or would that compromise the scheme?

Seahawks don't play a Tampa 2. At least not as their base. And neither do the Cowboys. When u see the middle LB covering the deep middle zone then that is a Tampa 2 which is just a variant of cover 3. Cowboys play a lot of cover 2 or cover 2 zone.

Seahawks play more cover 1 or a variant called cover 7 as well as cover 2 man.

Seahawks and Cowboys are both 4-3 under teams but utilize different coverage shells as their base.

 

[dart]

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap10...ks-defense-emerging-as-one-of-nfls-best-units

Seattle employs a hybrid 4-3/3-4 scheme that seamlessly transitions from a conventional four-man alignment to an overload front with 3-4 principles. While most teams incorporate "over" and "under" fronts into their game plans, the Seahawks' hybrid scheme works due to the versatility of their front seven.

For instance, Red Bryant and Chris Clemons are listed as defensive ends, but both bring different skills to the table. Bryant, who is built like a defensive tackle at 6-foot-4, 323 pounds, is a big, physical edge player with skills normally attributed to interior defensive linemen. He specializes in pushing offensive tackles and tight ends into the backfield, which prevents running backs from turning the corner on the strong side. Clemons, who measures in at 6-3, 254 pounds, is an exceptional edge player on the open side. He is a superb speed rusher with the athleticism and burst to sprint around the corner against heavy-legged offensive tackles. Carroll takes advantage of Clemons' unique skills by using him as the "Leo" (a hybrid defensive end/rush linebacker) to create consistent pressure off the edge.
On the interior, Brandon Mebane and Alan Branch are big-bodied run stuffers with the ability to one-gap or two-gap in the middle. With Jason Jones and Bruce Irvin also filling roles as situational edge players, the Seahawks are able to throw a variety of combinations at opponents to create mismatches along the line.

Size matters in the secondary
The increasing size of NFL wide receivers has prompted some teams to alter their measurable standards for players in the secondary. Many are eschewing diminutive corners with extraordinary speed and agility, in favor of big, physical defenders with exceptional length and athleticism.

The Seahawks are spearheading this movement, with three members of their starting secondary measuring in over 6-3. Brandon Browner (6-4, 221 pounds), Richard Sherman (6-3, 195) and Kam Chancellor (6-3, 232) are three of the biggest defensive backs in the NFL, and their collective size allows Seahawks to match up with the tall pass catchers dominating the league. Cornerbacks Browner and Sherman excel in bump-and-run coverage, relying on their physicality and length to disrupt receivers early in routes. The constant harassment disrupts the timing of the passing game, and forces quarterbacks to fit balls into tight windows. As a result, more balls are tipped and deflected, leading to more interceptions in the backend.

 

[Nova]

Seahawks and Cowboys are both 4-3 under teams but utilize different coverage shells as their base.

To add, the Seahawks are a 4-3 under hybrid and the Cowboys are a pretty straight forward 4-3 under.

Their gap assignments are completely different. I went into detail about it in another post, but to keep things short, the Seahawks are mostly 2-gap guys except for Mebane (who will actually pull 2 gap duty often times as well). Cowboys are one gap.

IMO, the Seahawks are much more close to playing a 3-4 than they are a 4-3 under.

 

[iceman117]

What do they have that we're missing and what tweaks to the scheme did they make? I see their corners up at the line of scrimmage a lot more. Is that something we can do here too or would that compromise the scheme?

They play a lot of man,.... And Sherman is the best CB in the league.....plus they are loaded at DT.... Really hard to run the ball against them

 

[iceman117]

Also Chancellor is one of the best safeties in football, they take away your best guys with their best guys

 

[BAT]

To add, the Seahawks are a 4-3 under hybrid and the Cowboys are a pretty straight forward 4-3 under.

Their gap assignments are completely different. I went into detail about it in another post, but to keep things short, the Seahawks are mostly 2-gap guys except for Mebane (who will actually pull 2 gap duty often times as well). Cowboys are one gap.

IMO, the Seahawks are much more close to playing a 3-4 than they are a 4-3 under.

Seahawks played more 4-3 over last season due to necessity (injuries) but have returned to more 4-3 under fronts in 2013. Bryant did not his best season as a 4-3 over strong side DE. With DL coach Gus Bradley's departure and the return of Dan Quinn, expect to see Bryant playing more in a phone both and the SAM as 9 tech option.

If anything, Cowboys are not utilizing the SAM as a pass rush option and preferring to blitz the MIKE or WILL.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

Well personnel wise they have the best secondary in the league. Each guy is Pro Bowl worthy. Brandon Carr is probably the only guy in our secondary that probably is of their caliber. They are also very big and physical aside from Earl Thomas but he's more of a roamer back there.

Seahawks somehow managed to get two 6'4 cornerbacks who are big and physical in their secondary.

And imagine if Winfield still had something. He was on their roster before he retired....

 

[Little Jr]

Pete described his defense last week as. 4-3 with 3-4 personel. When kiifen got here he said he would play to the players strengths. He has not done that. He also told the players in the off season to watch tape of the hawks. Really don't know why cause d doent come close to resembling the hawks.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

Pete described his defense last week as. 4-3 with 3-4 personel. When kiifen got here he said he would play to the players strengths. He has not done that. He also told the players in the off season to watch tape of the hawks. Really don't know why cause d doent come close to resembling the hawks.

Who do you feel Kiffin is not catering to? I don't feel like anyone is being held back. Carr and Claiborne are both playing some man to man.

 

[TimHortons]

They have a former Calgary Stampeder as a starting CB of course!!!
(CFL team in case you didn't know. Only reason I know that is because I live in Calgary)

 

[Little Jr]

Who do you feel Kiffin is not catering to? I don't feel like anyone is being held back. Carr and Claiborne are both playing some man to man.

Some man but too much zone for them. Although I haven't been that impressed with mos man either so who know if that would work. I know they played mostly zone vs sd and rivers at it alive.

 

[17yearsandcounting]

Dont rule out the influence of Carroll, he has ooooooh about 30 years of defensive coaching experience.

Who do you feel Kiffin is not catering to? I don't feel like anyone is being held back. Carr and Claiborne are both playing some man to man.

Bruce Carter went from looking like a potential pro bowler to chasing shadows around the field. Something isnt right with this scheme.

 

[kramskoi]

Seahawks don't play a Tampa 2. At least not as their base. And neither do the Cowboys. When u see the middle LB covering the deep middle zone then that is a Tampa 2 which is just a variant of cover 3. Cowboys play a lot of cover 2 or cover 2 zone.

Seahawks play more cover 1 or a variant called cover 7 as well as cover 2 man.

Seahawks and Cowboys are both 4-3 under teams but utilize different coverage shells as their base.

Well before sunday, the Cowboys had run Cover-2 just 24% of the time. At least cover-2 in the traditional sense. Cover-2 robber has pretty much replaced the majority of the scheme. Chicago does it with Conte and Wright, with Conte rotating to single high safety while Wright drops down into interior passing lanes after the snap. They might "show" the Cover-2 look but at the snap the aforementioned takes place and it serves to add confusion to the Qb's pre-snap read. I think for Dallas it has been more cover-1/cover-3...more single high safety.

http://mmqb.si.com/2013/09/25/bears-lions-preview-cover-2-endangered-species/

 

[Sarge]

Kiffen initially stated he would play to the players strengths - he certainly has not done that.

.02

 

[TheCount]

Also Chancellor is one of the best safeties in football, they take away your best guys with their best guys

He's good but I think he is helped a lot by Earl Thomas. An excellent FS lets you get away with a lot of things at SS, just ask Roy Williams.

 

[JohnnyHopkins]

Kiffen initially stated he would play to the players strengths - he certainly has not done that.

.02

I would somewhat agree with that, but I'm thinking that more than a few of those players don't have the all the strengths that we originally thought they had.