Tampa 2 The Tampa 2 is an American football defensive strategy popularized by ( and thus named after ) the Tampa Bay Buccaneers National Football League ( NFL ) team in the mid - 1990s - early 2000s . The Tampa 2 is typically employed out of a 4 - 3 defensive alignment , which consists of four linemen , three linebacker s , two cornerbacks , and two safeties . The defense is similar to a Cover 2 defense , except the middle linebacker drops into a deep middle coverage for a Cover 3 when he reads a pass play . The term rose to popularity due to the installation and excellent execution of this defensive scheme by then - head coach Tony Dungy and defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin . The roots of the Tampa 2 system actually are in the Steel Curtain days of Pittsburgh football . " My philosophy is really out of the 1975 Pittsburgh Steelers playbook , ” said Dungy during media interviews while at Super Bowl XLI . “ That is why I have to laugh when I hear ' Tampa 2 ' . Chuck Noll and Bud Carson — that is where it came from , I changed very little . ” Lovie Smith mentions having played the system in junior high school during the 1970s , though Carson introduced the idea of moving the middle linebacker into coverage . Carson ' s system became especially effective with the Steelers ' addition of aggressive and athletic middle linebacker Jack Lambert . After Dungy became head coach of the Indianapolis Colts and Lovie Smith ( linebackers coach in Tampa from 1996 – 2000 ) became head coach of the Chicago Bears , they installed the Tampa 2 in their respective teams . During the 2005 NFL season , the Buccaneers , still under defensive coordinator Kiffin , ranked first in the league in fewest total yards allowed , Smith ' s Bears ranked number two , and Dungy ' s Colts ranked eleventh . By 2006 , the Buffalo Bills , Minnesota Vikings , Kansas City Chiefs , and Detroit Lions had also adopted the defense . In college football , Gene Chizik is among the coaches that successfully implemented the Tampa 2 . The scheme is known for its simple format , speed , and the aggressive mentality of its players . Tampa 2 teams are known as gang tacklers with tremendous team speed , and practice to always run to the ball . It also requires a hard hitting secondary to cause turnovers . Tampa 2 description . The personnel used in the Tampa 2 are specific in position and required abilities . All positions in this defense place a premium on speed , and often the result is that they are all undersized by league standards . The defensive linemen in this scheme have to be quick and agile enough to create pressure on the quarterback without the aid of a blitz from either the linebackers or the secondary , with the defensive tackle in the nose position having above - average tackling skills to help stop runs . The three linebackers , two cornerbacks and two safeties are responsible for covering the middle of the field . The outside linebackers ' general zone is between the cornerbacks , covering the area of the field from the line of scrimmage to 10 yards back . The middle linebacker must have better - than - average speed , and additional skills to be able to read the play and either maintain his central position to help the outside linebackers cover short passes , drop behind the linebackers in coverage and protect the zone of the field behind the outside linebackers from 11 - 20 yards out , or run up to the line of scrimmage to help assist in stopping the runs . “ It takes a special linebacker to do that , a guy with speed , ” says Pete Prisco , senior NFL writer for " CBSSports . com " . The cornerbacks protect the sidelines of the field from the line of scrimmage to anywhere between 15 - 20 yards out . According to Prisco , they “ don ' t have to be great man - to - man cover players , but they have to be guys who can tackle . ” An additional requirement for all of Dungy ' s linebackers and cornerbacks is to be above - average tacklers , as they are usually the primary tacklers in the defense . The two safeties are responsible for covering their respective halves of the field from 20 yards out and more . The safeties in the system are expected to be above - average cover men with the ability to break up passes , but each safety also is expected to have additional specific skills . The strong safeties , while not expected to be great tacklers , are expected to be hard hitters . The hard hitting strong safety protects the middle of the field from being exploited by small , fast receivers , and running backs on wheel route . The free safety will be called upon to do one of two things in certain situations : either blitz the quarterback , requiring him to have the skills necessary to beat a blocking halfback or fullback , or to assume the coverage zone left by a blitzing cornerback . The Tampa 2 is particularly effective against teams who are playing from behind , because it limits big plays . It forces offenses to be patient and to settle for short gains and time - consuming drives . This may be due to the nature of the " bend - but - don ' t - break " 2 - deep zone coverage scheme and responsibilities safeties play in the Tampa 2 . When executed properly , the Tampa 2 defense is difficult to beat , which speaks for its longevity that it has fundamentally not changed since first introduced in 1996 . Teams that have been successful against this defense have managed to run the ball up the middle past the defensive tackles , or throw passes in the seams between the outside linebackers and the cornerbacks ( often the most effective receiver against a Tampa 2 defense is a tight end , since they often line up against this seam ) . Other tactics that have shown to be effective on occasion are misdirection plays that take advantage of the defensive speed and rely on the defense ' over - running ' the play ( such as the middle linebacker rushing to the line of scrimmage on a play - action pass ) , or overloading the safeties by having multiple receivers running deep routes , creating more targets in a zone than defenders . Recently , some teams have also been able to exploit the seam between the cornerbacks and the safeties , when the quarterback can throw a pass to a receiver in that seam faster than the safety can rush up to close it and cover the receiver . A recent trend is for teams to send a receiver up the middle , creating a mismatch against the linebacker in coverage . The popularity of the Tampa 2 means that offenses are now finding it effective to exploit the deep middle , where the safeties have to cover the most ground . Run defense . To defend running plays , the Tampa 2 is a single gap defense where each player is responsible to defend his own gap . The assigned gap changes with game conditions and personnel . Typically this style of defense utilizes smaller but faster linemen and linebackers with above average speed . Also , the defensive backs must be above average hitters . The key theme in stopping the run from a Tampa 2 is directing traffic to the weak - side linebacker . It is therefore necessary to have a skilled tackler at the WLB position ( i . e . Derrick Brooks , Jack Ham , Lance Briggs ) Current New York sports radio personality , Mike Francesa , often refers to the Tampa 2 defense as the " Tamper Two " while interviewing other NFL coaches and personnel on his program .