Coach ,

It’s early in the season and there’s plenty of football to be played, but with injuries and adversity, som teams will find themselves leaning on one phase of the game until the other can get going.

That’s true in Cincinnati as Joe Burrow works to get back to 100% after an early camp injury.  The Bengals will have to rely on their defense, and it’s in the capable hands of Defensive Coordinator Lou Anaumo.

Coach Anarumo has spoken at one of our clinics this and shared two versions of Tampa two which they keep in their toolbox. It's a coverage he believes can be good at the high school and college level as well as in the NFL.

Tampa 2 is a coverage that Lou Anarumo says can be used at every level in order to outnumber an offense in the run game and have change-ups in coverage that protect the middle of the field deep which becomes a priority of an offensive attack when they see cover two.

The Bengals begin their set-up in the 4-2-5 starting in an over front. In order for Tampa 2 to work, there are five “musts” for the coverage to be successful.  Every coverage has keys and if they aren’t utilize then the coverage will prove to be ineffective.  From reading the QB shoulders to how the middle runner drops are explained in this video (click on image for video):

Video: 5 Musts of Tampa

Coach Anarumo has used this from the Division III college level all the way up to the NFL and it’s a coverage he believes can work at any level of the game.  In this example, he shows how they start in a disguise in order to not give the quarterback a key.  

He illustrates the coverage on game film in this clip (click on image for video):

Video: Preview of Tampa 2 Game Film

With Joe Burrow still not 100%, the Bengals will need to rely on their defense a little more until the offense is clicking on all cylinders.

Lou Anarumo has certainly proven that he can lead those efforts.

Enjoy the games today and have a great week!

Always be growing!

Coach Grabowski