Tampa 2

Lore & Background

Despite its association with Dungy and the Buccaneers, the roots of the Tampa 2 come from the Pittsburgh Steelers and their Steel Curtain defense of the 1970s. Dungy admitted it was based on concepts he picked up in Pittsburgh, where he played as a safety from 1977 to 1978. He stated, 'My philosophy is really out of the 1975 Pittsburgh Steelers playbook... Chuck Noll and Bud Carson—that is where it came from, I changed very little.' Bud Carson introduced the idea of moving the middle linebacker into coverage, a system that became especially effective with the 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 to 2000) became head coach of the Chicago Bears, they installed the Tampa 2 in their respective teams. During the 2005 NFL season, the Buccaneers ranked first in fewest total yards allowed, Smith's Bears ranked second, 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 who successfully implemented the Tampa 2.

Reader's Guide

The Tampa 2 is known for its simple format, speed, and aggressive mentality. Teams employing it are known as gang tacklers with tremendous team speed, practicing to always run to the ball. It requires a hard-hitting secondary to cause turnovers. The scheme places a premium on speed at all positions, often resulting in undersized players by league standards. Defensive linemen must be quick and agile to create pressure without blitzes; Warren Sapp is cited as the prototypical three-technique defensive tackle who flourished in this scheme. The middle linebacker requires better-than-average speed and the ability to read plays and cover deep zones. The defense is particularly effective against teams playing from behind, as it limits big plays and forces offenses to settle for short gains and time-consuming drives. When executed properly, the Tampa 2 is difficult to beat, having seen no fundamental changes since its introduction in 1996. Successful offenses have run the ball up the middle or thrown passes in the seams between outside linebackers and cornerbacks, often targeting tight ends. Misdirection plays and overloading safeties with multiple deep routes have also proven effective.

Did You Know?

• The Tampa 2 is named after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who popularized it in the mid-1990s to early 2000s.
• Tony Dungy stated the scheme originated from the 1975 Pittsburgh Steelers playbook, crediting Chuck Noll and Bud Carson.
• Bud Carson introduced the concept of moving the middle linebacker into deep coverage, which became effective with Jack Lambert.