For the next few weeks, we’re going to look at basic defensive coverage schemes and how the Buffalo Bills have used them. These will be 101-level introductions that just begin to hint at the schematic complexity NFL defenses employ against the best offenses in the league, but they’ll give you a leg up in trying to understand why a defensive back was in a particular part of the field or why that linebacker ended up covering a wide receiver. Cover 1 Our second coverage scheme is Cover 2. We’ll break it down below, but let’s start with how the Bills utilize it. Usage According to Sports Info Solutions, the Bills used Cover 2 against 100 pass attempts, which ranked fourth in number of attempts. The Bills’ defensive statistics (and ranks) when using Cover 1 against pass attempts are pictured below. This number from SIS may differ from what you might find elsewhere because it’s based on whether or not there was a pass attempt. For instance, if the offense used a running play while the Bills had set up in Cover 2, it would not show up here. Either way, the Bills ranked high in how often they ran Cover … Continue reading Basic Defensive Coverages Series: Cover 2