Welcome to Cover 2 Guru!

I've been in football for nearly 40 years as a player, coach and a huge fan.

As a player I helped create the famous Tampa 2 Cover 2 defense.

Now, as the Cover 2 Guru I'm hosting a brand new webinar series, providing coaching clinics, video tips, and student advising to help parents and students leverage their football experience as they prepare to apply to college.

I'm super excited about this next phase in my football career. Thank you for joining me on this journey. I think you’ll like it!

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Laying down knowledge and skills - and maybe even some wisdom!

29
Jun

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28
Jun

PLAYING COVER 2 FROM AN “UNDER FRONT”

When playing a 4-man front, the pre-snap positioning of your front can cause different scheme problems concerning various Run-blocking schemes and Pass game protections. Whether in the Run or Passing game, you want to have your defensive front positioned for success.

What do I mean by “positioned for success?”

For starters, when playing a 4-man front, you’re going to want to have at least one other companion (or complimentary front) that you can easily move in and out of. Something that you can run all of your Defensive Line stunts out of, and something that makes pass coverage very easy for your Linebackers and Safeties to transition into.

I happen to be a big fan of the 4-man Over and Under fronts. In my opinion, there are lots of similarities when you look at an Over front and an Under front when it comes to alignments and technique. In fact, if the offense does something as simple as trade or shift their TE from one side of the formation to the other, it automatically causes a front change from Over to Under.

When you encounter such simple shifts and adjustments by the offense, the defense MUST know how to adjust to it. This is where you should want to make the easiest adjustment possible so that your players can get aligned, reset their key reads, and play ball! This is also where knowing how to play from an Under front comes into play. Here’s why:

Playing Cover 2 from an Under front adds another look your defense can have while still playing the coverage you like most. Playing Cover 2 from an Under front rounds out the Cover 2 defense. For example, when setting the front to the TE, the Sam LB is now on the line of scrimmage right over the top of the TE. At that point, the Sam LB is positioned to be very physical at the LOS with the TE.

Also, the Under front has the bubble to the TE side. The DE to the TE is in a tight 5 technique. The NT is in the Shade or 2i alignment. The Under Tackle aligns in a 3tech or 4i alignments, and the DE away from the TE aligns in a Loose 5 tech alignment.

So, what does this all mean? Under Cover 2 is essentially a 5-man front with 2 linebackers (Mike and Will LBs) playing as off-the-ball linebackers.

And there’s more.

In the run game, the off-the-ball LBs are half back, key flow-type players. But in order to really free these LBs up in the run game ---- the KEY is to add D-Line movements to cancel gaps, especially to the side of the Under Tackle (3tech). My favorite D-Line movements from Under are – 1) a Pirate stunt and 2) Tex stunt that cancels 3 tech side A&B Gaps.

Finally, versus the Pass Game, playing Cover 2 is the same as when it’s played from an Over front, except for how the Sam LB plays from the line of scrimmage. The Sam LB wants to jam and reroute the TE/#2 receiver to his side, and then take a Curl drop. In this case, Sam takes a drop where he works from the #2 to #1 Receiver. The Mike is the Middle Hook/Read dropper and the Will LB is a weak Hook defender. The Cornerbacks jam and reroute the #1 receiver to their sides, then hinge and sink with eyes inside to the #2 receiver, and on to QB. And the Safeties are deep Half Field players.

All this makes for a nice change of pace for the defense and a different way to play Cover 2!!

14
Jun

COVER 2 SEASON 2 PREMIERE

Welcome to Season Two of Cover 2!

Cover 2 the Webinar Series Season 2 Premiere will be coming back to you on Thursday June 18!

We've got lots of exciting topics this season!

We will cover key adjustments that will help defenses keep the opposing offenses off balanced - whether it’s using Defensive Line stunts to cancel gaps in the run game or using disguises to make Cover 2 look like man coverage.
We will also round out the “Cover 2” package with some complimentary Zone pressures and coverages from a 2 high Safety look.
Now that we’ve installed Cover 2 from an Over front and discussed the run game rules, we are going to take it to a new level in season 2, especially with D-Line movements. You will be shown proven line movements from the TE side and from the open/bubble side that often cause problems for offenses in the run game!
I will also address the Secondary and helpful disguises. It’s important to sometimes show one thing and play another! For instance - Is it Cover 3? Is it Cover 1? Is it Cover 4? Keep your opponent guessing. Disguises are often the difference between winning and losing!
Finally, the right pressure at the right time is that power punch that can knockout the competition. You will learn some of my favorite 3 deep, 3 underneath zone pressures. We will be hitting on pressures from TE side, Bubble side, Passing Strength, Field side and Boundary side!

Football For All Levels!

The great part of it all is that these are concepts and adjustments that can be run at all levels - Youth, High School, College, and Pro! Every episode is guaranteed to be content rich!

We are going to get after it! Can’t wait for you to join me!

31
May

Rod Woodson’s 10 Points of Leadership Coaching Philosophy

[Hardy Nickerson] There are a lot of youth and high school coaches out there (in the audience). What advice would you give them in terms of coaching? What is your coaching philosophy?

[Rod Woodson] Right, so this is my 10 Points of Leadership Coaching Philosophy. This is for the guys.

Number One, As a coach it's your responsibility to eliminate all excuses for failure.

Now, when you're a Pop Warner coach, I would tell you: Do not be like that! That's a disclaimer, don't be that guy where your kid can't have fun.

I really enjoyed my Pop Warner coach, and we are still great friends. His name is Dave Rody, and he made the game fun for me. Because of that I wanted to continue to play the game. He didn't push me so hard where I didn't like it anymore.

But once you start getting to High School, and into College you have to shift your focus, and you’ve got to eliminate all excuses for failure.

Number Two, Lead by example from the front, take your performance personally.

I have always felt that if you as the coach are proud to be average, your players are going to be proud to be average. So be proud and take your performance personally.

Number Three, Instill competitive greatness

instill competitive greatness, perform at your best when your best is required, and your best is required every day!

Number Four, Give energy and don’t be an oxygen thief

Sometimes as coaches we want to talk, and we don’t want to hear anyone else. But I think the best coaches I've seen always ask for advice. If you're the smartest person in the room, you got issues and challenges.

Number Five, Give confidence, the strongest steel is well-founded self-belief

Confidence is earned and is not given.

Number Six, have the utmost concern for what is right rather than who is right.

As coaches, we’re in a testosterone driven sport. Sometimes, especially as you get older, we sometimes always want to be right even though another coach might have a really good idea. We all see the game differently. Everybody can all watch the same game, see a play, and see something different out of that play.

Perspective is very important in this game. So just make sure that your guys have a voice.

Number Seven, Always embrace all obstacles and challenges that will come your way

Obstacles and challenges are gonna happen, in every season, every team, at every level. I don't care if you're Little League, I don't care if you're high school, or if you're college, you're gonna have some type of issue, so you need to expect it, face it head on, and embrace it. Sometimes this is very difficult, and may call for change and self-transformation. Embrace that as well.

Number Eight, Foster self-discipline, toughness, resolve.

These three traits will allow all your players to be a winning team.

Number Nine, Encourage your players to see the greatness that is in each and every one of them.

Players have to believe in themselves. If a kid doesn't believe in the guy in the mirror, then he's not going to be the best him he can be each day.

Finally,

Number 10, Create an environment where the fundamentals, preparation, attention to details, and willingness to sacrifice is a daily requirement.

So those are my 10 Points of Leadership, and anytime that I'm coaching I make sure in my head that I always try to follow these to give my guys a place that they know that they have a voice, if they want they can come to me.

I'm not the smartest guy in the room, I can keep learning, but it gave me a foundation of where I should go with it, and looking back on my life and career as a professional football I realize that these principles, in one shape or form (and often not very apparent or visible), were always there in my coaches and my guides as I worked my way through a life of football.

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