Re: nfl base defenses
Cover 2 means two deep safeties, nothing more. It can be run out of any defensive formation that has two safeties to play deep. The coverage underneath the safeties can be man, zone or a mixture of both. Cover 2 is not a base defense or a scheme.
Tampa 2 is an entire defensive scheme based on Cover 2. It's a base 4-3 defense where all defenders not rushing the passer play zone coverage. The problem is that the terms Cover 2 and Tampa 2 are used somewhat interchangeably, which as you can tell from this thread, causes confusion.
Several teams use the Tampa 2. The most notable ones are Tampa Bay, Chicago and Indy - since Dungy, Kiffin and Lovie Smith all worked together in Tampa.
According to Wiki, the Bills, Vikings, Chiefs and Lions also use the Tampa 2, although I'm not sure the Lions play any defense at all.
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