It takes two

More teams playing zones with both safeties back

Not long ago, press coverage was the rage of the NFL. That allowed a safety to play closer to the line of scrimmage, giving teams an extra defender in the box. Safeties like Victor Green and Steve Atwater wound up with 125 tackles a season.

Now it seems everyone is playing a cover-two zone -- which leaves both safeties back, each covering half the field, and the corners defending the flats. Tampa Bay had success with this defense, and many teams have followed the Bucs' lead. But there are weaknesses in cover-two that offenses are starting to exploit.

In this kind of zone, the cornerback funnels the wide receiver inside to the linebacker. In the third quarter against the Patriots last Sunday, Jets linebacker Mo Lewis was stretched by the release of the back and opened up the slant lane. Tom Brady delivered the ball to Fred Coleman and what should have been a short play turned into a 46-yard gain because safety Damien Robinson was playing too soft.

Even though there was an interference call on this play, it's important to note how linebacker Roman Phifer got position in the slant route throwing lane in the first quarter. This is a must in cover-two because every West Coast offense is going to run the slant route every time they read this coverage.

Some coaches believe the softest spot in cover-two is in the middle. In the third quarter, New England running back Antowain Smith found that spot and once again Robinson did not come up and make a play. In fact, Green, the opposite safety, passed Robinson in pursuit.

Of course, run defense is compromised by cover-two because teams have only seven defenders in the box. If you have Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks and John Lynch, you can manage. But Indianapolis doesn't have that caliber of defender and Ravens third-string back Moe Williams had the biggest run of his career on Sunday.

Cover-two does have its place when defending certain offenses. In the second quarter, the Jets got into a "bunch set" hoping to pick one of the defenders and free Richie Anderson. Bill Belichick played cover-two here and when Anderson broke on the out route, cornerback Ty Law was there to smack him and prevent the first down.

The NFL has always been a copy-cat league and soon offensive coordinators will find more ways to combat this latest trend. It won't be long before defenses swing back to the more aggressive man coverage they used to play.

Pat Kirwan, who spent 12 years as a pro football coach, scout and personnel administrator, is an NFL analyst for CNN/Sports Illustrated and a regular contributor to CNNSI.com.

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