All matchups Part of: The Modern RPO: A Complete Coach's Guide

RPO vs Cover-2

Cover-2 with two safeties deep gives modern RPOs an easy answer: light box. Here's the read and the tags that punish it.

Concept: RPO Coverage: Cover-2

Cover-2 is the easiest coverage to beat with an RPO because the math is in the offense's favor before the snap. Two safeties deep means six in the box. If the offense has six blockers (or seven counting a TE), the run is a numbers win; if the box rotates to fit, the receiver's tag opens.

This is why you'll rarely see cover-2 vs. spread RPO offenses on early downs — defenses know they'll get gashed.

From the offense

The bubble screen tag is the layup. Outside leverage from a slot WR and a corner playing 7+ yards off makes the bubble a free 5-8 yards.

Glance and slant tags work too — the apex defender has to either help the run or play the route, and cover-2's underneath assignment usually has him playing curl-to-flat. That means he's slower to react to either trigger.

The pop pass is the long-shot answer if the safeties are wide enough. With cover-2 corners and safeties splitting their halves, the deep middle is open for a TE pop or a dig from the slot.

From the defense

The defense's only real answer is to disguise. Showing cover-2 pre-snap and rolling to a single-high look post-snap can confuse the RPO read. But the modern RPO QB reads two snaps ahead — he's looking at the safety drop, not the shell.

If you must play cover-2 vs. an RPO offense, you need a great underneath player who can rally to the run quickly without compromising his pass drop.