Quincy Wilson and the Tampa 2

[John Hammonds]

Having lived in both Tampa and here during their respective Tampa 2 eras, I've had a chance to see the Tampa 2 up close, more than once, working the way it's supposed to.  Most everybody is already familiar with the big-time features of the Tampa 2.  There's the play-making WLB (Derrick Brooks, Cato June), the hard-hitting Safety (John Lynch, Bob Sanders), and the no-blitz pass rush with freak athletes (DT Warren Sapp, DE Simeon Rice, DE Dwight Freeney, DE Robert Mathis).  But the key to the Tampa 2 is actually the zone corners that can make the open field tackle themselves (Ronde Barber, Melvin Jackson).  They don't need help.  They can make the play on their own.  And it frees up the rest of the defense to do their jobs.

 

Which brings me to Quincy Wilson.  Given QW's size, tackling ability, and penchant for playing CB like a safety, this just may be the defensive scheme that's perfect for his play style.  Heck, even TJ Green might begin feeling a little hopeful.  (You mean, I might be able to do something besides being relegated to a special teams gunner, until Ballard finally dumps me like all the rest of the Grigson draft picks?  Well...  yeah.)

 

I think QW just may have found himself a home.

[Alex22]

Wouldn't mind if we traded for the GOAT Richard Sherman 

[VaAllDay757]

I'm pretty sure we will see less man coverage with the new scheme but wilson is nice in man coverage

[Scott Pennock]

I'm still hedging bets that we'll see more cover 3 press man thsn cover 2 zone...

[NorthernBlue]

Theres a pretty good Stampede Blue article that talks about how Ballard has been anticipating the switch to the 4-3 cover 2 scheme pretty much ever since he got here, hence the Hooker, Wilson, and even Basham picks. All 3 are players who will likely see more comfort in the new scheme. 

[tvturner]

22 minutes ago, Alex22 said:

Wouldn't mind if we traded for the GOAT Richard Sherman 

He's not even the best CB in the league

[Alex22]

1 minute ago, tvturner said:

He's not even the best CB in the league

 

On a side note Quincy's younger brother looks like a beast. We should draft him in a few years  

[Shadow_Creek]

tj actually did a whole lot better when he was a safety in the 4-3 at Clemson 

[BlueShoe]

49 minutes ago, Scott Pennock said:

I'm still hedging bets that we'll see more cover 3 press man thsn cover 2 zone...

 

You never know. It seems to be the hottest thing in today's NFL. 

 

Chargers, Falcons, Jaguars all primarily run it. The Seahawks run it along with an Under front. 

 

The 49ers, Dolphins, Redskins, and Saints all run versions of it. 

 

NFL Team Schemes

[CR91]

this will not be a sit back and dont give up the big play tampa 2. This will be more of an attacking zone defense.

[NorthernBlue]

35 minutes ago, CR91 said:

this will not be a sit back and dont give up the big play tampa 2. This will be more of an attacking zone defense.

Ballard said he wants a faster, more athletic defense. That could result in more big plays going both ways. 

[tikyle]

10 hours ago, Alex22 said:

Wouldn't mind if we traded for the GOAT Richard Sherman 

 

Quincy Wilson is in the same mold as Richard Sherman, tall, long, ball hawking DB that is not the fastest but is very physical.  Wilson is a cover 3 guy but he'll be fine in a Tampa 2 scheme as long as they bump some.

[DonnieDarko1023]

11 hours ago, Alex22 said:

Wouldn't mind if we traded for the GOAT Richard Sherman 

 

Richard Sherman would be a waste of money for us in the Cover 2

[IndyScribe]

11 hours ago, Alex22 said:

Wouldn't mind if we traded for the GOAT Richard Sherman 

Nope. Don't need or want him.

[ColtsBlitz]

Pretty sure TJ Green should be cut. He can’t cover so I don’t think his tackling should let us forget that. 

[csmopar]

24 minutes ago, ColtsBlitz said:

Pretty sure TJ Green should be cut. He can’t cover so I don’t think his tackling should let us forget that. 

 

12 hours ago, John Hammonds said:

Having lived in both Tampa and here during their respective Tampa 2 eras, I've had a chance to see the Tampa 2 up close, more than once, working the way it's supposed to.  Most everybody is already familiar with the big-time features of the Tampa 2.  There's the play-making WLB (Derrick Brooks, Cato June), the hard-hitting Safety (John Lynch, Bob Sanders), and the no-blitz pass rush with freak athletes (DT Warren Sapp, DE Simeon Rice, DE Dwight Freeney, DE Robert Mathis).  But the key to the Tampa 2 is actually the zone corners that can make the open field tackle themselves (Ronde Barber, Melvin Jackson).  They don't need help.  They can make the play on their own.  And it frees up the rest of the defense to do their jobs.

 

Which brings me to Quincy Wilson.  Given QW's size, tackling ability, and penchant for playing CB like a safety, this just may be the defensive scheme that's perfect for his play style.  Heck, even TJ Green might begin feeling a little hopeful.  (You mean, I might be able to do something besides being relegated to a special teams gunner, until Ballard finally dumps me like all the rest of the Grigson draft picks?  Well...  yeah.)

 

I think QW just may have found himself a home.

 

 

TJ Green?  What tackling ability?

[Jason_]

why are people assuming we're going to a tampa 2 defense? 

[Mr. Irrelevant]

19 minutes ago, J@son said:

why are people assuming we're going to a tampa 2 defense? 

 

Yeah, not sure what the source of that is either...

[Lucky Colts Fan]

25 minutes ago, J@son said:

why are people assuming we're going to a tampa 2 defense? 

 

5 minutes ago, Mr. Irrelevant said:

Yeah, not sure what the source of that is either...

 

Ballard has referenced getting back to the success his defenses had in Chicago in a few pressers.  The Tampa-2 with Urlacher and Tillman.

 

It also makes sense since we play indoors.  I doubt it will be pure Tampa-2 every single play, but it would be smart to mix it in with Cover-3/Cover-1 to try not to give up any big plays.

 

[Jason_]

5 minutes ago, Lucky Colts Fan said:

 

 

Ballard has referenced getting back to the success his defenses had in Chicago in a few pressers.  The Tampa-2 with Urlacher and Tillman.

 

It also makes sense since we play indoors.  I doubt it will be pure Tampa-2 every single play, but it would be smart to mix it in with Cover-3/Cover-1 to try not to give up any big plays.

 

 

Marinelli didn't run a "tampa 2" defense in Chicago.  He ran a cover 2 with some tampa 2 coverage sprinkled in on long yardage situations.  Really I think Dungy and Caldwell are the only ones to really try running a pure tampa 2 defense.  

[Lucky Colts Fan]

6 minutes ago, J@son said:

Marinelli didn't run a "tampa 2" defense in Chicago.  He ran a cover 2 with some tampa 2 coverage sprinkled in on long yardage situations.  Really I think Dungy and Caldwell are the only ones to really try running a pure tampa 2 defense.  

 

What?  The Bears ran a Tampa-2 under Lovie Smith and Rod Marinelli, who both learned the Tampa-2 under Dungy, while in Tampa Bay... 

 

Anyway, I don't see anyone saying the Colts are going to run a pure Tampa-2...  like I said, it's been referenced and mentioned, but nobody has come out and said the Colts are doing Tampa-2.

 

But it would make sense to play SOME Tampa-2.  Are you going to surprised/disappointed if you see some Tampa-2 from the Colts?

[Jason_]

24 minutes ago, Lucky Colts Fan said:

 

What?  The Bears ran a Tampa-2 under Lovie Smith and Rod Marinelli, who both learned the Tampa-2 under Dungy, while in Tampa Bay... 

 

Anyway, I don't see anyone saying the Colts are going to run a pure Tampa-2...  like I said, it's been referenced and mentioned, but nobody has come out and said the Colts are doing Tampa-2.

 

But it would make sense to play SOME Tampa-2.  Are you going to surprised/disappointed if you see some Tampa-2 from the Colts?

 

tampa 2 is essentially just a specific type of coverage.  In 2011, no team other than the Colts ran tampa 2 more than 10% of the time.  The colts ran it over 50% of the time that year.  The Bears defense was a Cover 2 defense but they ran tampa 2 coverage 10% of the time or less....mostly in long yardage situations, which is the way it should be.  If you want to call that a "tampa 2 defense" then ok...but 90% of the time or more they were not in tampa 2 coverage (the Bears, that is).

[Lucky Colts Fan]

14 minutes ago, J@son said:

tampa 2 is essentially just a specific type of coverage.  In 2011, no team other than the Colts ran tampa 2 more than 10% of the time.  The colts ran it over 50% of the time that year.  The Bears defense was a Cover 2 defense but they ran tampa 2 coverage 10% of the time or less....mostly in long yardage situations, which is the way it should be.  If you want to call that a "tampa 2 defense" then ok...but 90% of the time or more they were not in tampa 2 coverage (the Bears, that is).

 

That was one year at the end of the Lovie Smith Tampa-2 era.  That's a pretty nit-picky sample size...

 

You don't remember Brian Urlacher dropping deep as the Tampa-2-MLB for almost a decade?  I do.

 

They stayed in Tampa-2 almost the whole game against Manning in the SB.

[LJpalmbeacher2]

12 hours ago, CR91 said:

this will not be a sit back and dont give up the big play tampa 2. This will be more of an attacking zone defense.

 

Actually i read somewhere, i think on colt app, that Reich said it would be a Bend dont Break type defense.

[Jason_]

*edit...got myself confused lol

[Scott Pennock]

I'm sure we'll run multiple fronts and switch in and out of zone.....BUT......even in a cover 2 I'm willing to bet that we'll press WR's at the line and follow/release through assigned zones....

[Lucky Colts Fan]

Just now, J@son said:

No, that was in 2006

 

Well, you said 2011... and also didn't provide a link to the numbers you're posting.

 

42 minutes ago, J@son said:

In 2011, no team other than the Colts ran tampa 2 more than 10% of the time.

 

But what's your point?  It doesn't sound like the Colts are going pure Tampa-2, it sounds like some Tampa-2 is going to be sprinkled in "where appropriate", so I don't understand why you made an assumption about what other people are assuming?

 

2 hours ago, J@son said:

why are people assuming we're going to a tampa 2 defense? 

 

 

[Jason_]

8 minutes ago, Lucky Colts Fan said:

 

Well, you said 2011... and also didn't provide a link to the numbers you're posting.

 

 

 

yep I realized that right after posting and edited my comment above.  as for a link to the numbers...unfortunately don't have one.  It was a graphic shown during one of the Colts games late in the 2011 season.  I distinctly remember it though because I'd been complaining about how much they were using tampa 2 from the start of the season.  

 

Quote

But what's your point?  It doesn't sound like the Colts are going pure Tampa-2, it sounds like some Tampa-2 is going to be sprinkled in "where appropriate", so I don't understand why you made an assumption about what other people are assuming?

 

um...look at the thread title

[Lucky Colts Fan]

Just now, J@son said:

um...look at the thread title

 

I did.  And I reread the OP.  It doesn't say anywhere that the Colts are switching to a pure Tampa-2.  It just talks about how Quincy Wilson might fit into a Tampa-2.  Nothing at all about how much Tampa-2 the Colts will use.

 

You made the assumption that others are assuming we're making a full switch to the Tampa-2.  Maybe the OP does assume we're switching to a pure Tampa-2, but you'd have to ask them.

 

If you do see anyone, especially Ballard, say that we're making the switch to a pure Tampa-2, let me know.

 

[Jason_]

3 minutes ago, Lucky Colts Fan said:

 

I did.  And I reread the OP.  It doesn't say anywhere that the Colts are switching to a pure Tampa-2.  It just talks about how Quincy Wilson might fit into a Tampa-2.  Nothing at all about how much Tampa-2 the Colts will use.

 

You made the assumption that others are assuming we're making a full switch to the Tampa-2.  Maybe the OP does assume we're switching to a pure Tampa-2, but you'd have to ask them.

 

If you do see anyone, especially Ballard, say that we're making the switch to a pure Tampa-2, let me know.

 

 

There have been a ton of other posts in other threads about the Colts going to a tampa 2 defense.  It most definitely was not this thread alone. 

[Lucky Colts Fan]

2 minutes ago, J@son said:

There have been a ton of other posts in other threads about the Colts going to a tampa 2 defense.  It most definitely was not this thread alone. 

 

For sure, there are probably some that think we're going back to the Dungy Tampa-2 days since the Colts are switching to 4-3, and the team that used Tampa-2 more than anyone but the Colts was the Bears when Ballard was there.  I think Ballard will incorporate it into the 4-3.

 

I just want a defense that works. 

[Jason_]

4 minutes ago, Lucky Colts Fan said:

 

For sure, there are probably some that think we're going back to the Dungy Tampa-2 days since the Colts are switching to 4-3, and the team that used Tampa-2 more than anyone but the Colts was the Bears when Ballard was there.  I think Ballard will incorporate it into the 4-3.

 

I just want a defense that works. 

 

exactly and I think that's what we'll be getting if they try to mimic the Bears defense under Marinelli rather than the Colts defense under Dungy/Caldwell.

[chad72]

7 hours ago, tikyle said:

 

Quincy Wilson is in the same mold as Richard Sherman, tall, long, ball hawking DB that is not the fastest but is very physical.  Wilson is a cover 3 guy but he'll be fine in a Tampa 2 scheme as long as they bump some.

 

That is the key right there, don't play off too much, make your physicality and size matter with bumping at LOS. QBs like Brady, Rodgers, Brees and Big Ben throw Cover 2 beaters in their sleep by looking off safeties constantly. Guys like Antonio Brown, this scheme would be better suited to take away if your free safety is up to snuff.

 

You have to be able to jump the ball like Bethea did vs Brady or get depth in coverage as a MLB for that throw over the MLB to TE or WR (Brackett did vs Brady in 2007, I think) because those QBs will test you constantly till you make plays, and sometimes even after you make plays, like a 3-pt shooter continuing to shoot 3s despite his misses. Bethea picked off Brady in 2006, 2007, and 2009 I think, whenever we played the Patriots. Unless you are Ed Reed, Hooker is going to be constantly tested in help if we play this scheme.

[neug3246]

6 minutes ago, chad72 said:

 

That is the key right there, don't play off too much, make your physicality and size matter with bumping at LOS. QBs like Brady, Rodgers, Brees and Big Ben throw Cover 2 beaters in their sleep by looking off safeties constantly. Guys like Antonio Brown, this scheme would be better suited to take away if your free safety is up to snuff.

 

You have to be able to jump the ball like Bethea did vs Brady or get depth in coverage as a MLB for that throw over the MLB to TE or WR (Brackett did vs Brady in 2007, I think) because those QBs will test you constantly till you make plays, and sometimes even after you make plays, like a 3-pt shooter continuing to shoot 3s despite his misses. Bethea picked off Brady in 2006, 2007, and 2009 I think, whenever we played the Patriots. Unless you are Ed Reed, Hooker is going to be constantly tested in help if we play this scheme.

I take hooker being tested any day he is a play maker!!

[Jason_]

On 2/27/2018 at 1:08 PM, Lucky Colts Fan said:

If you do see anyone, especially Ballard, say that we're making the switch to a pure Tampa-2, let me know.

 

 

Well not Ballard, but will Frank Reich saying we're switching to a tampa 2 work? lol  Not gonna lie, I almost threw up in my mouth every time "tampa 2" came out of Reich's mouth during the press conference earlier...but he also referred to the Bear's defense under Marinelli being a "tampa 2" defense and I never considered it that.  I always thought of it as a Cover 2 defense.  Starting to sound like it's just semantics at this point.  And if that's then I'm...ok with it.  Not thrilled but ok.  I've always liked Rod Marinelli and the way he ran and called his defenses as opposed to Dungy and Caldwell/Coyer.

[Coffeedrinker]

We really have too small a sample size of wilson and how he may fit in a Zone type scheme.  To me, he seemed excellent and mirroring the receiver and staying in his hip pocket but he seemed to not do a great job of tracking the ball in the air.  Unfortunately, that is a big responsibility in zone coverage is reacting to the ball when it's in the air.

 

In a zone D, I think i would rather see him move back to safety than play CB but we will see in training camp.

[BOTT]

On 2/27/2018 at 11:24 AM, Lucky Colts Fan said:

 

That was one year at the end of the Lovie Smith Tampa-2 era.  That's a pretty nit-picky sample size...

 

You don't remember Brian Urlacher dropping deep as the Tampa-2-MLB for almost a decade?  I do.

 

They stayed in Tampa-2 almost the whole game against Manning in the SB.

Don't think they were playing Tampa 2 when Ron Rivera was the D.C.

[NewColtsFan]

I think the chances Wilson can't succeed in the T-2 we run will be incredibly small bordering on zero.

 

Ballard has known what he's looking for since the day he was hired.   When he selected Wilson with the 42nd pick last year he knew we'd be running the T-2 defense in 2018.   I wouldn't lose a minute's sleep over QWs conversion to our new defense.

 

[Superman]

On 2/27/2018 at 9:48 AM, Scott Pennock said:

I'm sure we'll run multiple fronts and switch in and out of zone.....BUT......even in a cover 2 I'm willing to bet that we'll press WR's at the line and follow/release through assigned zones....

 

On 2/27/2018 at 12:24 PM, chad72 said:

 

That is the key right there, don't play off too much, make your physicality and size matter with bumping at LOS.

 

Which is how it should be done. Can't play 8 yards back every down and give up cheap completions. Marlin Jackson and Kelvin Hayden had it going nicely early in 2007, playing tough at the line to disrupt timing, and still competing when the ball came their way. Then Freeney got hurt. Then Mathis got hurt.

 

Two years later, Larry Coyer was running the show, and the defense has almost completely lost its identity by the time Drew Brees carved them up in the SB.

 

Can't play a passive, non-threatening, soft zone scheme and expect to hold up against today's passers.

[SolidGold]

Opposite Quincy Wilson ?