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Success of Cover 2 hinges on ability to reroute receivers

TAMPA — Hall of Fame pitcher Warren Spahn, winner of 363 major-league games, had a simple explanation for his success.

“Hitting is timing,” he said. “Pitching is upsetting timing.”

The same holds true for the Tampa 2.

The base defensive scheme employed by the Buccaneers relies on the concept of rerouting receivers, knocking them off stride and steering them where you want them to go, rather than their assigned paths.

“If it’s Cover 2, it’s everything,” Tampa Bay defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier said of the art of disrupting pass patterns. “The cornerback must make the No.