Through two weeks of NFL action, league-wide scoring is at its lowest point since 2006. NFL teams are scoring an average of 21.4 points per game, which continues a downward trend since a high of 24.8 points in 2020.
The biggest change is in the passing game. Through two weeks, NFL quarterbacks are completing an average of 19.8 passes per game, the fewest since 2008 (19.7). Yards per game sits at 193.6, the lowest since 1992 (187.6).
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With another 16 weeks left in the regular season, there’s plenty of time for offenses to make a comeback. But ESPN football analyst Mel Kiper Jr. had a new idea: getting rid of two-high coverage in the NFL.
That earned some interesting responses from former players.
Here’s an explainer on two-high coverage, also called Cover 2, in the NFL:
What is two high coverage in the NFL?
You’ll likely hear analysts on NFL broadcasts talk about different coverage systems defenses use. There’s the straightforward man-to-man coverage in which a player has an assignment to trail a specific offensive player. The other system is zone coverage schemes in which players are assigned different areas of the field to cover.
Cover 2 is a system in which two players — often the safeties — cover the deepest area (“zones”) of the field. That means the remaining players in coverage split up the area underneath the two high safeties. That can either be in man-to-man, zone, or a mix of both.
This is not a new idea. Hall…
