Quote:The cover 2 is not gimmicky because multiple teams have run it successfully for over 15 years, often without a loaded lineup. We've reached the point where it's been solved, but it's a staple not a gimmick. Right now the defense Gus wants to use basically works in 1 place, and only there because they have all-pro talent to run it. Dungy just couldn't put the offense together to get over the hump in Tampa, but he was a defensive coach, and having Manning in Indy really helped improve his glaring weakness. Bradley is a defensive coach who can't field a decent defense while trying to shoehorn in guys who aren't a scheme fit. Dungy coached Indy, he didn't copy Tampa Bay.  

Examples of teams that ran the cover 2 successfully without a loaded lineup?

 

As for the Jaguars defensive schemes, its roots date back to the Walsh era 49ers.  It's had success in multiple spots, including Green Bay.

 

The principles of Dungy's defense dates back to the Steelers of the 1970s.  I'm not sure what the originality of his schemes or the crossover from TB to Indy has to do with whether they were gimmicks.

 

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl.../15005379/

 

Of particular relevance to my points...

 

Quote: 

The roots, however, traced to Pittsburgh with head coach Chuck Noll and defensive coordinator Bud Carson two decades before that. Dungy was a young defensive back then for the Steelers.

"People identified it with Tampa, but there was nothing different. We didn't make any changes from the 1975 playbook," Dungy said. "There isn't too much new in the game of football that hasn't been done before."

 

With tackle Warren Sapp, linebacker Derrick Brooks and safety John Lynch, those Buccaneers teams had quite the backbone.

"You can have the blueprints, but if you don't have the parts they don't work," Brooks said. "Players play the game. Systems don't."

 

Seams in the coverage, though, were easier to exploit without Hall of Fame players like Sapp and Brooks defending. Dungy and Edwards moved from the sideline to the TV studio. The increase in three-wide receiver and two-tight end sets, plus elite quarterback play, minimized the effectiveness of the Tampa 2.

(Emphasis added)

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