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Franchise Playsheet
QB Contain
PlaysheetDefenseOverview
QB Contain is a 30 play situational playsheet built around one job: keeping a scrambling quarterback inside the pocket and forcing him to win from the platform. Every formation in the book carries six or three plays, and the concept list tells you exactly what you are buying. Contain and Spy sit next to Cover 1, Cover 2 Man, Cover 3 and Cover 3 Match, so you get rush lanes that stay disciplined instead of nano style pressure that vacates the edge. Sample calls like Cover 1 Contain, Cov 1 QB Contain Spy, Cover 2 Man Spy and Cov 2 Man Contain are the spine of the sheet, and Corner Blitz 3 plus the Safety Blitz and Cover 0 entries give you the aggressive change up when you need a stop instead of a containment.
The formation spread is unusually flat for a defensive book. 3-4, 4-3, Dime and Quarter each get six plays at 20 percent, and 4-2-5 and Nickel each get three at 10 percent. That is four co-equal pillars covering the full personnel range: Base 5-2 and Base 4-3 for run downs and short yardage, Big Nickel 4-2-5 and Nickel 4-2-5 for standard passing downs, and Big Dime 4-1-6 and Big Quarter 3-1-7 for obvious drop back and two minute situations. Each formation only has one set, so there is no set-to-set disguise inside a formation, but you are never stranded in the wrong personnel group against a tempo offense.
You pick QB Contain over a conventional defensive book when your problem is a mobile quarterback, not a route tree. Most 30 play defensive sheets pile plays into Nickel and Dime and treat quarterback containment as a single spy call. This one distributes containment logic across seven personnel groups including Big Quarter 3-1-7, so you can spy with three rushers and seven in coverage on third and long, or contain out of Base 5-2 on second and short, without leaving the concept family. Line Slant and Pinch entries let you compress or angle the front pre-snap, which pairs directly with the Contain calls to wall off scramble lanes.
Scheme Fit
QB Contain wants defensive ends with high pursuit and block shedding who will stay in their lane rather than crash upfield, plus a rangy linebacker or safety with acceleration and tackle ratings who can play the spy role snap after snap. The Big Dime 4-1-6 and Big Quarter 3-1-7 groups only pay off if you carry five or six trustworthy corners and safeties with man coverage and zone coverage ratings that hold up, since those formations make up 40 percent of the book. This is a playbook for a user defender who plays the spy himself and prefers structure over nano pressure, and it is the right pick if your division is full of mobile quarterbacks rather than pocket passers.
Playsheet bonuses
- IUnlocks the playsheet
- II+3Finesse Movesall Defensive Linemen
- III+3Power Movesall Defensive Linemen
- IV+5Zone Coverage, Play RecLinebackers
Every play in this playsheet (30 plays)
3-4 Under6 plays
4-2-5 Over G3 plays
Dime 2-3-66 plays
Nickel Over3 plays
Quarter Normal6 plays
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Search every playbook by tag and personnel grouping, not just QB Contain.
Strengths
- Four formations tied at 20 percent (3-4, 4-3, Dime, Quarter) means you can build an audible package that answers heavy, balanced and empty personnel without ever leaving the playbook, something a Nickel heavy book cannot do
- Contain and Spy concepts appear across the personnel range, so the same rush discipline exists in Base 5-2 on second and short and in Big Quarter 3-1-7 on third and 15, which keeps a scrambling quarterback from finding an open edge on any down
- Quarter at 20 percent with the Big Quarter 3-1-7 group gives you seven coverage bodies on obvious drop back downs, and Bracket Switch Willie style calls let you double a primary target while a spy sits on the quarterback
- The mix of Cover 1, Cover 2 Man, Cover 3 and Cover 3 Match under the same contain shell means you can flip man to zone with identical pre-snap alignment, so a quarterback reading your leverage gets nothing before the snap
- Corner Blitz 3, the Safety Blitz entries and Cover 0 give you real pressure to break tendency after a series of contain calls, and Pinch and Line Slant let you shift the front to flood the side you expect the escape to come from
Weaknesses
- Every one of the six formations has only a single set, so you cannot disguise by shifting between sets inside a formation and your alignment tells become readable across a long series
- The contain and spy emphasis sacrifices rush numbers by design, so against a pocket quarterback with a clean five man protection you are asking four rushers to beat blocks with no structural help
- Nickel and 4-2-5 sit at just 10 percent with three plays each, which is thin for the down and distance range where most offenses live, and you will end up calling out of Dime or 4-3 in situations that really want 4-2-5 personnel
- With 3-4 and 4-3 combining for only 12 run oriented plays and a concept list built around quarterback containment, a committed inside run game or heavy play action can grind against you while your spy stands still
- Thirty plays is a small sheet for a defense, and once an opponent recognizes the contain and spy tendency they will attack with quick outs, flat routes and drag combos underneath the rush lane discipline
Usage Tips
Build your primary audible package out of 4-3 (Base 4-3) and 3-4 (Base 5-2) for first and second down between the tackles, and keep Cov 2 Man Contain as your default so the quarterback cannot escape the pocket on early down scrambles
Go to Dime (Big Dime 4-1-6) on third and 7 to third and 12, then use Cov 1 QB Contain Spy and Cover 2 Man Spy as your two core calls and user the spy defender yourself to mirror the quarterback
Save Quarter (Big Quarter 3-1-7) for third and 13 plus and two minute drill, where seven coverage bodies and a three man contain rush let you sit on everything and take away the scramble as a first option
Mix in Corner Blitz 3 and the Cover 0 and Safety Blitz calls no more than once or twice a series, ideally on second and long after two straight contain looks, so the pressure arrives against a quarterback who has stopped expecting it
Use the Pinch and Line Slant entries pre-snap when you know the quarterback's dominant escape direction, and hot route your flat defenders to stay wide rather than dropping deep so the sideline lane closes
Formations in this playbook
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