Playbooks
Thunder Smoke is a five man pressure package out of the 3-3-5 Over Wide set that sends a Sam and Will linebacker overload look while dropping into a Cover 3 shell behind it. The front disguises the exact rushers pre snap, forcing the offensive line to identify the extra blitzer late and creating one on one matchups on the edge. This is a blitz beater against slow developing pass concepts and the primary read for the defense is watching the quarterback's eyes to trigger the underneath robber or hook defender into passing lanes as the rush gets home.
Pre snap, identify if the running back is releasing to the boundary or the field side since that tells you which gap the offense expects to be free. Watch the offensive tackle's stance, a wider or heavier set often means they are anticipating the edge blitzer and will slide protection that direction. Post snap, user the closest underneath defender to the quarterback's first read to jump any hitch, slant, or quick out that is designed to beat pressure. This play beats teams that rely on five step drops and levels concepts, but it can be exposed by hot route sight adjusts or quick game bubble screens if your linebackers bite too hard on the rush. If the quarterback shows immediate eyes to one side pre snap, trust that the sim pressure will hold up and stay disciplined in your drop rather than jumping the route early.
Use Thunder Smoke on early down passing situations where you expect a play action or deep shot concept, since the pressure disrupts the quarterback's timing before routes can develop.
Check the offensive personnel pre snap and if you see max protect or extra tight ends staying in to block, be ready to user the spy or hook defender instead of committing to a blind blitz.
Hot route the underneath zone defender to widen or shrink his drop based on where you see the slot receiver aligning, this closes off quick game throws that offenses use to counter pressure.
Pair Thunder Smoke with Cover 3 Sim Pressure and Cover 1 Sting Wk in your play calling sequence so quarterbacks cannot key blitzer count or coverage shell from formation alone.
On third and long, call this after showing Cover 4 Quarters on the previous snap to sell a soft shell before bringing the extra rusher.