Playbooks
Likely unavailable in the playbook builder
Quick Reference
In 1 playbook
Breakdown
Strike Spy 2 out of the 3-4 Cub Base 5-2 personnel is a Cover 2 zone shell built around a spy assignment on the quarterback while bringing pressure off the edge. The linebackers drop into their zone landmarks underneath while the spy sits in the middle of the field to account for scrambling quarterbacks and delayed running back releases, and the two deep safeties bracket the field in Cover 2 to protect against verticals. Your primary read starts with the spy defender tracking mobile quarterbacks, then progresses to the underneath zone droppers reading the flow of the play before the deep safeties clean up anything over the top.
Defensive Reads
Watch the quarterback's first two steps after the snap to determine if he is going to scramble outside the pocket, which is exactly what the spy is designed to eliminate. Key the running back's release out of the backfield since the spy and underneath zone defenders need to account for check downs and screen passes early in the down. Read the two deep safeties for any rotation that signals the offense identified Cover 2 and is attacking the deep middle seam or the corner routes to the flat. Strike Spy 2 struggles against quick game concepts like slants and hitches thrown before the spy and underneath defenders can settle into their zones, so expect trouble against fast-tempo passing attacks. This play shuts down designed quarterback runs and rollout play-action but can be exploited by offenses that attack the flats quickly with RPO concepts before the edge pressure gets home.
Usage Tips
Call Strike Spy 2 against mobile quarterbacks who like to escape the pocket, since the spy defender takes away the scramble and forces the quarterback to sit in a collapsing pocket.
Use pre-snap motion recognition to confirm the offense is not running a designed rollout or bootleg away from the spy, since that can neutralize the spy assignment entirely.
User the spy defender manually if you want to jump underneath drag routes and shallow crossers once you confirm the quarterback is not scrambling, then release into a shallow zone drop.
Pair Strike Spy 2 with Cover 3 Sky and Cover 1 Hole from the same Cub set to disguise your coverage shell pre-snap and keep the offense guessing between two deep, three deep, and man match concepts.
Best used on second and long or third and long situations where you expect the offense to hold the ball and look downfield, giving the spy extra time to read the quarterback's eyes.
