Playbooks
Mike Sim 2 is a Cover 2 zone blitz look out of the 3-4 Grizzly Base 5-2 personnel that simulates interior pressure while dropping extra defenders into underneath zones. The Mike linebacker fakes a blitz path or drops depending on the pre-snap look, while the defensive line stunts to disguise where the pressure is actually coming from, and two deep safeties hold the top of the coverage. Your primary read progression starts with the Mike backer to confirm whether he rushes or drops, then flows to the underneath zone defenders to see if a hook or curl defender jumps a route, and finally to the two deep safeties to make sure neither ball hawk is baiting a throw over the middle.
Watch the offensive line protection assignments right after the snap, if the line slides to the Mike side they have identified the sim pressure and you should consider bailing the Mike backer into a deeper zone instead. This play beats quick game and shallow crossers because the underneath defenders sit in their zones and read the quarterback's eyes rather than getting sucked upfield by a blitz fake. Man beater route combos with a single high safety read can exploit this look if the quarterback recognizes the two deep shell and throws to the vacated seam behind the Mike drop. Look for the running back to check release into the flat, since sim pressure often leaves the flat defender in conflict between covering the back and squeezing the sideline throw. Post-snap, track any user controlled lurk defender sitting in the middle hook zone, aggressive users will jump underneath routes and bait comeback or curl throws into the vacated area behind them.
Use this call on early downs or second and medium when you want to disguise pressure without fully committing to an all out blitz.
Show the same pre-snap alignment you use for Mike Hot Blitz 3 and Mike Blitz 0 so quarterbacks cannot key on personnel or depth to diagnose the sim pressure versus the real blitz.
If the offense is running quick game or spread sets, user the Mike linebacker yourself and spy the quarterback on rollout or scramble drills since the AI drop can be slow to react.
Hot route the underneath zone defenders to widen or tighten their spacing based on whether the offense is attacking the flats or the seams, since sim pressure leaves natural gaps in the intermediate zones.
Pair this play with Cover 3 and Cover 2 Invert in your play-calling sequence so offenses cannot distinguish your two deep safety shells from your three deep shells before the snap.