Playbooks
Quick Reference
In 12 playbooks
Breakdown
Saw Blitz 2 is a five-man pressure package out of the 3-4 Tite Base 5-2 personnel that drops into a two-deep, three-under zone shell behind the rush. Both outside linebackers crash off the edge while the interior sends extra gap pressure through the middle, leaving the two deep safeties to split the field and the underneath defenders to wall off shallow crossers and flare routes. This is a Cover 2 zone blitz designed to disrupt the quarterback's timing pre-throw, so the primary read is getting the user-controlled rush defender home off the edge before the deep half safeties have to react to any vertical shots down the middle.
Defensive Reads
Watch pre-snap for two deep safeties settling into a Cover 2 shell, if the offense motions a receiver into the boundary and the corner does not follow, expect a hot route into that vacated zone. Post-snap, key the flat defenders immediately since Cover 2 flats are the first area attacked by quick outs and speed options, jump the route the instant the receiver breaks outside. This blitz gets exploited by teams running deep post routes into the middle seam between the two safeties, so if you see twin vertical releases, consider using your user defender to sink into that hole rather than committing fully to the rush. Identify if the quarterback is in shotgun with quick game concepts called, since that is exactly the timing this blitz is designed to disrupt before the ball comes out. Watch for max protect or six-man protection schemes, which neutralize the extra rusher and turn this into a standard four-man Cover 2 look with no added benefit.
Usage Tips
Call this on early downs or third and medium when you expect a quick-game passing concept, since the extra rusher is built to beat rhythm throws before route combos develop.
Pre-snap, check if the offense is in a spread formation with no true blocker on your edge rushers, that is your green light to send this pressure with confidence.
Use your user-controlled defender to spy the middle of the field or drop into the deep hole if you see stacked receivers running vertical seams, since Cover 2 is naturally weak to the deep middle void.
Sequence this with Saw Blitz 1 and Saw Blitz 0 earlier in the game so the quarterback cannot key the same pre-snap look, then bring Saw Blitz 2 when you see them start hot routing into quick flares.
Avoid calling this against heavy run personnel on early downs, since the aggressive edge rush can be gapped out of position against a strong inline run blocking scheme.
