Playbooks
Quick Reference
Breakdown
Saw Blitz 1 out of the 3-4 Under Base 5-2 personnel sends five rushers straight downhill with red arrows converging toward the same gap, showing a stacked interior blitz designed to collapse the pocket fast. Behind it the diagram shows Cover 1 Man with a single deep safety in the middle of the field and press or tight man alignment on the outside receivers, leaving the underneath zone empty and daring the offense to win one on one. This is a man beater blitz package meant to force a quick throw or a sack, and the primary read progression for the defense is the fastest offensive lineman release into the shotgun to identify a hot back before crashing the A or B gap that opens fastest.
Defensive Reads
Pre-snap, confirm the single high safety and press or tight alignment on the perimeter to make sure the offense is not sliding protection toward the blitz side. Key the running back and tight end release, since Saw Blitz 1 leaves the underneath area vulnerable to a check release into the flat or a quick option route. This call beats teams that rely on long developing play action rollouts or deep drop back passing concepts, since the interior pressure arrives before those routes can fully break. Man beater route combos with immediate hitches or slants against the blitzing linebackers can hurt this call, so watch for quick game concepts designed to exploit vacated underneath zones. Post-snap, track for any hot route audibles that turn the running back into a check release blocker, which signals the offense recognized the blitz and is trying to buy the quarterback extra time.
Usage Tips
Use Saw Blitz 1 on third and long or second and long when the offense is likely to sit back in a five or seven step drop passing concept.
Disguise the blitz by walking down a linebacker late and rotating the single high safety just before the snap so the quarterback cannot get a clean pre-snap read on the Cover 1 shell.
Pair this call with Weak Blitz 1 and Weak Blitz 3 in the same set to keep the offense guessing on which side the extra rusher is coming from while staying in the same man coverage shell behind it.
If the offense starts running quick game or hot routes to beat five man pressure, mix in Cover 1 Robber Press or Cover 1 Hole WK to show the same deep look but drop an extra defender into the shallow area.
Spy the mobile quarterback with the free defender if you sense a scramble read, since the aggressive downhill rush angles can be exploited by a quarterback who escapes the pocket to the edge.
