Playbooks
Ws Blitz 3 is a Cover 3 safety blitz out of the Over G, 4-2-5 Big Nickel personnel that brings the weak safety off the edge while dropping into a three deep, four under zone shell behind it. The blitz is designed to create a numbers advantage against the offensive tackle or tight end on the weak side, forcing a quick decision from the quarterback before the deep thirds can be tested. Primary read for the defense is the weak safety's rush lane, then transitioning to the underneath zone droppers to squeeze any hot routes or check downs that come open in the flat or middle hook.
Watch the tight end or running back alignment pre snap, since a chip blocker on the blitzing safety can neutralize the pressure and expose the underneath zone Identify if the offense is in a spread or empty look, since Ws Blitz 3 struggles against four and five receiver sets that overload the underneath zones Key the quarterback's eyes after the snap, since Cover 3 with a blitz is vulnerable to hot route conversions to the flat if the underneath defenders drop too deep too fast This blitz beats man beater route combos and quick game concepts that rely on the quarterback having a clean pocket, since the extra rusher disrupts timing Watch for hard play action or RPO run fakes, since the weak safety blitzing out of the box removes a run defender and creates a lane if the offense reads the blitz correctly
Call this on early downs or third and medium when you expect a quick game passing attack, since the extra rusher pressures the quarterback before deep routes develop
Check the offensive formation for a tight end or extra blocker on the weak side pre snap, since a clean release for the weak safety is critical to getting pressure home
Use the flat zone defender as your first key against RPOs, since the underneath zone can be manipulated by run action if you do not user the flat defender aggressively
Pair this with Ws Blitz 1 and Ws Blitz 2 in the same set to disguise which gap the weak safety is attacking, keeping quarterbacks guessing on blitz direction
Avoid calling this against empty backfield sets or trips formations, since the extra blitzer creates natural voids in the underneath zone that quick slot routes exploit