Playbooks
Ws Blitz 3 is a Cover 3 safety blitz out of the Over G 4-2-5 Big Nickel package that brings a Will safety off the edge while dropping the underneath defenders into a three deep, four under zone shell. The blocking assignments up front slide to account for the extra rusher, so this is strictly a defensive play call, not a run or pass concept for the offense. As a defender, your primary read progression starts with confirming the Will safety gets a clean rush lane, then working from the deep middle safety in Cover 3 out to the flat and curl defenders to close throwing windows before the quarterback can climb the pocket.
Watch the running back and tight end alignment pre-snap, if they check release patterns into the flat where your blitzer is attacking, expect a quick throw to beat the pressure Key the quarterback's eyes after the snap, in Cover 3 the deep middle defender should stay square to bait a throw into the deep third before the blitz arrives This call beats teams that rely on slow developing play-action rollouts or deep drop back concepts since the extra rusher collapses the pocket before routes fully break Man beater offenses with quick slants and pick routes can exploit the vacated underneath zone if the blitzer is picked up cleanly, so be ready to sink the nearest zone defender into that void Look for offensive hot routes that convert outside receivers to quick hitches or stick routes, which are the classic answer to a Cover 3 zone blitz look
Call this on early downs or third and medium when you expect the offense to hold protection and take time developing route combos downfield
Check the offensive personnel pre-snap, if they come out in 11 or 12 personnel with a single back, the extra rusher from this blitz has a favorable angle against a five man protection
User the Will safety blitzer immediately after the snap to time the rush with any hot route adjustments the CPU makes to the underneath zone defenders
Pair this with Ws Blitz 1 and Ws Blitz 2 in the same set to disguise which gap the Will safety attacks, forcing the quarterback to guess the rush lane on every snap
Avoid calling this against empty backfield sets since the extra rusher loses a blocker to account for but the underneath zone gets stretched thin against five eligible receivers