Playbooks
Breakdown
Field Blitz 3 is a Cover 3 zone blitz out of the 4-3 Tite Leo base 5-2 personnel. Both outside cornerbacks sink into deep thirds while the two safeties collapse from depth into underneath zones, and the middle linebacker drops into a shallow curl/hook zone as the four rushers (including at least one extra blitzer off the edge) attack the pocket immediately off the snap. The primary read for the quarterback facing this is to identify the single deep-middle defender first, then work to the sideline third that has the least underneath help before the four-man plus blitz pressure closes the pocket.
Defensive Reads
Watch for the quarterback attacking the deep middle third first, since that is the softest area if your deep-middle defender is late getting to depth. If the offense runs a play-action rollout, the blitzers here can be washed out of their lanes, so be ready to spy or contain with a user-controlled defender. Man beater route combos like double slants or a deep out to the flat can exploit the seam between the underneath zone dropper and the sideline third if the linebacker is slow to react. Pre-snap, identify if the offense is sliding protection toward the blitz side, which tells you if the extra rusher will be picked up or if you get a free run at the quarterback. Post-snap, key the running back: if he stays in to block, expect max protection and a deep shot to the boundary, so keep your deep thirds honest and do not jump underneath routes too early.
Usage Tips
Call this on early downs or third and medium when you want to disguise pressure while still keeping three deep defenders to protect against the deep ball.
Check the pre-snap safety alignment: if both safeties are showing deep, this zone blitz look holds up better against play-action rollouts since the underneath zones fill fast.
Use hot routes to slide the underneath curl defender wider if you see the offense stacking a receiver to that side, since the shallow zone dropper can get picked on quick out routes.
Pair this with Saw Blitz 0 or Saw Blitz 1 from the same set so quarterbacks cannot key on blitzer count or gap direction based on pre-snap alignment alone.
Save this for situations where you expect a quick-game passing attack, since the extra rusher wins fastest against three-step drops and shallow crossers.
