Playbooks
Breakdown
Saw Blitz 1 out of the Tite Leo 4-3 Base 5-2 personnel sends five defenders downhill on the blitz path shown by the red arrows, overloading the box with a five-man rush look. Behind the blitz, the defense plays Cover 1 with a single deep safety sitting over the top and man coverage assignments marked across the second level and outside, leaving one underneath defender (the dot next to the rushers) as a spy or hook player. This is a man beater blitz designed to win with pressure before the quarterback can climb the pocket, so the primary read is getting off the snap and attacking the gap the blitz creates while the man defenders lock up receivers.
Defensive Reads
Pre snap check the offensive formation for empty backfield or four vertical stacks, since one deep safety man coverage struggles to help on go routes with no underneath help Look at the running back alignment, if he stays in to block the rush wins clean, if he releases into the boundary that is the outlet the blitz needs to eliminate first Post snap key the single high safety, if he bails hard to the play side he can undercut deep crossers but leaves the opposite half exposed This blitz shuts down quick game and RPO reads because the extra rusher forces a fast decision, but it is vulnerable to hot route slants against the man defenders if the offensive line picks up the rush Watch the dot marked defender near the box, that player is your lurk or spy, if the user controls him into an underneath zone he can jump shallow crossers and rob quick outs
Usage Tips
Call Saw Blitz 1 on early downs when you have already shown base Cover 1 or Cover 3 from Tite Leo so the five man rush look does not tip your hand
Use this on third and short to medium since the added rusher wins fast against play action holds or slow developing route combos
Pair Saw Blitz 1 with Cover 3 Sky or Cover 3 Match earlier in the series so the blitz look blends in and quarterbacks cannot key the single high safety pre snap
Hot route the spy or hook defender into a shallow crosser wall if you diagnose quick game or slants, since the extra rusher already removes the shallow layer
Avoid calling this against empty or four vert shells unless you user the deep safety, since one high man coverage is vulnerable to a go route beating the corner over the top
