Playbooks
Quick Reference
In 12 playbooks
Breakdown
Safety Blitz out of the 4-3 Under Base personnel sends both defensive ends crashing hard off the edges while the two interior defenders drop straight down through the A and B gaps, giving you a four-man rush with two out wide contain rushers and two inside plug defenders. The two shaded dots underneath show linebackers sitting in short zone drops to cut off quick game and RPO reads, while the two X's out on the perimeter stay home in deep coverage to protect against explosive shots over the top. This is a zone blitz style pressure package designed to disguise where the extra rush is coming from, and the primary read is getting immediate eyes to the offensive tackles to see if either edge rusher wins clean off the snap for a home run sack conversion.
Defensive Reads
Watch the running back pre-snap. If he stays in to block, this blitz has a numbers advantage and should get instant pressure up front. Key the offensive tackles at the snap. If they widen too fast to handle the crashing ends, look for a natural running lane for a spy or shooter to exploit. Post-snap, track the two underneath zone droppers. They are your eyes for anything working the middle of the field on drags, slants, or check downs. This look is vulnerable to hot route adjustments that put a receiver on a quick out or flat route away from the crashing edge rushers, so be ready to bail to zone coverage if the offense audibles into empty. Against play-action, the crashing ends can be a liability if they bite too hard on run fakes, so use manual controlled rushers to stay disciplined and squeeze passing lanes instead of overrunning the play fake.
Usage Tips
Call this on early downs against offenses that like to test the edge with outside zone or stretch runs since the crashing ends can blow up the play in the backfield.
Use pre-snap motion adjustments on the offense to bait the safety into showing his hand before the snap so you know which gap he is filling.
Pair this with Cover 1 Hole or Cover 1 Hole Press earlier in a series so the quarterback gets used to seeing single high shells, then dial up Safety Blitz to disguise the extra rusher out of the same look.
Best used on third and medium or third and long when the offense is likely to sit in the pocket and go through a full progression, giving your edge rushers time to close.
If you see empty backfield or trips formations, consider checking to Free Fire or Sam Blitz 2 instead since this call can leave light coverage on quick option routes.
