Playbooks
Breakdown
FS Zone Blitz brings the free safety off the slot alignment on a delayed rush while the defense rotates into a zone shell behind it, shown by the four underneath defenders spilling into a hook and curl to flat zone drop with two deep outside corners running vertical to deep third responsibilities. The two X defenders on the boundary and the middle X drop into deep zones while the three underneath defenders (two squares and a circle) fill shallow zones to cushion any quick game beaters. This is a zone blitz designed to disguise pressure while still keeping five in coverage, so the primary defensive read is to identify the free safety blitz path first, then trust the underneath zone defenders to react to the flat and curl routes as the QB is forced to speed up his internal clock.
Defensive Reads
Watch for the offense to attack the vacated deep middle zone if the free safety blitzes without a deep safety rotating over the top in time. This beats teams that run hitch, curl, or drag combinations because the underneath zone defenders are numbered correctly to squeeze those windows. Man beater concepts with a single deep vertical route can expose this call if the corners are locked into deep third landmarks instead of trailing receivers. Pre-snap, check if the running back or tight end is aligned to the same side as the safety blitz, since that is the first hot read the quarterback will use against the extra rusher. Post-snap, key the underneath zone defenders sinking into their curl and flat drops immediately, since a slow reaction from those defenders opens the exact window this blitz is designed to close.
Usage Tips
Disguise the safety blitz by showing a two high shell pre-snap and rotating down at the snap so the quarterback cannot identify the extra rusher until it is too late.
Use this on third and medium to third and long when offenses are likely to run curl-flat or shallow drag concepts, since the underneath zone defenders are built to squeeze those throws.
Hot route the underneath zone defenders into tighter curl drops if you expect a quick game passing attack, since the base drops leave a small window in the intermediate middle.
Pair this call with Cover 1 Contain and Cover 3 Hard Flat in the same set so the offense sees similar pre-snap safety depth but cannot key the blitz based on alignment alone.
Avoid calling this against empty formations with fast motion, since the free safety rusher can be picked up easily by a check-release back before he threatens the pocket.
