Playbooks
Breakdown
Edge Blitz 3 is a Cover 3 zone blitz out of the Dime 2-3-6 set that sends edge pressure off both corners of the front while dropping into a three deep, four under shell behind it. The diagram shows both outside linebackers or edge rushers crashing hard downhill with the interior four rushing straight ahead, while the two deep purple zones roll to the flats and the yellow zone sits as the deep middle third with two blue zones taking the deep outside thirds. This is a zone beater against man concepts and a pressure package designed to disrupt timing routes, with the primary read being the quarterback's eyes and hot route before the edge rushers close on him.
Defensive Reads
Watch the offensive tackles and tight end alignment pre-snap to see if they can pick up both edge rushers cleanly, since this blitz loses value against max protect looks. Key the running back's release out of the backfield, as he is the first outlet against the edge pressure and the underneath zone defenders need to account for him immediately. Post-snap, trust the deep middle third defender to stay on top of any vertical seam or post route since the deep zones are thin with only three defenders covering the field. This look gets exploited by quick game concepts like slants and flats that get the ball out before the edge rush arrives, so disguise the blitz look until the last possible moment. Avoid calling this against empty backfield sets where the offense has extra blockers or hot route answers built in to beat overload pressure.
Usage Tips
Call this on early downs or third and medium when you expect a quick game passing attack that relies on timing throws. Check the offensive formation pre-snap for empty sets or trips, since the edge rushers can get walked back into coverage if you diagnose a screen or rollout coming. Use the flat zone defenders to squeeze bubble screens and quick outs before the rush even arrives. Pair this with Cover 3 Buzz Match or Cover 3 Sky in the same set so quarterbacks cannot key on your edge rush tendency from a shared shell look. Mix in Edge Blitz 0 from man coverage to keep the offense guessing between man and zone pressure out of the same Dime personnel.
