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Breakdown
Under Smoke 2 is a zone-based safety blitz out of the Dime 2-3-6 Big Dime 4-1-6 personnel that disguises pressure while dropping into a Cover 2 shell behind it. The defense sends a safety off the edge to create a numbers advantage against the protection while the remaining underneath defenders spin into a two deep, five under Cover 2 zone to clamp down on short and intermediate routes. Your primary read as the defender calling this is the quarterback's eyes at the snap: confirm the blitzer gets home or forces a quick throw, then flow to your zone drop to rally on any underneath breaking route.
Defensive Reads
Watch for empty backfield or four vertical route concepts pre-snap, since Under Smoke 2 can leave a soft spot over the deep middle if both safeties are occupied with the blitz and deep half responsibilities. Key the running back's release pre-snap, if he stays in to block it confirms the safety blitz has a free run and you should expect a quick throw from the quarterback. Post-snap, watch the flat defenders funnel any check down or screen pass back inside toward the pursuing underneath zone defenders rather than letting it bounce outside. This beats teams that rely on a five or seven step drop with slower developing man beater route combos, since the free rusher disrupts timing before routes fully develop. This gets exposed by quick game concepts like stick or spacing where the ball comes out in under two seconds, and it can also be beaten by play-action rollouts that pull the blitzing safety out of position and attack the vacated flat.
Usage Tips
Call Under Smoke 2 on passing downs like 2nd and long or 3rd and medium when the offense is likely to take a quick five step drop and get the ball out fast.
Pre-snap, identify if the offense has a hot route or sight adjustment built in for the blitzed side, since the safety blitz can be picked up easily by a running back or tight end check release.
User the underneath zone defender closest to the blitz side to rob any quick slant or drag that the quarterback throws hot, since the safety vacates that area coming off the edge.
Disguise this call by showing a two deep shell pre-snap and mugging the safety late before the snap so the quarterback cannot diagnose the blitz early and audible into a screen.
Pair this with Cover 2 Man or Cover 2 Sink in your play-calling sequence so opponents cannot key on the deep two safety shell and must respect both the blitz and standard zone drop concepts.
