Playbooks
Breakdown
Dime Blitz 3 is a five-man pressure package out of the Dime 4-1-6 personnel that drops into Cover 3 zone behind the rush. Both outside cornerbacks and the slot corner in the near zone squat and sink under vertical routes while the deep middle safety drops down as an underneath robber, leaving three deep zone defenders (the two outside thirds plus a deep middle) to cover the field. Up front all five rushers, four down linemen plus a blitzing defensive back off the edge, attack the pocket immediately, so this is a zone blitz built to disrupt timing throws and beat man concepts that rely on receivers getting a clean release.
Defensive Reads
Pre-snap, identify the number of receivers to the blitz side, if the offense stacks three receivers into the rush lane the DB blitzer can get picked or rerouted before reaching the quarterback. Watch the running back's alignment, if he checks release into the blitzing defensive back's lane you may need to spy or adjust the blitz angle to avoid a free runner in protection. Post-snap, key the quarterback's eyes on quick game and slants, the underneath robber squats in the shallow middle to jump throws over the middle before the deep thirds are stressed. This look shuts down man beater comebacks and digs since the flat and shallow help discourages quick outs, but it is vulnerable to hot route sight adjustments and hitch throws if the rush is picked up cleanly. Recognize empty or four verticals concepts and trust the three deep defenders to hold their thirds, but if a receiver runs a seam right at the deep middle defender's drop, that is the biggest post-snap threat to this coverage shell.
Usage Tips
Call this on early downs or third and long when you expect the offense to take a deep shot, since the extra rusher forces the quarterback to speed up his read before deep routes develop.
Pre-snap, check for empty backfields or four verticals looks, Dime Blitz 3 is excellent against spread sets because the DB blitz off the edge overwhelms a five man protection.
User the DB blitzer off the slot corner position and time your rush to hit the quarterback right as he hits his third step, this play lives and dies on the initial pressure.
Pair this with Cover 4 Palms or Cover 3 Cloud from the same Dime set to disguise the blitz look pre-snap, then bring the extra rusher only when you diagnose run or quick game.
Avoid calling this against heavy trips or bunch formations where the underneath robber can get picked off by natural rub routes, since the zone drops leave short areas vulnerable if the rush does not get home fast.
