Playbooks
Quick Reference
Breakdown
Nickel Blitz 3 is a five-man pressure package out of the 2-4 Single Mug front that drops into Cover 3 behind the rush. Both inside linebackers crash downhill through the A and B gaps off the mug alignment while the underneath zone defenders wall off the middle and the three deep defenders split the field into thirds. This is a zone blitz designed to disrupt the quarterback's timing while still protecting against the deep ball, so your primary read as the defender is to trust the pressure to affect the throw and let your deep thirds defenders squeeze anything that tries to sit down over the middle.
Defensive Reads
Watch the running back release out of the backfield first, since a blitz beater checkdown or flare route is the easiest answer to this pressure and your underneath defenders need to squat and jump it. Key the offensive line splits pre-snap, if the guards widen out expect quick screens designed to counter the mug blitz. Post-snap, track the deep thirds defenders to make sure no one bites too hard on double moves since Cover 3 is vulnerable to intermediate crossers sitting in the seams between zones. If the quarterback is a scrambler, spy his escape lanes because the interior pressure can open cutback lanes up the gut. This play struggles against quick slants and spot routes over the middle, so if you see three receiver bunch or stack formations be ready to bail into a deeper drop with your underneath zone defender.
Usage Tips
Call this on early downs or third and medium when you expect a quick game passing concept, since the mug front disguises which gap the linebackers are attacking. Check the offensive personnel pre-snap for max protect or six man protection, because if they slide protection to the mug you can user the free rusher to bait a bad throw. Use the flexibility of the 2-4 Single Mug set by mixing this with Cov 3 Buzz Match and Cover 1 Hole so the offense cannot key on the mug look and know pressure is coming every snap. Hot route your slot corner or nickel defender into a deeper zone drop if you are worried about a seam route beating the underneath rotation. Sequence this after DB Blitz Tex 3 to keep the quarterback guessing on where the extra rusher originates from the same pre-snap picture.
