Playbooks
Breakdown
3 Sam Will Blitz is a Cover 3 zone blitz out of the 3-3 Cub Nickel package that sends five defenders after the quarterback while dropping the remaining six into a three deep, three under shell. The diagram shows both outside linebackers crashing off the edge, the two flanking defenders (purple zones) sinking to shallow curl or flat depth, the middle linebacker (olive zone) spinning back to protect the deep middle third, and the two deep blue zones on the outside holding the sideline thirds. This is a zone beater blitz designed to disguise pressure while still keeping three deep defenders in place, so the primary read for the defense is watching the quarterback's eyes to jump the shallow crossers or curl routes underneath while trusting the deep thirds to hold up on verticals.
Defensive Reads
Watch the quarterback's pre-snap motion and formation shifts to confirm the offense is not sliding protection toward the Sam or Will blitzers, which would neutralize the pressure. Post-snap, key the running back's release out of the backfield since he is the most common answer to a five man rush and often becomes the checkdown against this blitz. This play beats man beater concepts like slants and drags that rely on the linebackers staying in coverage, since those defenders are now rushing the passer. It is vulnerable to quick hitting routes like stick or spot concepts that attack the shallow zones before the rush arrives, so user the underneath defender closest to the primary route to jump the throw. Look for the offense to attack the vacated deep middle with double moves or seam routes if your olive zone linebacker gets picked off in traffic, since that is the biggest coverage void in this call.
Usage Tips
Call this on early downs or third and medium when you expect a quick game passing attempt or a play call that takes time to develop, since the extra rushers can collapse the pocket before routes break open.
Pre-snap, identify if the offense has trips or bunch to one side and consider shifting your zone drops with hot routes so the underside defenders are not overloaded on the same side as the blitz.
Disguise this look by starting in a two high shell and rotating to Cover 3 at the snap so the quarterback cannot immediately diagnose the blitz and audible into a hot route beater.
Pair this play with Cover 3 Buzz or Cover 1 Robber in your play-calling sequence so the offense sees similar pre-snap alignments but gets different post-snap rotations, keeping them guessing on where the extra defender is coming from.
Avoid calling this against empty formations or against offenses that consistently attack blitzes with quick screens, since the underneath defenders vacate space quickly and can be exploited by RPO or bubble screen concepts.
