Playbooks
Quick Reference
Breakdown
Side Blitz out of the 3-3 Load Dbl Mug set in Nickel sends all six underneath defenders downhill with hard red arrows, showing a full-out pressure package with no true zone drops shown behind the blitz. The four X markers at the second and third levels indicate the deep coverage defenders holding down the middle and both sideline thirds while everyone else crashes the line. This is a blitz-heavy man pressure look designed to overload one side of the protection and force a quick, incomplete progression from the quarterback rather than run a traditional route concept of its own.
Defensive Reads
Check the offensive line splits pre-snap, tight splits signal they expect pressure and may have a screen or quick game answer ready. Look for a running back staying in to chip block, that tells you the protection is sliding toward your overload and you should peel an extra rusher to the opposite edge. Watch the quarterback's eyes at the snap, if he immediately looks to the overloaded side he has identified the blitz and will try to throw hot. This beats teams that snap the ball quickly without checking protection, since the overload arrives before extra blockers can adjust. This gets exposed by max protect calls with seven blockers or quick game concepts like slants and hitches that get the ball out before the rush closes, so avoid calling it against offenses that have shown quick triggers.
Usage Tips
Disguise this call behind other Dbl Mug pressures like Blitz Loop 0 and Blitz Loop 3 so the offense cannot key on the mugged look pre-snap.
Use this on third and long or in two minute situations where the offense is likely to hold protection for a deep shot, giving your rush extra time to win.
Bring the overload to the side of the offense's weaker pass protector, usually the tackle away from the tight end, to speed up the sack or hurry.
User the extra rusher off the edge on the mugged side and let the AI handle contain on the backside to prevent a scramble lane.
Pair this with Cover 1 LB Blitz in your call sheet so quarterbacks see similar pre-snap looks but get different pressure angles and coverage behind it.
