Playbooks
Quick Reference
Breakdown
Field Sim 3 is a simulated pressure Cover 3 concept out of the Nickel Over formation, showing four down defenders at the line with two dropping into short zones instead of rushing to disguise the blitz look. The three deep defenders run vertical zone drops splitting the field into thirds while the underneath defenders wall off the shallow crossers and flat zones, creating a true Cover 3 shell behind a simulated four man rush. This is a zone beater killer by design, since it is meant to bait quarterbacks into thinking pressure is coming when in reality it drops eight into coverage, so the primary read for the defense is the quarterback's eyes and hot route reaction to the disguised look before the underneath defenders sink into their zone drops.
Defensive Reads
Pre-snap, identify if the offense is in a spread formation expecting to attack blitz gaps, since this simulated pressure look will bait quick throws into zones that are actually covered. Watch for the quarterback's protection slide or hot route calls at the line, since a good quarterback who recognizes the four man rush and drop numbers will simply throw underneath before zones settle. Post-snap, key the shallow crossers and in-cuts since the underneath droppers must sink to their zone landmarks quickly or they will be exploited by option routes and spot drop windows. This shell is vulnerable to deep out cuts and comeback routes attacking the boundary corner in the deep third if that defender bites on a play-action rollout fake. Look for offenses stacking three levels of routes on one side to overload a single zone defender, particularly if the underneath defender is late getting out of his mesh point read after the fake blitz alignment.
Usage Tips
Use this play on third and medium to long when you expect the offense to check into a hot route or quick game beater against pressure, since the simulated look often freezes quarterbacks for an extra half second.
Pre-snap, show blitz alignment with your front four then bail the two designed droppers at the snap to confuse route concepts designed to attack blitzes.
Pair this with Nickel Blitz 3 and Sim Pressure 3 in the same play-calling sequence so the offense cannot distinguish between real pressure and simulated pressure based on pre-snap alignment alone.
Spot drop your underneath zone defenders with discipline and do not bite on the first crosser, since offenses will try to use in-cuts and drags to exploit the vacated rush lanes.
Mix in user control on a linebacker to rob the deep middle hole or jump an intermediate crossing route, since the deep thirds shell leaves the intermediate area as the primary vulnerability if underneath defenders overcommit.
