Playbooks
Breakdown
Nickel Blitz 3 brings a five man pressure package out of the Nickel Over front while dropping into a Cover 3 shell behind it. Both outside corners press their receivers in man-match zone with deep vertical help, the Mike drops to a shallow zone in the middle of the field, and the two underneath defenders on the right sit in short zones to wall off flat and drag routes. The blitz sends four rushers off the edge and interior gaps with a fifth defender spying the middle read, making this a zone beater designed to disrupt timing based passing concepts before the quarterback can hit his first read.
Defensive Reads
Watch the number of receivers released into the pattern pre-snap, this blitz is vulnerable to quick five step drops if the offense identifies the blitz and gets the ball out before the rush arrives. Key the running back pre-snap, if he stays in to block it confirms the offense expects pressure and you should trust your rush lanes. Post-snap, track the deep middle third defender since Cover 3 concepts leave that defender responsible for any vertical shot down the seam. If the quarterback is looking to his check down early, close the throwing lane fast since underneath zone defenders are shallow and can undercut hitch and drag routes. This look struggles against quick slants and stick concepts that attack the seams vacated by the blitzing defenders, so be ready to bail into coverage if you see man beaters stacked against zone drops.
Usage Tips
Call this on early downs or third and medium when you expect the offense to run quick game or spread concepts that rely on a clean pocket.
Check the offensive formation pre-snap. If you see stacked or bunch receivers to one side, audible the underneath zone defenders closer to that side to prevent easy picks.
Use the four man arrow blitz to your advantage by mixing in delayed blitzes from this same look so quarterbacks cannot key the rush pre-snap.
Pair this call with Cover 3 Sky or Cover 3 Buzz Mable earlier in a series so the offense sees a similar shell and cannot distinguish blitz from static zone until after the snap.
User the spy defender in the middle to react to scrambling quarterbacks, this prevents broken plays from turning into explosive scramble drill gains.
