Playbooks
Breakdown
Nickel Blitz 1 is a five man DB blitz out of Nickel Triple that brings extra pressure while playing Cover 1 man behind it. The diagram shows four defenders crashing downhill off the line with a blitz path, one deep safety rotated over the top to rob the middle of the field, and man coverage assigned to receivers on the outside. This is a pressure package designed to force a quick throw or sack, with the primary read for the defense being the quarterback's eyes to bait a hot throw into the underneath man coverage.
Defensive Reads
Pre snap, check the running back and tight end alignment to identify likely blitz pickup help, since a lone back in protection often gets beat by a five man rush. Look at the offensive line splits and quarterback depth in the shotgun to gauge whether they expect pressure and plan a quick game answer. Post snap, key the quarterback's eyes for the hot route since man coverage underneath is designed to sit on the first available outlet. This beats quick game and spread passing offenses that rely on rhythm throws, but it can be exposed by screens or draws that use the blitz's aggression against it. If the deep safety bites down too fast on run action, be ready to pass off vertical routes since Cover 1 has only one deep defender to cover the whole field.
Usage Tips
Call this on passing downs like third and medium to third and long when you expect a dropback pass, since the blitz needs time to get home to be effective.
Check the offensive protection pre snap and look for max protect or extra blockers staying in, which tells you the blitz may get picked up and you should consider audibling to a coverage play instead.
Use the DB blitz to attack empty or spread formations where the offense has fewer blockers to account for the extra rusher.
Combine this with Nickel Blitz 2 and Nickel Blitz 3 in the same set to disguise different blitz angles from the same pre snap look and keep the offense guessing on protection assignments.
Since the deep safety is rotated to help over the top, user the underneath man defender closest to the quarterback's first read to jump a hot route or slant.
