Playbooks
Quick Reference
Breakdown
Under Smoke is a safety blitz out of the Quarter 1-3-7 set, built to bring extra pressure while dropping five defenders into a shortened zone shell. The diagram shows two underneath defenders sinking into short curl/flat zones on the left, a deep defender bracketing the middle with two down-and-in drops, and a crossing double robber look on the right where two defenders converge underneath. With the free safety triggering downhill on the blitz, this is designed as a zone-based pressure package meant to disguise where the extra rusher comes from while still holding shape underneath. Primary read progression for a defender using this call is to identify the crosser conflict on the right first, then work back to the middle sink defenders if the quarterback holds the ball.
Defensive Reads
Key the offensive line splits pre-snap, since a heavy protection call often signals the offense expects pressure and will throw quick, which favors the underneath zone drops in this call. Watch the running back and tight end releases first, as this call is vulnerable to check downs and swing passes if the blitzing safety is picked up cleanly. Post-snap, read the crosser conflict on the right side of the diagram, since that double convergence is designed to jump shallow crossers and slants. If the quarterback shows quick eyes to the boundary, trust the middle sink defender to rob any in-cut or drag route working across the field. This call struggles against quick game to the flat away from the blitz side, so if the offense consistently attacks that void, mix in Cover 4 Drop or Fz 3 Sky to reset the picture.
Usage Tips
Use Under Smoke on early downs or in obvious dropback passing situations where you expect a quick game or shallow crossing concept from the offense.
Identify pre-snap if the quarterback is in shotgun or under center, since the free safety blitz timing changes based on snap count and can be user-jumped early if the offense hot routes a screen.
Pair this call with Cover 3 Spy or Cover 2 Spy from the same set to keep the same defensive picture pre-snap while alternating between spy discipline and all-out pressure.
Hot route the flat zone defender on the left to widen if you see a lot of quick out or flat concepts, since the base drop leaves that area thin against motion.
Sequence this with Man Up 3 Deep or Cover 1 Thief to keep quarterbacks guessing between man and zone pressure looks from the same personnel and alignment.
