In this Madden 15 tip video Kilo breaks down a very simple, yet highly effective blitz from Nickel 3-3-5 Cover 2 Man. This play can be found in playbooks with Nickel 3-3-5. Some playbooks we would suggest are; New England, Baltimore, Cincinnati, and San Diego. This is a great blitz to run in any passing situation because the immediate coverage is great and the pressure is very fast, even if it gets picked up the block shed happens quickly.
Adjustments:
- Base Align
- Pinch DL and Crash Down
- Slide the Blitzing LB Out and Down to the Line Until His Angle Changes (See Video)
We suggest usering the player manned up on the RB because this blitz cannot be picked up without blocking him. Since we are in man coverage here you will want to lurk the middle for quick crossing routes.
ADDITIONAL ADJUSTMENTS
As with any defense, there are things that will give you trouble with this setup. One of the more common things is to have a corner route to the right of screen thrown on you. We are in man coverage and the blitz is coming from the left side, so it stands to reason that the QB will roll to the right side of the screen when faced with pressure. A slot corner route could easily beat us because the corner will beat man coverage well, and it will be the area of the field that the QB is looking to as he rolls.
To take this away we can make one simple adjustment of putting the right of screen Safety into a purple zone. With him on a purple zone he will hold his position in the seam for a second, and then work his way out to the corner route. This should coincide with the same time frame that the corner is breaking and the QB begins to roll out.
IS THIS SETUP UNIVERSAL?
Sort of. I know that answer is not very definitive, but it is the truth. You can set this play up from any base coverage in the formation, however the blitz angle from the LB will be different and it is NOT as effective as the angle from Cover 2 Man.
You still may get edge pressure from it, however it can be picked up with slide protection and the B-Gap will almost never come free.
Check out the video for more details on how to run this play!
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