Blitz Types and Pressure Packages
A blitz is a bet that pressure arrives before the coverage fails. Learn the gaps, the blitzers, the common pressure packages and how offenses are taught to answer them.
It is third-and-seven. The quarterback surveys the defense and sees a linebacker creeping up to the line of scrimmage, a safety walking forward from his usual spot, and a cornerback who seems to be standing closer to the receiver than usual. At the snap, three of those players rush toward the quarterback at once, and the pass has to be out in less than two seconds. Whether it works depends on which players were blitzing, which were covering, and which the offense was ready for.
A blitz is any play in which the defense sends more pass rushers than the standard four, or sends a player who is not normally a rusher, in an attempt to reach the quarterback before the coverage behind them is tested. The structures built around that idea are usually called pressure packages, and coordinators spend a large share of their game-planning time on them.
This article explains the vocabulary (gaps, blitzers, zero and fire-zone calls), the major families of pressure, the trade-off every blitz makes, and how offenses are taught to respond.
The basic bet
Every blitz is a wager with two sides. If the defense gets to the quarterback quickly, the offense suffers a sack, a hurried throw, or a forced mistake. If the offense handles the extra rusher, the defense has fewer players in coverage, and a receiver who gets open may have a long way to run.
A standard rush is four defenders, which leaves seven in coverage against five eligible receivers. Add a fifth rusher and the defense has six in coverage. Add a sixth and it has five; at that point there are as many defenders as potential receivers, and a defender can be left covering a single receiver with no help.
That arithmetic is why coordinators talk about the number of rushers as a basic descriptor. A "five-man pressure" means five rush, six drop. A "six-man pressure" means six rush, five drop. An all-out blitz where nearly everyone rushes is rarer, because it leaves almost no coverage behind it.
Not every sack comes from a blitz, and not every blitz creates pressure. Some defenses get pressure with four rushers because their defensive line is strong; others rely on blitzing because their line is not. The word pressure is broader than blitz: it describes any rush that disrupts the quarterback, whether from four players or six.
Speaking the language of gaps
To understand blitz calls, you need the names of the gaps along the offensive line. The gaps are the spaces between blockers, and each has a letter:
- A gap: between the center and a guard (there is one on each side).
- B gap: between a guard and a tackle.
- C gap: between a tackle and a tight end, or the end of the line if there is no tight end.
- D gap: outside the tight end or the last player on the line.
When you hear that a linebacker "blitzed the A gap," it means he came through the space beside the center, the shortest path to the quarterback. When you hear "a corner blitz off the edge," it means a defensive back came from the outside, around the end of the line.
The same letter system is used in the run game for assigning responsibility, for run-defense assignments. In the pass game, the gap tells you which blocker or back the rusher is likely to run into.
Who can blitz
Almost any defender can be sent, and the identity of the blitzer says a lot about the call.
Linebacker blitzes
This is the most common version. A linebacker starts a few yards behind the line, which gives him room to run a path and time his move. Inside linebackers often blitz the A and B gaps; outside linebackers often blitz off the edge. A linebacker is usually physically strong enough to deal with a running back who is blocking him, which is a reason this blitz is considered reliable.
Safety blitzes
A safety who blitzes arrives from depth, which can make him difficult for the offense to spot. He has a long path, so the call works best when the blockers are not looking for him. Safeties are often fast and effective in space, but the cost is that the deep part of the field may be thinner.
Cornerback and nickel blitzes
A cornerback, or the nickel defender who covers the slot receiver, rushes from the outside or the slot. This is sometimes called a corner blitz or nickel blitz. These are high-risk because the player is usually responsible for a receiver, and the receiver he leaves behind is probably uncovered unless a teammate has been told to cover him. Offenses watch for an unusually tight cornerback alignment as a possible sign.
Defensive linemen
A lineman does not count as a blitzer in the usual sense, because rushing is his normal job. But he can be involved in the pressure by stunting with a teammate. This is discussed below.
The main families of pressure
Coaches have many names for specific blitzes and the names change from program to program. The families below describe the logic rather than the labels.
Simple five-man pressure
The most basic version: add one linebacker or one defensive back to the four-man rush. The defense can then drop six into coverage, which is enough for either a zone or a man shell. This is the staple of many defenses because it creates pressure without leaving much exposed.
Double A-gap pressure
Two linebackers line up directly in front of the center, in the A gaps on either side, and threaten to rush at the snap. They may both go, only one may go, or neither may go and both drop into coverage. The look is intended to put the center and both guards in a bind: which gap will they cover? The tactic is common because it forces the offense to make a decision before the snap.
Zero pressure
Called "Cover 0" because there is no deep safety, this is the all-in version. Every defender in coverage is playing man-to-man, no one is deep, and five or six defenders rush. If the quarterback gets rid of the ball in time and the receiver wins his matchup, the result is probably a long gain. If the rush gets home, the result is a sack or a hurried incompletion. Few defenses use it often, and most reserve it for third-and-long or for moments when the coordinator trusts the pass rush and his cornerbacks.
Man-free pressure
Here the defense blitzes while playing man coverage with a single deep safety who has no man to cover, as in Cover 1. It offers some protection that zero does not, because the free safety can help on a deep ball. It is among the most common blitz-plus-coverage combinations.
Fire-zone pressure
A fire zone, covered in more detail in the zone blitz article, sends a rusher from somewhere unexpected while dropping a lineman into a short zone. The offense expects pressure from one direction, but a different set of players rushes. Zone behind the rush means the coverage defenders can look at the quarterback.
Overload pressure
An overload sends more rushers to one side of the formation than the blockers on that side can handle. If the defense sends three rushers at two blockers, one rusher is unblocked unless the offense changes protection. Overloads may be run to the strong side (where the tight end lines up) or the weak side.
Simulated pressure
Also called sim pressure, this call looks like a blitz but rushes only four. The defense sends a linebacker and drops a defensive lineman into coverage, which results in the same number of rushers but from different positions. The offense sees five or six threats, adjusts its protection, and finds that only four came. It costs the defense nothing in coverage and confuses blockers.
Creepers
A creeper is a blitz in which a defender who is lined up away from the line of scrimmage rushes at the last moment, often a linebacker "creeping" up from depth at the snap. It tends to be paired with a coverage that conceals the rusher's role until the ball is snapped.
Stunts and games
Not all pressure comes from adding players. Stunts and games are techniques in which linemen exchange paths to confuse blockers. In a typical twist, an inside lineman penetrates and an edge rusher loops around behind him. In an "ET" stunt, the end and tackle swap. The point is to give one blocker two rushers to think about and force a decision between them.
Teams may combine stunts with blitzes. A five-man pressure might include a stunt on the line and a linebacker coming through the vacated gap. These calls are demanding, because each rusher must stay disciplined about his path or he gets in a teammate's way.
Disguise and timing
The best blitzes are the ones the offense does not see coming. A defense can hide a blitz in several ways:
- Late movement. Linebackers or safeties creep toward the line as the play clock runs down, then retreat or stay.
- False looks. Showing six players near the line but sending only four, or showing four and sending six.
- Rotating coverage. A safety who looks as if he will play deep shifts after the snap, which changes who covers whom.
- Pressure timing. A rusher can wait a beat before starting forward, so he arrives when the quarterback has committed.
The art of disguise is covered in disguising coverages. The principle is the same for blitzes: the sooner a quarterback knows where the pressure is coming from, the more quickly he can change the play.
How offenses answer
An offense does not just absorb pressure. Quarterbacks, centers, running backs and receivers are taught specific responses.
Count the rushers
Before the snap, the center and quarterback count the defenders who could rush and compare that number to the number of available blockers. If the defense has six threatening rushers and the offense has five blockers, the extra rusher is "uncovered." Someone has to answer, either by a change in protection or by a hot read.
Identify the "Mike"
In many offenses the center names a linebacker as the Mike, which is shorthand for the middle linebacker in that formation. Once that player is identified, the line can set its blocking scheme relative to him. This is part of the pass-protection scheme described in pass protection schemes on the offensive line.
Use the running backs
A back can stay in to block an extra rusher, or he can leave the backfield and become a quick target. If a back sees a blitz coming from his side, he may be responsible for picking up that blitzer.
Hot routes and sight adjustments
A hot route or sight adjustment is a change a receiver makes in response to a blitz. If a receiver sees that the defender who was supposed to cover him has left to rush, he converts his route to a quick one, often a short slant or a "hot" hitch, and the quarterback throws to the spot quickly. This is why a blitz is risky: receivers can punish an uncovered area in less than two seconds.
Quick game
Offenses may call quick-throw plays, such as short slants and screens, on downs when they expect a blitz. The ball is out before the blitz arrives.
Screens and draws
Both are designed to use the blitzers' momentum against them. A screen pass lets rushers run past the quarterback before he throws to a back or receiver waiting behind them. A draw play pretends to be a pass; rushers who commit upfield open running lanes behind them.
Max protection
When an offense knows it will face pressure, it can keep extra blockers at home (backs, tight ends) and send fewer receivers into routes. This protects the quarterback but reduces the number of options.
What decides whether a blitz works
Several factors make a blitz more or less likely to succeed.
- The quarterback's decision speed. A quarterback who gets rid of the ball quickly is harder to blitz. Teams study this when they plan.
- The strength of the protection. If the offensive line is strong in pass blocking, the defense may be less willing to send extra rushers.
- The coverage behind the blitz. A defense with strong cornerbacks can afford to blitz more often.
- The down and distance. Blitzes are most common on obvious passing downs, such as third-and-long, because the offense is committed to throwing. A defense is less willing to blitz on third-and-one, when a quick run or short pass can punish an empty middle.
- The field position. Near the goal line a blitz leaves less space for receivers to run, so it is somewhat safer in the red zone, although there is also less space to defend.
- The score and the clock. Teams that are behind may blitz to force a turnover. Teams that are ahead may stay in zone.
Notice that none of these guarantees an outcome. A strong blitz can be answered by a hot route; a weak one can get lucky.
Common misconceptions
- "A blitz always leaves someone uncovered." Not always. Some pressure packages bring extra rushers and drop linemen into coverage so the number of coverage defenders stays the same.
- "Blitzing is risky and bad." It is a tool. Used against the right opponent at the right time it is effective; overused, it can be exploited.
- "A sack means the blitz worked." Pressure that makes the quarterback throw early or inaccurately also counts as success, even when no sack is recorded.
- "A big play against a blitz means the coach made a mistake." It might mean the offense made a good call. Defenses accept that some blitzes will be beaten.
- "Only linebackers blitz." Defensive backs blitz regularly.
Watching a blitz
On your next game, try to find the blitz before the snap. Count the defenders at or near the line. Then watch what happens at the snap: who rushes, who drops, and whether the quarterback releases the ball quickly. Compare the result to the down and distance. You can follow games on the scores page, and the teams page will take you to the teams you want to study. If you play or coach, the Play section offers resources for recreational football; for youth and high school players, check what your league allows, because some leagues limit blitzing or defensive alignments in the youngest age groups.
The short version
- A blitz sends more than four rushers, or sends someone who does not normally rush, and bets that pressure beats the coverage left behind.
- Gaps are lettered A through D from the center outward; each rusher's path is described by the gap he attacks.
- Linebackers, safeties, cornerbacks and nickel defenders can all blitz; each version carries different risks.
- Common families include five-man pressure, double A-gap, zero, man-free, fire zone, overload, simulated pressure and creepers.
- Offenses answer with protection counts, hot routes, quick throws, screens, draws and extra blockers.
- Success depends on the quarterback's speed, the protection, the coverage behind the blitz and the situation.