Football-Defense.com has posted a breakdown on the Fire Zone Blitz. The article talks about using Cover 3 coverage, while sending 5 defenders after the quarterback.
The following is excerpt from the article called “America’s Fire Zone Blitz” that was posted by football-defense.com
“Unless you just have superior athletes on a defense, you know that you are going to have to take some risks to make big things happen. One of the best ways to take a risk is to use the blitz. For most teams, however, blitz packages mean you need to use man coverage. That leaves you open for some big plays. Some coaches just aren’t comfortable with man blitzes. So, use the Fire Zone concept.
Fire Zone blitzes use a Cover 3 concept and bring 5-man pressure. That means you have 5 players rushing the passer, with 3 players covering the deep 1/3s of the field. The remaining players are going to be responsible for cover 3 underneath zones as best they can. There are holes! You can teach your guys to “pattern read,” essentially playing man on anything in their area, to make things better – but the fact is, 52 yards across is a lot of ground for 3 guys to cover, when the Quarterback only has to throw the ball 5 or 10 yards down field. You’re relying on the pass rush to make these throws tough.
“America’s Fire Zone,” is so-titled because nearly every college in America runs it. And it is becoming more prevalent among High Schools. This is from the overload family of Fire Zone blitzes, meaning two blitzing linebackers are coming from the same area.
The blitz can be run to the weak side or the strong side. For a 4-3 Defense, the weak side is a much better place to run it (away from the Tight End, if there is one). We called this WAM for Will And Mike, but you know the name is unimportant. Players will learn it.”
To read more, please click on the following link – America’s Fire Zone Blitz
