Attacking the Zone Blitz

Every year we all come up with "new" and improved ways to out-attack our opponents. The zone blitz of the 1990s is one such defensive innovation that has created havoc for quarterbacks at all levels. Historically, QBs have been taught to pre-snap read safeties to alert themselves of the potential of a "dog" (LB) or blitz (DB). The difficulty caused by the zone blitz is that effective use of the package does not allow the QB to trust any pre-snap gathering of information by alignment, making him a totally reactive player and essentially putting him on the defensive. Coaches must have excellent research and prep on what our opponents do by formation, tendencies, and personnel. As we prepare our game plans, our job is to arm the QB with the knowledge necessary to "attack the defense," rather than sit back and be attacked. Providing our QBs with a thorough idea of what coverages an