Weak Side Fire Zone Corner Blitz from a Hybrid 4-3 Under Front

This blitz is from the 2007 USC Playbook from the Pete Carroll Trojan defense. The USC defensive front used a hybrid 4-3 / 3-4 concept. One of the DE's is a hybrid player who can play as a traditional hand on the ground defensive end. That hybrid DE also allows the defense to transition to a 3 man front concept by playing that DE in a 2 point stance. 

FIELD COWBOY 3 SEAM

Field sets the nose to the field and the 3 technique into the boundary. The boundary DE (here the right DE) is the hybridized player.

The Rush:
Cowboy - Blitzes the Corner & the Will from the Boundary

Field DE - Contain
Nose - Field A gap
Tackle - B Gap
Will - Blitz A
Boundary Corner - Blitz Contain

The Coverage:
3 Seam is a 3 under 3 deep fire zone coverage concept

Sam - Hot 2
Mike - Hot 3
Boundary DE - Hot 2
Field Corner - 1/3
SS - Middle 1/3
FS - Boundary 1/3

If the offense aligns with a #2 weak at TE the defense is able to keep the blitz and the coverage intact.

With the blitz coming from the boundary, any 3x1 formation to the field can be handled without any adjustment. The Mike is able to handle dropping off of the #3 receiver to the field. The blitz and the coverage operate without any checks, changes, or adjustments.

Against a 2x2 formation with a split #2 receiver into the boundary the defense shows its flexibility. The boundary DE makes an "Okie" call. Okie moves the Tackle to a 5 technique. The hybrid DE walks out and is able to align as an OLB to execute his pass drop on a split #2 receiver. The Boundary corner has a difficult path to blitz with the DE and split #2 in his way. To solve this problem, the FS makes a "Sheriff" call. Sheriff means the safety is now blitzing instead of the corner. 

Pete Carroll's defenses with the Seattle Seahawks have featured this same concept of blending 4-3 and 3-4 concepts. Moving forward, hybrid players will continue to play a critical role in allowing defenses to innovate.