Flag Football Plays: Offense and Defense
Every play on the site, both sides of the ball, each answering one question a coach actually asks with a real diagram you can open in the designer and change. To browse one side by game format, start at Offense or Defense.
Pick a side
Offense: beat the coverage
Offense: by down, distance and clock
- Best red zone playsSmash. A hitch and a corner over the top of it.
- Best 4th and short conversion playsEverything breaks inside five yards and the ball comes out on rhythm.
- What works on third and longComebacks at the sticks. A soft defense concedes everything short.
- Two-minute drill playsRoutes that break to a boundary, so a completion stops the clock.
Offense: concepts by game format
- Mesh in 5v5Crossers. In 5v5 flag football, Mesh crosses two of your three receivers at four and six yards over the middle while the third clears deep on a twelve-yard corner and the back swings out as the outlet.
- Flood in 5v5Three-level stretch. In 5v5 flag football, Flood puts three heights on one sideline: a sail at fourteen, an out at eight, and the back swinging underneath.
- Four Verticals in 5v5Vertical stretch. In 5v5 flag football, Four Verticals runs two go routes outside, a seam at eighteen, and the running back up the middle at sixteen as the fourth vertical.
- Spot in 5v5Triangle. In 5v5 flag football, Spot runs a triangle out of a bunch: a corner route at twelve over the top, a receiver sitting at five, and a flat route underneath, with the back swinging away.
- Smash in 5v5High-low. In 5v5 flag football, Smash pairs a hitch at five with a corner route at twelve over the top of it, and adds a seam at sixteen to stop the safety helping.
- Mesh in 7v7Crossers. In 7v7 flag football, Mesh crosses two inside receivers at four and six yards while both outside receivers sit down at ten and the centre stays in to block.
- Flood in 7v7Three-level stretch. In 7v7 flag football, Flood sends three receivers to the trips side at fourteen, eight and the flat, with a backside dig at twelve and the centre blocking.
- Four Verticals in 7v7Vertical stretch. In 7v7 flag football, Four Verts runs two outside go routes and two seams at eighteen against a defense that usually has three deep, while the centre blocks and the back swings underneath as the release valve.
- Spot in 7v7Triangle. In 7v7 flag football, Spot runs the bunch triangle of corner at twelve, spot at five and flat underneath, with a backside go route clearing the deep defender and the centre blocking.
- Smash in 7v7High-low. In 7v7 flag football, Smash runs the hitch at five and the corner at twelve out of trips, with a seam at sixteen inside and a backside post at twelve.
- Mesh in 11v11Crossers. In 11v11 football, Mesh crosses two receivers at five and six yards behind full five-man protection, with a curl at twelve working over the top of the traffic and a go route holding the safety.
- Flood in 11v11Three-level stretch. In 11v11 football, Flood works three heights to one sideline at fourteen, eight and four, with a go route holding the backside safety and a drag at three as the designated hot answer.
- Four Verticals in 11v11Vertical stretch. In 11v11 football, Four Verticals runs the outside receivers on go routes at twenty and the inside two on seams at seventeen and fourteen, with the back releasing to the flat at four.
- Spot in 11v11Triangle. In 11v11 football this triangle is usually called Snag: a corner route at thirteen, the spot sitting at five, and the back in the flat at four, with a go route at eighteen and a backside drag at five.
- Smash in 11v11High-low. In 11v11 football, Smash is the Cover 2 answer: a hitch at five holds the corner down and a corner route at thirteen attacks the space between him and the safety, with the back in the flat at four and a slant at five backside.
- Sweep in 5v5Perimeter runs. In 5v5 flag football a sweep is a pure footrace, because no player on the field may legally block.
- Counter in 5v5Misdirection runs. In 5v5 flag football a counter takes one hard step left and runs right, and because nobody may block, the misdirection is carried by routes rather than by a pulling lineman.
- Dive in 5v5Interior runs. In 5v5 flag football a dive is a short-yardage call and very little else.
- End Around in 5v5Misdirection runs. In 5v5 flag football an end around is a reverse with one handoff instead of two.
- Jet Sweep in 5v5Perimeter runs. In 5v5 flag football the jet sweep is the one run concept that improves when blocking is taken away.
- Option in 5v5Quarterback runs. In 5v5 flag football the option is usually pitch-only, because most rulebooks bar the quarterback from running the ball across the line of scrimmage.
- QB Keep in 5v5Quarterback runs. In 5v5 flag football a quarterback keep is legal in some leagues and not in others, so check your rulebook first.
- Reverse in 5v5Misdirection runs. In 5v5 flag football a reverse is the best misdirection available, because with only five defenders nobody can be left home as insurance.
- Toss in 5v5Perimeter runs. In 5v5 flag football a toss is a sweep with the ball pitched rather than handed, which puts it roughly four and a half yards wide of the quarterback instead of under three.
- Wildcat in 5v5Direct snap runs. In 5v5 flag football the wildcat snaps the ball straight to your best runner and splits the quarterback out wide as a receiver.
- Sweep in 11v11Perimeter runs. In 11v11 tackle football a sweep is a blocking scheme, not a footrace.
- Dive in 11v11Interior runs. In 11v11 tackle football a dive runs through a hole that nine blockers create, which is the whole difference from flag football where no hole exists at all.
- Counter in 11v11Misdirection runs. In 11v11 tackle football a counter is a gap scheme with two pullers: the back takes a false step away, and a backside guard and tackle pull across to kick the edge out and wrap up into the hole.
- Reverse in 11v11Misdirection runs. In 11v11 tackle football a reverse is a trick play rather than a base run, because an eleven-man defense can afford to leave a backside defender home and still pursue with everyone else.
- Power in 11v11Gap scheme runs. In 11v11 tackle football Power is the hammer: everyone playside blocks down, the backside guard pulls through the playside gap as an extra man, and the back presses the line and runs off him.
- Trap in 11v11Gap scheme runs. In 11v11 tackle football a trap leaves an interior defender deliberately unblocked, lets him run himself upfield, then hits him from the side with a pulling guard while the back runs through the gap he just vacated.
- Draw in 11v11Misdirection runs. In 11v11 tackle football a draw is a run disguised as a pass.
- QB Draw in 11v11Quarterback runs. In 11v11 tackle football a quarterback draw removes the handoff from the concept entirely.
- Outside Zone in 11v11Zone runs. In 11v11 football outside zone is five linemen taking a lateral first step toward the sideline and trying to reach the defender outside them, with the tight end on the edge.
- Inside Zone in 11v11Zone runs. In 11v11 football inside zone is five linemen taking a short playside step and blocking whoever shows in their gap, with a double team at the point of attack climbing to a linebacker.
- Iso in 11v11Downhill runs. In 11v11 football an iso sends the fullback through the playside A-gap to block one linebacker one on one, while the line blocks down and doubles at the point of attack.
- Jet Sweep in 11v11Perimeter runs. In 11v11 football a jet sweep sends a receiver in motion across the formation and hands it to him at full speed, with the line reaching playside and the backside slot kicking out the edge defender ahead of him.
- End Around in 11v11Misdirection runs. In 11v11 football an end around sends the backside receiver on a flat track behind the line and hands it to him going the other way, with the offensive line deliberately blocking away from where the ball will end up.
- Option in 11v11Quarterback runs. In 11v11 football a zone option leaves the backside defensive end deliberately unblocked and lets the quarterback read him: if he crashes on the back, the quarterback pulls it and gets outside him; if he sits and waits for the quarterback, the ball goes inside on the zone.
- QB Keep in 11v11Quarterback runs. In 11v11 football a quarterback keep is the half of the zone read where he pulls the ball and runs it himself, replacing the defender the line deliberately left unblocked.
- Wildcat in 11v11Direct snap runs. In 11v11 football a wildcat snaps the ball directly to the running back and splits the quarterback out wide, which leaves the defense a man short because the player they were accounting for has nobody to hand to.
- Dive in NFL FlagInterior runs. In NFL Flag a dive costs you something no other format charges.
- Reverse in NFL FlagMisdirection runs. The reverse is the concept NFL Flag's own playbook believes in most: four of its nine runs are this one idea, escalating from a single reverse to a fake triple.
- Sweep in NFL FlagPerimeter runs. In NFL Flag a sweep is won entirely before the ball crosses the line, because the rulebook stops your other players helping after it does.
- Toss in NFL FlagPerimeter runs. In NFL Flag a toss is much safer than the same call in tackle football, because a dropped pitch is not a turnover.
- Jet Sweep in NFL FlagPerimeter runs. In NFL Flag a jet sweep is a timing play with three legality conditions attached to the motion alone.
- Counter in NFL FlagMisdirection runs. In NFL Flag a counter has to give the ball to somebody, because the rulebook defines the quarterback as whoever receives the snap and forbids him from running across the line.
- End Around in NFL FlagMisdirection runs. In NFL Flag the end around is the reverse you can afford.
- Mesh in NFL FlagCrossers. In NFL Flag the centre is an eligible receiver, and on Mesh he is one of the two crossers: he runs a drag at five yards while X crosses under him at four.
- Flood in NFL FlagThree-level stretch. In NFL Flag a flood commits three of your four eligible receivers to one side, which is a bigger share of the offense than the same call costs at any other format.
- Spot in NFL FlagTriangle. In NFL Flag the spot triangle is called Stick, and it is the concept that most rewards the seven-second clock rather than fighting it.
- Smash in NFL FlagHigh-low. In NFL Flag the smash bind is called Corner Curl, and it puts one defender in a position he cannot solve: Z drives to ten and hooks back inside while Y breaks to the corner over the top of him.
Offense: by age group
- Plays for 5 and 6 year oldsThree hitches. Stationary targets, no read to make.
- Plays for 7 and 8 year oldsOne moving receiver, two standing still.
- Plays for 9 and 10 year oldsA two-man read. He picks between two receivers off one defender.
- Plays for 11 and 12 year oldsOrganised by coverage, because he can now name one before the snap.
- High school flag football playsFull-depth concepts, for a defense that can disguise.
- Adult rec flag football playsConcepts that work with no practice time and uneven athleticism.
- Simple plays for beginnersSpacing. Divide the field instead of contesting it.
Offense: concepts and formations
Defense: coverages, and how to teach them
- Where everyone lines upEvery defense is built in three levels.
- Man coverageMan coverage gives every defender one receiver and one instruction: go where he goes.
- Zone coverageZone coverage gives every defender a patch of grass instead of a person.
- Man vs zonePlay zone, unless your defenders are clearly better athletes than the receivers they would be covering.
- Cover 0Cover 0 is man coverage with nobody left deep.
- Cover 1Cover 1 is man coverage with one defender kept in the deep middle and no assignment except everything behind everybody.
- Cover 2Cover 2 splits the deep field between two defenders, one for each half, and puts everybody else in a short zone in front of them.
- Cover 3Cover 3 cuts the deep field into three equal strips and gives one to each of three defenders, with everybody else covering short areas in front of them.
- Cover 4Cover 4, also called quarters, puts four defenders deep, each covering a quarter of the width of the field, with everybody else underneath.
- Cover 2 ManCover 2 Man is man coverage underneath with two defenders kept deep, one for each half of the field.
- Cover 6Cover 6 plays two different coverages at once: quarters on one side of the field and two-deep on the other.
- Tampa 2Tampa 2 is ordinary two-deep zone with one change: the middle linebacker runs straight down the field to cover the deep middle instead of staying short.
- Match coverageMatch coverage starts as zone and becomes man coverage once the receivers declare where they are going.
Defense: by game format
- 5v5 DefenseCoverages, pressure and how to stop what they run, written for this format.
- NFL Flag DefenseCoverages, pressure and how to stop what they run, written for this format.
- 6v6 DefenseCoverages, pressure and how to stop what they run, written for this format.
- 7v7 DefenseCoverages, pressure and how to stop what they run, written for this format.
- 9v9 DefenseCoverages, pressure and how to stop what they run, written for this format.
- 11v11 DefenseCoverages, pressure and how to stop what they run, written for this format.
Building a playbook
- How to build a playbookWhat to include, how to group it, and how many plays.
- Draw your own playsDescribe a play in plain English, or drag it out yourself, 5v5 to 11v11.
- How to design playsFrom formation to routes to a saved playbook.
- How to choose a play designerThe four kinds of tool, and who each one suits.
- Flag football FAQCommon questions on rules, playbooks and design.
Take it to your team
Draw your plays in the football playmaker, collect them in the free playbook maker, and print printable play cards so every player knows them come Saturday.
Change any of these to fit your team
Open a play in the designer, drag it to your own personnel, and save it to your playbook. Free to start, no account needed to try it.
Open the Play Designer