What is the Flood concept in 11v11 flag football?
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. That built-in hot route is what the extra players buy: the concept carries its own pressure answer rather than needing one checked to it.
Why Flood works in 11v11
There is a hot route inside the concept
The backside drag at three exists so a defense bringing extra rushers does not blow the play up. Flag formats have no spare body for that, so their versions simply take longer to develop and live with it.
The backside go is doing real work
A go route at eighteen on the weak side keeps the safety from rotating over the top of the flood. Without it a single deep defender can cheat toward three receivers and cap the whole concept, which is exactly what happens in the smaller formats.
It attacks a decision, not a matchup
The defender who steps up to take the underneath route opens the intermediate one behind him. The one who carries the deep route vacates the flat. You are not asking a receiver to beat anybody, you are asking a defender to be in two places, which is a bet that pays out regardless of how athletic his side of the field is.
The read is teachable in one sentence
Start high and work down. That is the whole instruction, and it is why Flood is one of the few three-option concepts a young quarterback can run correctly on the second day of practice. The ball goes to the first receiver who is not covered, starting from the deepest.
It puts three men where the defense has two
Most defenses distribute evenly across the field, so overloading one sideline creates a local numbers advantage before anybody moves. Formation does most of the work here, which is why the concept survives being run out of a different look in every game format.
How to read it
- 1
Pick your side before the snap
Flood is a one-way concept. Decide which sideline you are attacking by counting defenders on each side, and do not change your mind after the snap.
- 2
Take the deep route if the flat defender carries
If the underneath defender drops with the intermediate route, the space behind him at the top of the concept is open. This is the biggest completion in the play and it is the first thing you look for.
- 3
Take the intermediate if he sits
If he stays shallow to take the underneath route, the middle height is uncovered. This is the throw the concept produces most often and the one worth being happy with.
- 4
Take the underneath route and get down
If both levels above are carried, the shortest route is open by definition. Throw it, let him turn upfield, and call it again next series.
What changes in 11v11
There is a hot route inside the concept
The backside drag at three exists so a defense bringing extra rushers does not blow the play up. Flag formats have no spare body for that, so their versions simply take longer to develop and live with it.
The backside go is doing real work
A go route at eighteen on the weak side keeps the safety from rotating over the top of the flood. Without it a single deep defender can cheat toward three receivers and cap the whole concept, which is exactly what happens in the smaller formats.
When not to call Flood
It gives up the other half of the field
Three receivers on one sideline means the backside is a single route and a decoy. Against a defense that recognises the concept and rotates coverage toward it, the backside answer is the play, not the flood itself, so know what that answer is before you call it.
It is slow against pressure
The deep route has to get to its depth before the read means anything. If the defense is bringing extra rushers, the quarterback will be throwing the underneath route every time, which is a fine outcome but not the reason you called it.
Open Flood in the designer
Opens this exact 11v11 diagram. Move anybody, change the depths, then save it to your playbook.
Open this play in the designerRelated questions
What is Flood in football?
When should you call Flood in 11v11?
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Coach Ray Carroll
Twelve seasons coaching youth and rec flag football, and the builder of RC Football. Every play on this site has been run by a real team on a real Saturday.