What is the QB Keep concept in 11v11 tackle football?
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. The mesh and the blocking are identical to the give, and the only difference is what the read told him. In NFL Flag the keep does not exist at all, because the man who takes the snap may not cross the line of scrimmage.
Why QB Keep works in 11v11
It forces the defense to spend a man on the quarterback
As long as the quarterback cannot run, a defense can play the run with one fewer body and treat him as a passer only. The moment he keeps it and gains yards, somebody has to be assigned to him, and every other run in the playbook is suddenly facing one less defender. The keep is often worth more for that than for its own yardage.
The give and the keep are two pages because they are two pictures
This site draws the give on the Option page and the keep here. One diagram cannot show both without two black arrows, and a black line means the ball everywhere in this library, so two of them would read as two carriers. Each page draws one unambiguous outcome and points at the other, which is also how a coach installs them: same call, two answers.
The rule that kills it in NFL Flag is narrower than people quote
Its rulebook bars the quarterback from running the ball ACROSS the line of scrimmage, and a sack there is defined as his flags being pulled BEHIND the line, so he is live back there and may move. What he cannot do is gain yards. That distinction is why an NFL Flag quarterback can scramble to buy time and still has no keep in his run game.
The defense counts the quarterback last
Almost every defender is taught to find the ball carrier, and almost none of them expect that to be the man who just handed it off. A keep exploits a habit rather than a weakness, which is why it works against defenses that are otherwise well drilled.
It is a numbers problem the defense cannot solve
A defense that accounts for every eligible receiver and the back has, by definition, nobody left for the quarterback. Making him a runner adds an attacker they have not planned for without adding a player to the field.
The fake is free
The back is going to run somewhere anyway. Sending him into a fake costs nothing that was not already being spent, and it buys the two or three defenders who follow him. Few concepts convert so little effort into so much space.
How to read it
- 1
Sell the handoff with the whole body
The fake has to look like the run it is imitating, including the depth and the direction. A quarterback who turns his shoulders early has told everyone where the ball is before anyone has to guess.
- 2
Get depth away from the fake, then flatten
The keep works by arriving outside the defenders who chased the back. Running straight upfield too early puts the quarterback back into the traffic the fake had just cleared.
- 3
Read the last defender on that edge
One man decides it. If he has followed the fake, there is nothing outside him. If he has stayed, the quarterback cuts up inside him rather than trying to beat him wide.
- 4
Know the yardage you need, and take it
A quarterback running is the least protected player on the field. Getting the first down and getting out is the outcome; hunting a touchdown after the sticks are made is how a good call becomes an expensive one.
What changes in 11v11
It forces the defense to spend a man on the quarterback
As long as the quarterback cannot run, a defense can play the run with one fewer body and treat him as a passer only. The moment he keeps it and gains yards, somebody has to be assigned to him, and every other run in the playbook is suddenly facing one less defender. The keep is often worth more for that than for its own yardage.
The give and the keep are two pages because they are two pictures
This site draws the give on the Option page and the keep here. One diagram cannot show both without two black arrows, and a black line means the ball everywhere in this library, so two of them would read as two carriers. Each page draws one unambiguous outcome and points at the other, which is also how a coach installs them: same call, two answers.
The rule that kills it in NFL Flag is narrower than people quote
Its rulebook bars the quarterback from running the ball ACROSS the line of scrimmage, and a sack there is defined as his flags being pulled BEHIND the line, so he is live back there and may move. What he cannot do is gain yards. That distinction is why an NFL Flag quarterback can scramble to buy time and still has no keep in his run game.
When not to call QB Keep
It may not be legal at all
Whether the quarterback can run is the most variable rule in flag football, and in some rule sets the answer is simply no. This is a concept that has to be checked against a rulebook before it is drawn on a whiteboard.
It works once or twice, then it is scouted
The fake is the play, and a defense only has to be fooled once to start checking the quarterback. Called repeatedly it becomes a slow run by a player who is not usually your best runner.
Take it to your team
Draw your plays in the free flag football play designer, collect them in the flag football playbook builder, and print wristband play cards so every player knows them come Saturday.
Open QB Keep 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
Is a quarterback keep the same as a quarterback draw?
How do I protect my quarterback on this?
Can my quarterback keep it in flag football?
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Coach Ray Carroll
Coaches 5v5 flag football from kindergarten through 7th grade in San Mateo and San Carlos, California, and built RC Football to design, teach and print the plays his own teams run.