What is the Reverse concept in 5v5 flag football?
In 5v5 flag football a reverse is the best misdirection available, because with only five defenders nobody can be left home as insurance. The back takes it left and hands to the backside receiver coming the other way about eleven yards out, where their paths cross. If the defense chased the first run at all, there is usually nobody on the backside at all.
Why Reverse works in 5v5
Five defenders cannot afford to leave one home
At eleven players a defense can keep a backside player as insurance and still pursue with everyone else. At five, committing one man to standing still is twenty percent of the defense watching a play they are not involved in, so most flag defenses simply do not do it. That is why a reverse tends to produce more at five a side than at eleven rather than less.
The receiver starts wider so he can arrive fast
The drawing aligns him at nineteen yards rather than the fifteen used on the other runs. That extra width is runway: he has to be at full speed when he reaches the exchange, and a receiver who starts tight ends up either arriving early and waiting or taking the ball standing still. Both turn a big play into a loss.
The exchange point has to be agreed before the snap
Two runners moving in opposite directions with nobody blocking means the handoff happens once, cleanly, or the football is on the ground in open space. The diagram marks the spot where the paths cross for that reason, and it is the single thing worth walking through at half speed before anyone runs it live.
The first run has to be believed, so it is a real run
Unlike a fake, the first carrier genuinely has the football and could keep it. Defenders are not reacting to a mime; they are reacting to a ball carrier, and that is a far harder thing to ignore. The deception costs nothing extra because the first half of the play was going to be a play anyway.
It turns the defense's whole body the wrong way
Pursuit is not just direction, it is momentum. A defender who has taken four hard steps toward the sideline cannot simply change his mind; he has to decelerate, turn and rebuild speed. The reverse collects all of that, which is why the yardage tends to be large rather than incremental.
It works better with fewer defenders, not worse
A defense with plenty of bodies can leave one home as insurance and still chase with the rest. A defense without that luxury has to commit everyone to the first direction or give up the first run, which means there is often nobody at all on the backside when the ball comes back.
How to read it
- 1
The first carrier runs it like he is keeping it
Full speed, eyes upfield, aiming point honoured. A first carrier who is visibly waiting to give it away has told the defense what is coming before the second exchange happens.
- 2
The second carrier runs to the handoff, not to the spot
He should arrive at the exchange already at speed and going the way he intends to finish. Arriving early and waiting is how a reverse turns into two players standing still in the backfield.
- 3
Exchange where the paths cross, not where the drill says
The handoff happens at the point the two runners actually meet, and both should have that point in their heads before the snap. Guessing it in live traffic is the most common way the ball ends up on the ground.
- 4
Once you have it, go
The second carrier's advantage is temporary and measured in a second or two. Any hesitation after the exchange lets the pursuit he just beat finish turning around.
What changes in 5v5
Five defenders cannot afford to leave one home
At eleven players a defense can keep a backside player as insurance and still pursue with everyone else. At five, committing one man to standing still is twenty percent of the defense watching a play they are not involved in, so most flag defenses simply do not do it. That is why a reverse tends to produce more at five a side than at eleven rather than less.
The receiver starts wider so he can arrive fast
The drawing aligns him at nineteen yards rather than the fifteen used on the other runs. That extra width is runway: he has to be at full speed when he reaches the exchange, and a receiver who starts tight ends up either arriving early and waiting or taking the ball standing still. Both turn a big play into a loss.
The exchange point has to be agreed before the snap
Two runners moving in opposite directions with nobody blocking means the handoff happens once, cleanly, or the football is on the ground in open space. The diagram marks the spot where the paths cross for that reason, and it is the single thing worth walking through at half speed before anyone runs it live.
When not to call Reverse
Two exchanges is two chances to lose it
Every handoff is a moment where the football belongs to nobody. A reverse doubles that, in open space, usually while both players are moving in opposite directions. It is the highest-variance run in most playbooks for exactly this reason.
It is a once-a-game call
The concept spends a defense's willingness to pursue, and a defense only has to be burned once to stop spending it. Run it twice in a half and the second one meets a backside defender who has been standing still watching for it.
Take it to your team
Draw your plays in the football play designer, collect them in the free playbook maker, and print play cards so every player knows them come Saturday.
Open Reverse in the designer
Opens this exact 5v5 diagram. Move anybody, change the depths, then save it to your playbook.
Open this play in the designerRelated questions
Does a reverse work in 5v5 flag football?
How often should I call a reverse?
What age can you run a reverse in 5v5 flag?
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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.