What is the Smash concept in 5v5 flag football?
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. That seam is the format-specific piece: with only three receivers, the man not in the high-low has to hold the deep defender or the corner route runs into coverage.
Why Smash works in 5v5
Your third receiver is a safety-holder, not an option
Two of your three eligibles are the high-low and the third runs a seam whose only job is occupying the deep defender. He is rarely the throw. Coaches who treat him as a real read at this player count end up holding the ball while the corner route comes open and closes.
The back swings away, so there is no underneath outlet on the read side
The swing goes opposite the smash. If the flat defender plays it perfectly there is nothing short on that side to fall back to, which makes the pre-snap identification of that defender more important here than in formats with a flat route built in.
It puts one defender in an unwinnable position
Most concepts stretch a zone. This one isolates a single man and gives him two responsibilities eight yards apart vertically. There is no technique that covers both, so the completion is available on every snap regardless of who is playing.
The quarterback reads a defender, never a receiver
Watching receivers get open is how young quarterbacks hold the ball. Smash removes the question: pick the flat defender before the snap, watch only him, and throw opposite whatever he does. It is the cleanest single-defender read in the passing game.
It is the best red-zone version of itself
Inside the twenty the field is short and the corner route becomes a throw to the back pylon rather than a deep shot, which is easier. The same call that produces twelve yards at midfield produces a touchdown from the fifteen.
How to read it
- 1
Identify the flat defender before the snap
The defender responsible for the short outside area on the side you are throwing to. Everything in this concept is about him, so know which body he is before the ball moves.
- 2
If he stays low, throw the corner
A defender who sits on the hitch has left the space over the top of himself. Put the ball outside and up, toward the sideline rather than the middle, so only your receiver can get it.
- 3
If he opens and runs, throw the hitch
The moment he turns to carry the corner route the underneath receiver is uncovered. This is the throw the concept produces most often, and taking it every time it appears is what makes the corner route available later.
What changes in 5v5
Your third receiver is a safety-holder, not an option
Two of your three eligibles are the high-low and the third runs a seam whose only job is occupying the deep defender. He is rarely the throw. Coaches who treat him as a real read at this player count end up holding the ball while the corner route comes open and closes.
The back swings away, so there is no underneath outlet on the read side
The swing goes opposite the smash. If the flat defender plays it perfectly there is nothing short on that side to fall back to, which makes the pre-snap identification of that defender more important here than in formats with a flat route built in.
When not to call Smash
A defense that plays two deep to your side takes the corner away
The corner route needs the space between the flat defender and whoever is over the top. Roll a second deep defender to that side and the route runs into coverage. When that happens the hitch is the play and there is no shame in it.
It is a half-field concept with a slow backside
Everything of value is on one side. If the read is covered the quarterback is starting over rather than progressing, which is why this concept wants a defined backside answer and a clock in the quarterback's head.
Open Smash 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
What is the best red zone play in 5v5 flag football?
How do you read Smash in 5v5?
What beats Smash in 5v5 flag football?
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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.