What is the Reverse concept in NFL Flag?
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. The trade is in the rulebook. Every handoff, pitch or lateral eliminates the pass clock and makes every defender eligible to rush, so each exchange buys deception and sells protection.
Why Reverse works in NFL Flag
The governing body teaches four versions of it
Reverse, Double Reverse, Fake Double Reverse and Fake Triple Reverse run consecutively through the official install. No other concept in that playbook gets more than one page. That is not a drafting accident: with a narrow field and a defense that cannot send more than two rushers until you hand off, misdirection is the cheapest yardage available.
Every exchange releases more of the defense
The rulebook eliminates the seven-second clock and frees every defender to rush the moment a handoff or lateral happens. A single reverse pays that once. A double reverse has already paid it before the second exchange, so the deception has to be worth an unlimited rush arriving while the ball is still behind the line.
The fakes exist because the real ones get scouted
Two of the four versions never hand it on at all. That progression is the install telling you the concept has a shelf life: run the reverse, run the double, then run the play that looks identical and keeps it. A team that only owns the first version gets one good gain and then nothing.
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 NFL Flag
The governing body teaches four versions of it
Reverse, Double Reverse, Fake Double Reverse and Fake Triple Reverse run consecutively through the official install. No other concept in that playbook gets more than one page. That is not a drafting accident: with a narrow field and a defense that cannot send more than two rushers until you hand off, misdirection is the cheapest yardage available.
Every exchange releases more of the defense
The rulebook eliminates the seven-second clock and frees every defender to rush the moment a handoff or lateral happens. A single reverse pays that once. A double reverse has already paid it before the second exchange, so the deception has to be worth an unlimited rush arriving while the ball is still behind the line.
The fakes exist because the real ones get scouted
Two of the four versions never hand it on at all. That progression is the install telling you the concept has a shelf life: run the reverse, run the double, then run the play that looks identical and keeps it. A team that only owns the first version gets one good gain and then nothing.
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 free play designer, collect them in the playbook maker, and print play cards so every player knows them come Saturday.
Open Reverse in the designer
Opens this exact NFL Flag diagram. Move anybody, change the depths, then save it to your playbook.
Open this play in the designerRelated questions
Why are there four reverses in the NFL Flag playbook?
Does each handoff really release every rusher?
Can you run a reverse in a no-run zone?
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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.