What is the Spot concept in NFL Flag?
In NFL Flag the spot triangle is called Stick, and it is the concept that most rewards the seven-second clock rather than fighting it. The inside man options at six, the middle man breaks out at five underneath him, the centre takes the corner over the top, and Z clears. The flat defender cannot cover the out and the option at once.
Why Spot works in NFL Flag
It is a two-second concept in a seven-second format
Both underneath routes are available almost immediately, which means the quarterback is throwing on rhythm rather than waiting. In a format where the play ends at seven seconds whether or not anybody uncovers, a concept that answers early is worth more than one that answers deep, and this is the clearest example of it in the install.
The option route needs a receiver who can read
The inside man sits or breaks depending on what the defender over him does, which is the hardest thing to coach in this concept and the reason it is worth coaching. It is also why the play holds up as a team improves: the same call produces a different answer every time the defense changes, without anybody signalling anything.
The centre clears the space the triangle uses
He runs the corner at twelve from the middle of the formation, which pulls the deep defender away from the two routes doing the work. At plain 5v5 that player is a running back who cannot be used this way, so the same triangle has to be built with one fewer body and a shallower clear-out.
The triangle covers every answer a defender has
Three receivers at three depths in one area is not a horizontal stretch or a vertical one, it is both at once. A defender who widens opens the middle of the triangle, one who sinks opens the flat, and one who jumps the sitting route opens the corner behind him.
Condensed splits break man coverage without a rub
Receivers lined up close together create traffic on the release simply by running their own routes. Defenders in man have to navigate around each other before they can cover anybody, and the concept gets its separation from that congestion rather than from anybody being faster.
The sitting route is the safety valve and the primary
The receiver at five is the first read and also the answer when nothing else is there. That is unusual and it is why the concept produces so few negative plays: the fallback is the same throw as the first choice, so there is no moment where the quarterback has to change his mind under pressure.
How to read it
- 1
Find the sitting route first
Look at the receiver at five yards before anything else. If he is uncovered, throw it. Most of this concept's completions are exactly that throw and there is no reason to work past it.
- 2
Then read the flat defender
If he jumps the flat route, the sitting receiver behind him is free. If he widens with nobody, look up: the corner route is the throw.
- 3
Take the corner against a defense playing everything short
When both underneath routes are covered it is because the defense has committed bodies to the short area, which is precisely when the route over the top has nobody deep in that quarter of the field.
What changes in NFL Flag
It is a two-second concept in a seven-second format
Both underneath routes are available almost immediately, which means the quarterback is throwing on rhythm rather than waiting. In a format where the play ends at seven seconds whether or not anybody uncovers, a concept that answers early is worth more than one that answers deep, and this is the clearest example of it in the install.
The option route needs a receiver who can read
The inside man sits or breaks depending on what the defender over him does, which is the hardest thing to coach in this concept and the reason it is worth coaching. It is also why the play holds up as a team improves: the same call produces a different answer every time the defense changes, without anybody signalling anything.
The centre clears the space the triangle uses
He runs the corner at twelve from the middle of the formation, which pulls the deep defender away from the two routes doing the work. At plain 5v5 that player is a running back who cannot be used this way, so the same triangle has to be built with one fewer body and a shallower clear-out.
When not to call Spot
It needs a condensed set to be worth calling
Spread the same three receivers out and the release traffic disappears, which is where most of the concept's advantage against man coverage comes from. Run out of wide splits it becomes three ordinary routes in the same area.
It concedes the deep middle
Everything happens in one quarter of the field and nothing threatens the middle of the coverage. A defense can play a single deep defender against this concept all day without ever being punished for it.
Take it to your team
Draw your plays in the free flag football play designer, collect them in the playbook maker, and print football play cards so every player knows them come Saturday.
Open Spot 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
What is the difference between Stick and Spot?
How do I coach the option route?
Is this a good first concept for a young NFL Flag team?
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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.