How do you beat the blitz in 7v7 flag football?
Count, then throw where the extra rusher came from. 7v7 is the first format where a defense can send more than one and still cover, so pressure becomes an arithmetic problem: every extra rusher is one fewer defender in coverage, and the space he left is the answer. The quick game is still the mechanism, but now it is aimed rather than just fast.
Three answers, in the order to try them
- Start here
Spacing
Start here
Nobody stays in to help, so the ball has to come out on rhythm, and that is exactly why it answers pressure. Receivers at staggered depths across the field mean the coverage has left somebody alone and the quarterback throws to him.
- If they blitz every down
Now Screen
If they blitz every down
A screen only punishes a defense that commits bodies, which is why it is not on the 5v5 page: one rusher starting seven yards back cannot be made to pay. Here it turns their aggression into your best gain of the drive.
- If they take the quick outside away
Stick
If they take the quick outside away
A fixed spot to throw to on a count, which is what you want when a second rusher means the quarterback has no time to survey. He knows where the ball is going before the snap and the pressure never factors.
What changes at this size
Pressure becomes a counting problem
At 7v7 a defense has six in coverage, so it can afford to send a second rusher and still have five on your four or five eligible receivers. That is the first time pressure is a genuine scheme rather than a stopwatch. It also means the answer stops being generic. At 5v5 any quick concept works because the rush is a countdown; here the right concept depends on which defender left. If the extra rusher comes off the edge, the flat behind him is uncovered. If he comes from inside, the seam is. Teaching a 7v7 quarterback to identify that pre-snap is worth more than any single play, and it is a skill that has nowhere to be used at five a side. The rush rules also vary more by league at this size than at any other, so read your rulebook before building a plan around a count.
When not to call it
Before you call any of these, count
An extra rusher is one fewer defender in coverage, and which defender left decides which of these is right. If you cannot identify that pre-snap, Spacing is the only one of the three that works without knowing.
On third and long
All three of these are short concepts that convert third and four. Against a blitz on third and twelve you have to protect long enough for something deeper, and that is a different problem.
Take it to your team
Draw your plays in the flag football play creator, collect them in the playbook maker, and print football play cards so every player knows them come Saturday.
Draw any of these in about a minute
Open the designer, change the routes, save it to your playbook.
Open the designerRelated questions
How do you beat the blitz in 7v7 flag football?
Related guides
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.