Flag football plays, explained

Short Pass

Two receivers cross flat at three yards, close enough past each other that man coverage snags. The quarterback takes whoever comes out of the tangle free; the third pulls the deep coverage away.

Called on: 1st down · 2nd & long · 3rd & medium

Deep Pass

Three levels on one side: deep, medium, flat. Against zone one defender has to cover two routes and can only take one. The quarterback reads from deep to flat.

Called on: 2nd & long · 3rd & long

Short Pass

The outside receiver cuts in at an angle, the inside one runs flat to the outside. This way round, because the outside one would not have three yards of room at the sideline. Two routes that diverge: a safe first target against man and against zone alike. The quickest ball in the playbook.

Called on: Openers · 1st down · 2nd & short · Two-minute

Deep Pass

All three straight ahead. It looks simple and it is. That is exactly why it does not work against three deep defenders and does work against two. Before the snap the quarterback counts how many are back there.

Called on: 2nd & long · 3rd & long · Two-minute

Red Zone

Short underneath, deep to the corner. The defender at the sideline has to decide: if he steps up, the ball goes over him; if he stays deep, the short one is there. In the red zone this is the most reliable play, because the end zone squeezes the deep coverage anyway.

Called on: Red zone · No-running zone · 3rd & short

Short Pass

Five yards, turn, ball. The outside man clears the space by running deep. Against zone the stick settles into the gap; against man he turns away to the outside.

Called on: 3rd & short · 2nd & short · 1st down

Short Pass

Two routes inside, stacked one above the other: one at three yards, one at eight. The defender in the middle can only cover one level. What matters here is the gap between the two. If they run at the same height, one defender covers both.

Called on: 1st down · 2nd & long · 3rd & medium

Trick

The back runs flat to the outside and then turns up the sideline. Whoever covers him in man is usually the slowest defender on the field, and is suddenly in a footrace. The flat crosser in front of him holds up the middle.

Called on: 2nd & long · Openers

Trick

The quarterback drops deep as if a long ball were coming, then lays it off short to the outside. It lives off the defense rushing. Against one that stays put, it is a loss. Only show it after they have rushed twice.

Called on: 2nd & long · 3rd & long

Red Zone

A triangle of three routes: flat, short and sitting, deep to the corner. However the coverage lines up, one of the three is open. The quarterback only has to see which. This is the play you teach a young team to read with.

Called on: Red zone · 3rd & short · No-running zone

Run

The most widely taught run in football. The line does not block man on man but a zone to the right; the running back aims for the gap next to the center and cuts to wherever it opens. A play that works against any front, because nobody knows in advance where it is going.

Called on: 1st down · 2nd & short · 3rd & short

Deep Pass

Four routes straight ahead, spread evenly across the width of the field. Against two deep defenders, four runners are one too many; against three or four it is the wrong play. The quarterback counts before the snap how many are back there.

Called on: 2nd & long · 3rd & long · Two-minute

Short Pass

Five yards, turn, ball. The outside receiver clears the space by running deep; the inside one sits down in the gap or turns out against man coverage. The safest third down when the distance is short.

Called on: 3rd & short · 2nd & short · 1st down

Trick

The quarterback fakes the handoff to the left and rolls out to the right. It lives off the run having worked before: only once the linebackers step up is there space behind them. Two routes on the roll side, one against the movement.

Called on: Openers · 1st down · 2nd & short

Run

The same run as in the eleven-a-side game, with a line of five instead of seven. The zone stays the same: everyone blocks the area beside them, and the back cuts to wherever it opens.

Called on: 1st down · 2nd & short · 3rd & short

Red Zone

Short underneath, deep to the corner. The defender on the sideline has to decide: if he comes up, the ball goes over him; if he stays deep, the short one is there. Especially reliable in the red zone, because the end zone already squeezes the deep coverage.

Called on: Red zone · 3rd & short

Run

The only run scheme that works without a puller: with three interior linemen, every pull costs a third of the line. The three block a zone to the right, the back aims at the center's hip and cuts to wherever the gap opens. The quarterback reads the backside end: if he crashes on the back, the quarterback keeps the ball himself.

Called on: 1st down · 2nd & short · 3rd & short

Run

The only gap scheme that works with fewer blockers than defenders: one defender is deliberately left unblocked and kicked out sideways instead, while a lineman climbs straight to the second level. The harder the end shoots upfield, the better the trap works; against one who waits, it is the wrong play.

Called on: 2nd & short · 3rd & short · 1st down · Red zone

Short Pass

Five yards, turn, ball. Two routes on a single defender: if he widens to the back, the stick sits open; if he sticks to the stick, the flat is free. With three blockers against up to four legal rushers, getting the ball out in three steps is the real protection.

Called on: 3rd & short · 2nd & short · 1st down

Trick

The boot halves the side you have to protect, and with three blockers that is not a matter of taste. The youth rule plays into it: up to U16 the one immediate blitzer may cross the neutral zone only inside the formation, so edge pressure can only come late. The edge is exactly where the boot goes. Call it only once the run has worked.

Called on: Openers · 1st down · 2nd & short

Run

Forty yards of width, but only six defenders: the edge is held by one man at a time. The toss is the quickest way to get the required handoff out of the way and still attack outside immediately. The second back kicks out the first defender beyond the end.

Called on: 1st down · 2nd & short · 3rd & short

Run

Against the three-man front of the usual six-man defence, a single pull creates an immediate numbers advantage at the point of attack. The backside end pulls flat behind the line and kicks the first unblocked defender outside; the back rides his inside hip through the gap.

Called on: 2nd & short · 3rd & short · Red zone

Trick

The same backfield look as the toss, but the back with the ball throws. The two ends cross at ten yards: against man coverage the assignments get tangled, against zone one of them settles in the gap. Note that the passer here is the back, not the quarterback, which makes the quarterback a legal target.

Called on: 2nd & long · 3rd & medium · Openers

Deep Pass

Two routes on a single deep defender, and in six-man there is usually exactly one. If he leaves the middle, throw the post; if he covers the post, throw the corner. Both ends push eight to ten yards upfield and then plant the outside foot. The back first runs through as if for the handoff and then blocks the outermost defender.

Called on: 1st down · 2nd & long · Openers