Flag Football?

The Afoci · 02-13-2003, 12:36 PM

Alright, at my work we are playing in a 7 on 7 flag football league. Does anyone have any experience or know where we can get plays? Any advice is welcome, we are a bunch of hacks and looking through the other roster, we are going to face numerous ex-college athletes so help is needed.

ACStrider · 02-13-2003, 12:40 PM

What are the rules? That can make a big difference. I had a successful intramural FF team in college and had a sweet offense. I could try to describe it to you, but our offense was suited to the ground rules. If the rules are different you might want to go with a different system.

digamma · 02-13-2003, 12:45 PM

One piece of advice is to make sure you know the rules of the league prior to the first game. I've played in leagues where multiple passes are allowed, in one where multiple forward passes were allowed behind the line of scrimmage, and some with more traditional football rules. The point is, if you know the rules, you can design your plays to the rules and catch some less "aware" teams by surprise.

Same thing on defense. Make sure you know what the rush rule is. If you think most people have better athletes than you, consider a zone defense with people playing the flats, the middle and at least one deep safety.

DolaBump · 02-13-2003, 12:48 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by The Afoci
Alright, at my work we are playing in a 7 on 7 flag football league. Does anyone have any experience or know where we can get plays? Any advice is welcome, we are a bunch of hacks and looking through the other roster, we are going to face numerous ex-college athletes so help is needed.

Flag Football is all about speed and manipulating the Defensive coverages. The easiest way to pick up yards is to run out of a Trips formation, generally sending two guys in one direction and screening off the guys covering the third man. It helps to have one of the two "screeners" as your top receiver, he can sometimes get open to help mix things up. Our most effective play had the 3 receivers lined up about 3-5 yards apart, the two outside guys running slants across the middle, while the inside guy hesitated, they slipped out into the flat -- usually wide open. Obviously you have to mix it up, but that was our primary play and we went undefeated 2 straight years back in college. Incidentally, it helps to have a QB who can move around and lineman who can catch short passes and get a few YAC.

The Afoci · 02-13-2003, 01:06 PM

The rules are pretty basic.

1. 6 sec to pass the ball or pass line of scrimmage.
2. 40 yard field/35 wide
3. No stiff arm or flag guarding
4. No blocking below the waist or above the shoulders
5. 3 down lineman, all eligible recievers.
6. No charging into a set defensive player.
7. 1 first down at midfield, no punting or kickoffs, all start on 5.
8. Fumble is down at point of contact, loss of down.

ACStrider · 02-13-2003, 01:35 PM

Okay, my rules were a little different, but it could still work if you wanted to use my system. In our league, any contact would get you a penelty (I was a pro at drawing contact). Yeah, that was pretty weak as far as rules go, but you use the format you got. Here's what the formation looked like...

We found in our first few seasons that our QB never had enough time. The defensive line would just fly past the blockers, so this is what we did. The "tackles" would line up opposite the D-linemen rushing in. They were there only for delaying purposes. It gave the D-line another person to run around. The "Running backs" would actually take the role of picking up the pass rush. This gave the quarterback another half-second or second of time. All of the linemen and the Wide-outs would then run routes. We had a series of successful plays but the key was knowing what everyone else was doing. You can't have the receivers crowding each other, especially in the area where you're going to be passing.

The most successful base offense did this...The Wideouts would run downfield and read the defense. If the defense shifted left, the left out went deep straight, the right out would do a deep post and vice versa if the defense shifted right. The linemen would do the same thing on every play. The tackles would go into their respective flats and the center would go a few yards and try to find an open whole where the defense wasn't. Meanwhile the rush would come in. The quarterback would either stay back, roll out left or roll out right, depending on who rushed on the line (teams could generally only afford to rush two or three players). If they rushed two, the quarterback generally had time to get a quick pass off. If they rushed three, the QB rolled to the side with less rushers and the "runningbacks" tried to encourage the rushers to go to the inside of the QB (the side away from where the QB rolls out). This stretched the Defense and gave the QB the option of rushing or hitting an easy receiver in the flat (or even going deep if the safetys come in).

The most successful play that we did we called the hook and ladder. On this play, the right (or left) wideout would do a quick 10/15 yard slant to the inside with a hook towards the QB at the end of the route. The right tackle would wait a second after the hike, then take off. The quarterback throws to the slanting wideout who most likely will be open. The wide-out catches the ball and tosses it to the tackle who should be at full speed right about where he's at at the time that he catches the ball. If you time it right, it works VERY well. We started with this play against every team we played. I can't tell you how many TD's we got on this play even against teams who knew it was coming.

Last thing...adjusting to 7-7 might be a little more difficult, but it could still work. If you want to use this system, then I would suggest having one "runningback" to help protect the QB.

I can't help you as much on the defensive end, but I got a ton of sacks as a d-linemen (I was pretty quick). Keys to D-line...a quick move will do you wonders. Getting sacks are good, but putting the pressure on the QB is almost as important. Don't go flying by the QB trying to get his flag, get next to him, break down, and force him to move first. If you go flying by, that buys the QB a few more seconds because he doesn' t have to worry about you. After you break down and wait for the QB to move first, getting the flag is easy. If he doesn't move, just reach out and grab it. If he does, then he's not passing and you can make an easy snag. That rule actually goes for everyone. Rule #2 for D-line, don't let the QB roll outside of you. Nothing like a QB roll out to a side where the recievers run the opposite direction and the QB has 15 yards of open space.

Well, I hope that this is helpful. =)

ACStrider · 02-13-2003, 01:38 PM

Well, the O - formation didn't show up, but here's how it would line up...
2 wide outs
2 "tackles" lined up on the D-ends. One center
1 QB at shotgun
2 "runningbacks" a few steps back where the guards on the O-line would be

With 7, as I mentioned earlier, I would take out one "runningback"

rkmsuf · 02-13-2003, 01:51 PM

I think I like DolaBump better. Much simpler...two guys long, one short in the flat. Usually the better athletes will win these games...

digamma · 02-13-2003, 03:50 PM

Since you have a time limit to throw a pass, on defense you may not always want to rush someone. Just have a defender shadowing the quarterback along the line of scrimmage in case the QB runs. It gives you an extra defender to play pass defense.

Maple Leafs · 02-13-2003, 04:18 PM

Have a system for audibles to take advantage of the defensive coverage. A nice, simple system is to use the numbers 1-12. Picture a clock: a "12" is a fly pattern, a "6" is a hook, "11" is a slant, etc. So if the QB sees a speed guy lined up against a weaker DB, he can call "Smith-12".

Of course, you can get more complicated, but you probably don't need to.

The Afoci · 02-13-2003, 04:23 PM

Thanks for all the ideas, I'll keep ya update on the outcome.

Ben E Lou · 02-13-2003, 04:30 PM

To combat the pass-rush issues, we used the center as our safety-valve receiver. Also, nearly every play was a roll-out to further avoid the rush. This was easy to call at the line of scrimmage based on the defense. I'd simply call out a color as part of the signals. "Cold" colors (blue, green, brown) meant a rollout left, and "hot" colors (red, orange, yellow) meant I was rolling right. The center would try to help block (an utter joke...then release to the roll-out side. If they had a "ghost", the center would just drop right in behind the ghost. This gave a nice near-guaranteed gain if the receivers couldn't get open.

Neel · 02-13-2003, 05:00 PM

When at CB I jump the audibles like Smith-12. We generally play a week man and jam when the other team starts to do that.

7 on 7 is a blast.

Celeval · 02-13-2003, 10:52 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by The Afoci
The rules are pretty basic.

1. 6 sec to pass the ball or pass line of scrimmage.
2. 40 yard field/35 wide
3. No stiff arm or flag guarding
4. No blocking below the waist or above the shoulders
5. 3 down lineman, all eligible recievers.
6. No charging into a set defensive player.
7. 1 first down at midfield, no punting or kickoffs, all start on 5.
8. Fumble is down at point of contact, loss of down.

Interesting set of rules.

I play seven-on-seven as well (just got home - two wins in one night, and a TD catch, so I'm happy), but different set.

* 35 x 80 field
* No kicking
* No contact, period
* First downs at 20 / 40 / 20
* Fumble down at point of contact, no loss of down

Our league sees a number of different offenses - lots of hook & ladder (noted earlier), lots of double-passes (QB rolls right, throws (a lateral) left, new guy throws deep)... one big key if you have a guy with speed is to run the option, especially against a team who is having trouble pulling flags. Can be deadly.

Defensively, the 6-seconds to pass is an interesting twist - I would definately consider not rushing someone and running a 2-3-2 type zone:

Code:

     ^     ^
     |     |
 ^   X     X   ^ 
 |             | 
 X    <-X->    X 
                 
 <---X     X---> 
-----------------
 O   O OOO    O 
   
        O

Here, the D-Linemen have responsibilities for the flats, the corners get the mid-to-deep quarters, safeties split the deep ball. Middle LB is key, needs to have speed and vision. If this won't work, move one of the safeties up and split the middle LB roles into two players. You can also rush one or both of the down linemen from time to time out of this.

Kevin

cthomer5000 · 02-14-2003, 05:01 AM

flag football is very much about short catches turning into huge plays. A missed "tackle" can result in a touchdown on almost any given play, and just completing a pass is first and foremost.

Also, I've always had a lot of success with reverses options, and end-around options. Bringing that wideout into the backfield forces the CB into a decision:

watch the WR, watch the QB, or drop back into zone. If your WR can read things well, he can decide when to run and when to pass and always keep the defense guessing (incorrectly guessing).

The Afoci · 02-14-2003, 08:12 AM

I really love the option and have been beating my head in trying to design some "simple" option/pass plays. Our team is limited on previous football experience and practice time, so any intricate plays aren't usable.

On a sad/funny note, one of our best players was drinking an adult beverage or 12 when he thought that picking up a large rock would be a good idea. So with rock on should her proceeded to slip on some ice and drop said rock on arm. Now it is probably broken, but since he just quit his last job and had no medical insurance there, he doesn't want to go to the doctor. So if anyone has any plays designed for one armed men, please send them my way.

Maple Leafs · 02-14-2003, 08:21 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by The Afoci
So if anyone has any plays designed for one armed men, please send them my way.

The Cowboys have been running plays for a guy without the use of one arm for years now. Of course, it's their quarterback, so that may not help you.

HornedFrog Purple · 02-14-2003, 08:24 AM

Flag football is worthless. How can I take advantage of my 5.3 in the 40? Speed kills.

Airhog · 02-14-2003, 08:26 AM

If I was going to run the option, I wouldnt run it out of set that looks like a running play. Try running options with your WR's I would keep it simple and not run any triple options. You could even run some arena football style plays, where they get a run at the line before the snap.

Poli · 02-14-2003, 08:38 AM

A very simple play we ran to perfection in the Navy's flag football league in Norfolk was this (7 on 7):

Trips to the wide side. QB, by rule, in shotgun. Two men in backfield blocking to the wide side. Blocking was no contact shadow blocking...which is why I sacrificed two blockers to buy more time.

The trips receivers would switch their routes, and I didn't care how they decided...just as long as they had it figured out before they got to the line.

One man ran a five yard curl and tried to find an open spot.

The second man ran a deep corner route.

The third man ran a skinny post...very nearly a streak.

The center ran a lonesome polecat flat pattern to the wide side...basically becoming the last option for a pass.

The concept was to beat any zone defense as teams generally play a 2 deep zone. Well, as you have read, I would flood one side of the field and have two players go deep. That safety had to choose who to go after.

Against man coverage more often than not, our QB could just run since that usually meant a lot of open field ahead of us.

If the teams just didn't rush, then our backs would flare out. We never had both flare, as teams always rushed one, and after our success, they would try and rush two.

Our ship was about 200 people strong. Of which I had about 10-12 on any given game day out for the game or practice. We finished the year 7-3, beating 6 ships that had more personnel to choose from. The only teams that beat us were the friggin carriers. Oops. That's what I'm on now.

If you can't beat them, join them.

CHEMICAL SOLDIER · 02-17-2003, 06:46 PM

You could always play ''BUTTBALL'' a Combo of Football and Soccer .Its really fast paced and fun ....If you want more info ping me .

02-13-2003, 01:06 PM	#5
The Afoci Pro Rookie Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Moorhead	The rules are pretty basic. 1. 6 sec to pass the ball or pass line of scrimmage. 2. 40 yard field/35 wide 3. No stiff arm or flag guarding 4. No blocking below the waist or above the shoulders 5. 3 down lineman, all eligible recievers. 6. No charging into a set defensive player. 7. 1 first down at midfield, no punting or kickoffs, all start on 5. 8. Fumble is down at point of contact, loss of down. __________________ I had something.

02-13-2003, 01:35 PM	#6
ACStrider High School JV Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Austin, TX	Okay, my rules were a little different, but it could still work if you wanted to use my system. In our league, any contact would get you a penelty (I was a pro at drawing contact). Yeah, that was pretty weak as far as rules go, but you use the format you got. Here's what the formation looked like... We found in our first few seasons that our QB never had enough time. The defensive line would just fly past the blockers, so this is what we did. The "tackles" would line up opposite the D-linemen rushing in. They were there only for delaying purposes. It gave the D-line another person to run around. The "Running backs" would actually take the role of picking up the pass rush. This gave the quarterback another half-second or second of time. All of the linemen and the Wide-outs would then run routes. We had a series of successful plays but the key was knowing what everyone else was doing. You can't have the receivers crowding each other, especially in the area where you're going to be passing. The most successful base offense did this...The Wideouts would run downfield and read the defense. If the defense shifted left, the left out went deep straight, the right out would do a deep post and vice versa if the defense shifted right. The linemen would do the same thing on every play. The tackles would go into their respective flats and the center would go a few yards and try to find an open whole where the defense wasn't. Meanwhile the rush would come in. The quarterback would either stay back, roll out left or roll out right, depending on who rushed on the line (teams could generally only afford to rush two or three players). If they rushed two, the quarterback generally had time to get a quick pass off. If they rushed three, the QB rolled to the side with less rushers and the "runningbacks" tried to encourage the rushers to go to the inside of the QB (the side away from where the QB rolls out). This stretched the Defense and gave the QB the option of rushing or hitting an easy receiver in the flat (or even going deep if the safetys come in). The most successful play that we did we called the hook and ladder. On this play, the right (or left) wideout would do a quick 10/15 yard slant to the inside with a hook towards the QB at the end of the route. The right tackle would wait a second after the hike, then take off. The quarterback throws to the slanting wideout who most likely will be open. The wide-out catches the ball and tosses it to the tackle who should be at full speed right about where he's at at the time that he catches the ball. If you time it right, it works VERY well. We started with this play against every team we played. I can't tell you how many TD's we got on this play even against teams who knew it was coming. Last thing...adjusting to 7-7 might be a little more difficult, but it could still work. If you want to use this system, then I would suggest having one "runningback" to help protect the QB. I can't help you as much on the defensive end, but I got a ton of sacks as a d-linemen (I was pretty quick). Keys to D-line...a quick move will do you wonders. Getting sacks are good, but putting the pressure on the QB is almost as important. Don't go flying by the QB trying to get his flag, get next to him, break down, and force him to move first. If you go flying by, that buys the QB a few more seconds because he doesn' t have to worry about you. After you break down and wait for the QB to move first, getting the flag is easy. If he doesn't move, just reach out and grab it. If he does, then he's not passing and you can make an easy snag. That rule actually goes for everyone. Rule #2 for D-line, don't let the QB roll outside of you. Nothing like a QB roll out to a side where the recievers run the opposite direction and the QB has 15 yards of open space. Well, I hope that this is helpful. =) __________________ "I'm evil." "Oh you are not!" "Oh I am too." -- Brak Last edited by ACStrider : 02-13-2003 at 01:35 PM.

02-13-2003, 01:38 PM	#7
ACStrider High School JV Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Austin, TX	Well, the O - formation didn't show up, but here's how it would line up... 2 wide outs 2 "tackles" lined up on the D-ends. One center 1 QB at shotgun 2 "runningbacks" a few steps back where the guards on the O-line would be With 7, as I mentioned earlier, I would take out one "runningback" __________________ "I'm evil." "Oh you are not!" "Oh I am too." -- Brak

02-13-2003, 01:51 PM	#8
rkmsuf Head Coach Join Date: Dec 2001	I think I like DolaBump better. Much simpler...two guys long, one short in the flat. Usually the better athletes will win these games... __________________ "Don't you have homes?" -- Judge Smales

02-13-2003, 04:23 PM	#11
The Afoci Pro Rookie Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Moorhead	Thanks for all the ideas, I'll keep ya update on the outcome. __________________ I had something.

02-13-2003, 12:40 PM	#2
ACStrider High School JV Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Austin, TX	What are the rules? That can make a big difference. I had a successful intramural FF team in college and had a sweet offense. I could try to describe it to you, but our offense was suited to the ground rules. If the rules are different you might want to go with a different system. __________________ "I'm evil." "Oh you are not!" "Oh I am too." -- Brak

02-13-2003, 12:45 PM	#3
digamma Torchbearer Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: On Lake Harriet	One piece of advice is to make sure you know the rules of the league prior to the first game. I've played in leagues where multiple passes are allowed, in one where multiple forward passes were allowed behind the line of scrimmage, and some with more traditional football rules. The point is, if you know the rules, you can design your plays to the rules and catch some less "aware" teams by surprise. Same thing on defense. Make sure you know what the rush rule is. If you think most people have better athletes than you, consider a zone defense with people playing the flats, the middle and at least one deep safety.

02-13-2003, 03:50 PM	#9
digamma Torchbearer Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: On Lake Harriet	Since you have a time limit to throw a pass, on defense you may not always want to rush someone. Just have a defender shadowing the quarterback along the line of scrimmage in case the QB runs. It gives you an extra defender to play pass defense.

02-13-2003, 04:18 PM	#10
Maple Leafs Coordinator Join Date: Jan 2002	Have a system for audibles to take advantage of the defensive coverage. A nice, simple system is to use the numbers 1-12. Picture a clock: a "12" is a fly pattern, a "6" is a hook, "11" is a slant, etc. So if the QB sees a speed guy lined up against a weaker DB, he can call "Smith-12". Of course, you can get more complicated, but you probably don't need to.

02-13-2003, 04:30 PM	#12
Ben E Lou Morgado's Favorite Forum Fascist Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Greensboro, NC	To combat the pass-rush issues, we used the center as our safety-valve receiver. Also, nearly every play was a roll-out to further avoid the rush. This was easy to call at the line of scrimmage based on the defense. I'd simply call out a color as part of the signals. "Cold" colors (blue, green, brown) meant a rollout left, and "hot" colors (red, orange, yellow) meant I was rolling right. The center would try to help block (an utter joke...then release to the roll-out side. If they had a "ghost", the center would just drop right in behind the ghost. This gave a nice near-guaranteed gain if the receivers couldn't get open. __________________ The media don't understand the kinds of problems and pressures 54 million come wit'!

02-13-2003, 05:00 PM	#13
Neel n00b Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Seattle, Washington	When at CB I jump the audibles like Smith-12. We generally play a week man and jam when the other team starts to do that. 7 on 7 is a blast.

02-14-2003, 08:12 AM	#16
The Afoci Pro Rookie Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Moorhead	I really love the option and have been beating my head in trying to design some "simple" option/pass plays. Our team is limited on previous football experience and practice time, so any intricate plays aren't usable. On a sad/funny note, one of our best players was drinking an adult beverage or 12 when he thought that picking up a large rock would be a good idea. So with rock on should her proceeded to slip on some ice and drop said rock on arm. Now it is probably broken, but since he just quit his last job and had no medical insurance there, he doesn't want to go to the doctor. So if anyone has any plays designed for one armed men, please send them my way. __________________ I had something.

02-14-2003, 08:24 AM	#18
HornedFrog Purple Hattrick Moderator Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Fort Worthless, Tx	Flag football is worthless. How can I take advantage of my 5.3 in the 40? Speed kills. __________________ King of All FOFC Media!!! IHOF: Fort Worthless Fury- 2004 AOC Deep South Champions (not acknowledged via conspiracy)

02-14-2003, 08:26 AM	#19
Airhog Captain Obvious Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Norman, Oklahoma	If I was going to run the option, I wouldnt run it out of set that looks like a running play. Try running options with your WR's I would keep it simple and not run any triple options. You could even run some arena football style plays, where they get a run at the line before the snap. __________________ Thread Killer extraordinaire Yay! its football season once again!

02-14-2003, 08:38 AM	#20
Poli FOFC Survivor Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Wentzville, MO	A very simple play we ran to perfection in the Navy's flag football league in Norfolk was this (7 on 7): Trips to the wide side. QB, by rule, in shotgun. Two men in backfield blocking to the wide side. Blocking was no contact shadow blocking...which is why I sacrificed two blockers to buy more time. The trips receivers would switch their routes, and I didn't care how they decided...just as long as they had it figured out before they got to the line. One man ran a five yard curl and tried to find an open spot. The second man ran a deep corner route. The third man ran a skinny post...very nearly a streak. The center ran a lonesome polecat flat pattern to the wide side...basically becoming the last option for a pass. The concept was to beat any zone defense as teams generally play a 2 deep zone. Well, as you have read, I would flood one side of the field and have two players go deep. That safety had to choose who to go after. Against man coverage more often than not, our QB could just run since that usually meant a lot of open field ahead of us. If the teams just didn't rush, then our backs would flare out. We never had both flare, as teams always rushed one, and after our success, they would try and rush two. Our ship was about 200 people strong. Of which I had about 10-12 on any given game day out for the game or practice. We finished the year 7-3, beating 6 ships that had more personnel to choose from. The only teams that beat us were the friggin carriers. Oops. That's what I'm on now. If you can't beat them, join them. __________________ Cheer for a walk on quarterback! Ardent leads the Vols in the dynasty forum.

02-17-2003, 06:46 PM	#21
CHEMICAL SOLDIER College Starter Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Henderson, Nevada	You could always play ''BUTTBALL'' a Combo of Football and Soccer .Its really fast paced and fun ....If you want more info ping me . __________________ Toujour Pret

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