Flag football

[Poli]

Yahoo. I'll be coaching a flag football team comprised of sailor/students in my schoolhouse. I've coached flag and Pop Warner before, so I'm looking forward to it.

I played last season on the base. It's a little different here than where I've played previously. First, it's 8 on 8 and everyone is an eligible receiver. Since we're on base, they don't want contact, so any (rough) contact is a penalty. That means our blockers have to shadow block and, when they're about to be beat, stand still (try and receive contact).

Last season was garbage, and it was hard to play through it. We had no organization on offense or defense. Everyone did what they wanted. I ended up snapping the ball about 75% of the time because no one else wanted to.

I've been messing with my playbook today, as I'm expecting to start practices Wednesday or Thursday. I don't expect to play, but I'll wear a set of flags if we're running low on players.

I don't expect that either. We've got about 400 sailors in the school now, and I'd guess about 40-50 are female (females are eligible as well). I imagine by September we could be at 600 sailors (due to recruiter kidnappings/sailors graduating boot camp).

I'm looking for feedback and suggestions for practice, plays, etc. Who knows, perhaps I could make this into a dynasty.

[CHEMICAL SOLDIER]

Aawesome!

[wade moore]

Is it forced co-ed, or optional? In otherwords, are there rules around how many females have to be on the field or anything?

Changes the strategy quite a bit.. I've played this style of flag both co-ed and men only... co-ed is more pure 'fun' and men is more like football ...

[Poli]

Originally Posted by wade moore

Is it forced co-ed, or optional? In otherwords, are there rules around how many females have to be on the field or anything?

Changes the strategy quite a bit.. I've played this style of flag both co-ed and men only... co-ed is more pure 'fun' and men is more like football ...

It's not forced co-ed, and I'll admit having the two females on the team we had definitely made it more fun.

I really hate the shadow or stalk blocking we have to do. I wish base leagues would allow a little contact against the pass rush. The rush gets back there so fast you just can't design a play for a drop back type pass.

[wade moore]

You can do drop back type passes, you just have to get used to it...

Part of the blocking thing is you REALLY have to be willing to 'take a hit', especially if you have good refs that are willing to call the contact.

How many folks are you leaving in to block? I feel it is best to go ahead and leave in as many blockers as you have rushers... what we often did is if we thought 3 were rushing, we had 2 linemen and an rb. The rb would stay in to block (would often help to allow the QB to drop back), but if only 2 rushed the RB could go out on a pattern.

What often works REALLY well also is teach your blockers that if their man gets passed them, immediately turn around and be ready to catch a pass. Your linemen need to be your outlet/hot route receivers.. it takes some getting used to, but it is VERY effective... In fact, plays where your C intentionally releases can be effective screens...

[Celeval]

I agree with wade moore - find the good basketball defenders to stay in and block (it's essentially taking a charge), and make them the outlet often enough to keep them happy. I've found the center is nearly useless in pass blocking of this sort, since the rushers are by him by the time the ball is snapped, so go ahead and make him a primary receiver; plus a lineman on either side, plus one or even two RBs who release if there isn't an extra rusher on their side.

[wade moore]

Another note:

Do not look at size as a factor for line.. this may seem obvious, but to many it is not... size is ZERO benefit in this sort of flag football, besides long legs maybe...

you want guys that can move and square up quickly, as cel said a "take a charge type"...

I played Center a lot on my team, and at the time I was about 5' 10" 160 lbs... but I did not mind lettinga 300lb guy run over top of me to get a free 15 yards...

[JW]

Originally Posted by wade moore

What often works REALLY well also is teach your blockers that if their man gets passed them, immediately turn around and be ready to catch a pass. Your linemen need to be your outlet/hot route receivers.. it takes some getting used to, but it is VERY effective... In fact, plays where your C intentionally releases can be effective screens...

You beat me to that one. I played a lot of years of flag football in college and in the Army. One tactic that worked well was the delayed screen to the center or inside linemen. The QB would roll out, the rush would pursue, and if the O linemen simply stayed put, there would often be 3 or 4 linemen there with only one defender shadowing them. Or just dump it over the top of the rush. This works very well against hard rushing teams.

Another way to sucker in guys in flag is the out and up. Run a quick out a few times and the DBs will usually bite on a pump fake. The receiver then turns upfield and you throw as soon as he makes his upfield turn.

And don't forget the run. Inside runs work very well against teams that spread their defense to cover the pass, since a lot of teams pass most of the time. We also ran an option a lot, and that worked well. We would often have a player line up beside the QB. This also gives you an extra blocker or an option for a safety valve pass and for faked handoffs/pitchouts.

Don't look for the big play all the time. Think first downs.

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by JW

Don't look for the big play all the time. Think first downs.

Couldn't agree with this more...

As evidence, we used a strategy in coed that many others didn't... most others used their girls essentially to fill space and/or block...

we used them for dumpoff passes... the girls tended to not be able to get downfield quickly enough to get a deep pass, but could often get open short... we used this all day to get first downs..

the results was even though we were one of the slower teams, we always did well in the playoffs...

[volfan77]

These are all great ideas...especially throwing to the linemen. The more you throw to them, the more it will open up everything else. On defense I would recommend going zone, 2 DL, 3 LB covering 10-15 yards, 3 DB/CB covering deep thirds. This defense frees the DL to rush the QB with out worrting too much about the releasing linemen. The Key is the LBs MUST stay in their zone for this D to work well. It tends to give up a bunch of short passes, but it should eliminate the quick scores.

Some thoughs on practices...Have the team practice pulling flags. Setup a 10 x 20 yard field and have the ball carrier try and beat the defender in a one-on-one situation.
I always hated doing this drill, but it is worth the 20 minutes of practice time.

Have the DL/OL practice blocking so the linemen can practice footwork and have some idea what their blocking assignment is. Have the DL practice dfferent rush techniques like twists, and blitzes.

Just my $.02 from 10+ seasons of flag football.

Good luck this season.

[fantastic flying froggies]

Ahem... dynasty maybe?

It's been a while since I've had my dose of dynasty a la AE...

[Token Asian Guy]

Interesting timing for this thread to come up as my college buddies have a coed intramural team that is very exclusive and therefore I am forming my own to try to topple their powerhouse. I will almost definitely need pointers from you guys who have played coed before on how to get the most of the female teammates, especially since the scoring rules are different in our league. 9 points on a touchdown if thrown or caught by a girl could be a pretty big determining factor in game outcomes, and I think the advice about utilizing a short game is via screens and flares is excellent. I do have a question though, what about the running game? Do you do set running plays or shy away from them altogether? Thanks for any input, I'd like to start a dynasty on this pretty soon...only 3 months til the season starts!

[JW]

Originally Posted by Token Asian Guy

I do have a question though, what about the running game? Do you do set running plays or shy away from them altogether? Thanks for any input, I'd like to start a dynasty on this pretty soon...only 3 months til the season starts!

If you have someone who is quick, the run can work very well, especially since most flag defenses are going to be set up against the pass. I've seen some flag teams that rely on the run as much as the pass, but you need real speed. It isn't easy to take the flag off someone going full speed (hence the need for flag pulling drills as stated previously). Often if you get a running back (or the QB) past the DLs, there is a lot of open space to run into. Rolling out the QB and giving him the option to run or pass works well, too. So imo, it depends on your talent and the defenses. I would definitely say have some running plays in your playbook.

[volfan77]

I would say if you have a contact league, then running the ball is a great option. But in noncontact it is extremely difficult to run "between the tackles" so to speak. If you do decide to run the ball, be sure to run some play-action pass.

For the coed FFB league. Put the women on OL in goaline situation and have them release into the endzone after a second of blocking. They should be in the "no-mans land" between the DL and the LBs. This should give you the additional points and still keep it a high percentage play.

[JW]

Originally Posted by volfan77

I would say if you have a contact league, then running the ball is a great option. But in noncontact it is extremely difficult to run "between the tackles" so to speak. If you do decide to run the ball, be sure to run some play-action pass.

I would disagree. I've played in both, and the run can be used well. If the rushers rush from the outside, you can run the QB right up the middle to keep the defense honest. Or if they rush from the inside, you run to the outside. It is just another way of stretching the defense. If nothing else, it will slow the rush. Regardless, in flag the pass will be your primary weapon, and if you put a running back with your QB, you can do play fakes to the RB.

[Esquared1]

For what it is worth, my defense lead a bunch of stoners against a team of baseball players. . .

Line up with three on the line, three over each wideout, and two safetys. As the QB looks over the field, instruct the corners to back off a bit. The outer most corners spy the running back as he goes back in a zone. The DL on the weak side goes back in coverage, and you rush two. The DL rush as to push the QB to the opposite side he throws. The MLB has middle-deep responsibility.

So basically, before the snap, you are looking like man-to-man. Post snap, you are basically 2-4 with the MLB with middle deep coverage.

For what it is worth.. .

You get a lot of tipped passes, since the only soft spot is if all three go deep, or if they run an out between the corners or three in each seam. Otherwise, when you get the QB throwing on the run. Even when they figure out that they should throw 5/10 yd hooks, somebody will throw high, or behind the WR. In most cases, you have one or two around the ball for the INT.