Designing Winning Flag Football Plays

In most city flag football leagues, there are many different levels based on ability. If you're looking for more that exercise from your games, try adding a game plan. One suggestion for improving is adding some flag football plays.



A playbook will add some organization and guideance instead of just "going out there and wingin' it". You’ll avoid those times in the huddle where everyone is unsure what to do and is just staring at each other.



Having a mixture of plays is important so that you'll be ready for all situations. Your playbook should include plays that are: basic, trick, rushing, long yardage, and red zone.



The standard/basic plays will be the plays utilized more frequently. These generally get around 5-10 yards. Using short and effective plays is the strategy most winning teams use.



Big yardage plays are needed for two types of situations. In a short yardage for first down situation, the defense may try to over defend the short play. This opens up the opportunity for the a big play. The flip side is when you're faced with long yardage for teh first down. The defense will play to defend the long yardage plays.



If faced with a short yardage situation, you'll still want to have a receiver run a short route to make the defense think this is where you're headed. Though the goal is to gain big yards, having this short route will still allow your offense some yards. However, don't use a short route in 3rd or 4th and long situations.



Once you’ve moved the ball down the field, you’ll need some goal line plays to finish off the drive with a score. Once you've reached the 5 yard line, it's time to break out the goal line plays. Anything deeper than 5 yards, you’ll most likely run one of your standard plays. One disadvantage for the offense in goal line situations is the smaller area the defense must defend. Throwing a quick out is one suggestion. Have your three receivers line up. Whichever receiver is being covered by the defender playing the deepest should receive the throw.



If your goal is to be more competitive, then these suggestions should help your team. At first, create a few plays that will be used each game. You should add more plays to your arsensal once your team shows a comfort level with your original play set.



You can download a playbook and start using flag football plays in your offense. Just visit: TheFlagFootballPlaybook.com