Flag Football Strategy Help

[Passacaglia]

Here's one for all you football strategizers out there -- help me out in my flag football league! My team played its first game Tuesday, and we all just met a few minutes before the game, so we really didn't get to talk any more strategy other than, "does anyone want to be quarterback?" then all of us looking at each other. Anyway, after the game was over, we still didn't have many ideas, other than the idea that passing wasn't working for us, and we needed to run more. I have a couple ideas now, but when I ran them by a buddy, and asked him if he had any ideas, he just said mine sounded good, so I'll let you guys speak your minds before I do.

Here's the details:

8 players on the field at a time, at least three girls.
One out of every three plays has to feature a girl somehow -- either as QB, ballcarrier, or receiver
5 one-secound counts until you can cross the line of scrimmage
no contact behind the line of scrimmage -- for all blocks beyond the line of scrimmage, you have to have your hands at your side or behind your back
you can pick up a first down by crossing midfield
The field was really narrow -- I think the space we had was reduced because some soccer match was still going on in one half of the field, so this might not be the case next week

Anyone have any strategy tips?

[JonInMiddleGA]

Anyone have any strategy tips?

Run like the wind.

[wade moore]

I love co-ed Flag Football, I hate ones with girl requirements.

That being said - when this requirement is there I think the smart thing to do is to use your girls on 1st and 2nd down as much as possible. If you don't, you get yourself in bad situations where you have to go to a girl on 3rd down, they know it, and it's easy to defend.

[DaddyTorgo]

I love co-ed Flag Football, I hate ones with girl requirements.

That being said - when this requirement is there I think the smart thing to do is to use your girls on 1st and 2nd down as much as possible. If you don't, you get yourself in bad situations where you have to go to a girl on 3rd down, they know it, and it's easy to defend.

gotta say I agree with wade more - unless you have a talented girl and you can use her as a secret weapon on a crucial play or two in the game

[RPI-Fan]

gotta say I agree with wade more - unless you have a talented girl and you can use her as a secret weapon on a crucial play or two in the game

I think the problem is, it doesn't end up being a "secret" because everyone knows you're going to a girl on 3rd/4th down (and if she's good, they know you're going to her).

So, I agree totally with wade moore about almost always getting the girl play out of the way 1st/2nd down.

[DaddyTorgo]

I think the problem is, it doesn't end up being a "secret" because everyone knows you're going to a girl on 3rd/4th down (and if she's good, they know you're going to her).

So, I agree totally with wade moore about almost always getting the girl play out of the way 1st/2nd down.

unless you go to her on 3rd down in addition - and it probably wouldn't work too often

but the plus of having a talented girl is that she's likely being covered by the other teams girls - so if you have one it's a double-bonus

[Coffee Warlord]

Running plays usually work way WAY better in flag football than passing. Grind it out!

[Dr. Sak]

Have a girl on your team with big tits so when she runs they flop all over the place. That will distract the men on the other team.

[wade moore]

I think the problem is, it doesn't end up being a "secret" because everyone knows you're going to a girl on 3rd/4th down (and if she's good, they know you're going to her).

So, I agree totally with wade moore about almost always getting the girl play out of the way 1st/2nd down.

Yup. Whether your girls are good or not it makes sense - the predictability is the problem. If you do it on 3rd down every time, there's no reason to cover the guys (unless you have a girl that can throw).

Sure, do it on 3rd sometimes - but mix it up as much as possible.

Outside of that - don't get TOO gimmicky. Gimmick plays can work in flag, but if you don't practice together if you try anything too complicated it turns into a disaster.

A good play to have around is a screen pass behind the line of scrimmage to a guy that can pass it.

Another thing is don't be drawn into the lure of the long-ball. It's about getting 1st downs. Generally I think it's good to start out with short passes and be judicious in your long passes - unless your players are just that much faster.


Not exactly a game strategy thing, but another comment. I played in co-ed sports all through college and I had a co-ed rec league flag team last fall. Don't look at your girls as dead weight. Involve them as much as possible, don't make it seem like "damnit, we have to throw to them AGAIN?". What I see in those cases is the teams that treat their girls in that way tend to start having trouble fielding girls as the season goes on. They're a part of your team, use them and treat them like real team members. Generally I haven't played in leagues with the "must touch every 3 downs" rule - so it's even more pronounced. Your girls should be an asset and the more you get them involved the more likely they are to show up again and try hard when they're there.

[wade moore]

Running plays usually work way WAY better in flag football than passing. Grind it out!

Uh? Wha? What the hell flag league are you playing in? Running is useless, especially with a narrow field.

[EagleFan]

Crazy glue your flags in place.

[Coffee Warlord]

Uh? Wha? What the hell flag league are you playing in? Running is useless, especially with a narrow field.

Wow, I completely disagree. I never see anyone who can consistently throw the football well enough to actually get a meaningful passing game going.

[wade moore]

Wow, I completely disagree. I never see anyone who can consistently throw the football well enough to actually get a meaningful passing game going.

Unless you're talking about QB scrambling I have never, ever seen a running game work in the kind of league he is describing. Maybe in full-contact blocking leagues, but not this kind.

[wade moore]

Dola:

Really to me unless there's just a huge disparity in athleticism across all positions generally a team with a QB that can run has the upper hand.

[Dr. Sak]

If a girl has to "touch" the ball...have her be the qb in the shot gun and shuffle it back to your real qb. Would that satisfy the requirement?

[EagleFan]

Oh, also pull out the old hook and lateral. That one works well in flag football.

I agree with Wade about the running game though (but it's been a while). Especially with the hands down blocking used it isn;t easy to get any running game going consitently.

[wade moore]

Oh, also pull out the old hook and lateral. That one works well in flag football.

Hook and lateral is great, but hard to pull off if you don't practice it.

[cuervo72]

Ah, flag football. We had a few girls play in the intramural league at Hopkins. It wasn't a rule, but often teams needed them just to field enough players. One game I was back to receive the kickoff and I broke it, with only one person to beat - a blonde named Nicola (who I think was originally from South Africa). Really cute girl. Anyway, one of my signature moves was my stiff-arm. So I'm going down the sideline, she's closing in on me, and my first instinct is to plant my palm dead in her chest. Something upstairs tells me that this might not be the most appropriate thing to do under the circumstances, so I pull back and she manages to get my flag. She pulled/broke her nail on the flag belt though.

[lordscarlet]

I love co-ed Flag Football, I hate ones with girl requirements.

That being said - when this requirement is there I think the smart thing to do is to use your girls on 1st and 2nd down as much as possible. If you don't, you get yourself in bad situations where you have to go to a girl on 3rd down, they know it, and it's easy to defend.

OK. Here's the key. If your girls are not very good, don't use 1st down. The way it typically works is you have to go to a girl every third down. This means that if you throw to a girl on 1st you will be required to throw to one on 4th. The best time to go to a girl is on 2nd. Obviously you'll need to mix it up some so that you don't become predictable, but 2nd down is the optimal time to go to a girl. (of course if you convert a 4th down you'll be required to go to a girl on 1st)

Running plays usually work way WAY better in flag football than passing. Grind it out!

Wow, I completely disagree. I never see anyone who can consistently throw the football well enough to actually get a meaningful passing game going.

I agree with Wade about the running game though (but it's been a while). Especially with the hands down blocking used it isn;t easy to get any running game going consitently.

Here's what you do. Send everyone deep and then break off on a run. Send everyone deep and then break off on a run. Then, once the other team is tired from running up and down the field, start airing it out.

[Passacaglia]

I love co-ed Flag Football, I hate ones with girl requirements.

That being said - when this requirement is there I think the smart thing to do is to use your girls on 1st and 2nd down as much as possible. If you don't, you get yourself in bad situations where you have to go to a girl on 3rd down, they know it, and it's easy to defend.

We did that a little bit, to keep the element of surprise going. I understand why they have the rule, but it's completely absurd to have 8 people on the field, but the defense knows that one of those 3 will be involved. If we had a girl who could throw it would be a different story, but I don't think we do.

[Passacaglia]

Running plays usually work way WAY better in flag football than passing. Grind it out!

I agree with CW on this -- at least for our team. Passing is a pretty dangerous proposition for us, and the chance of an INT was pretty close to the chance of a completion -- the other team was more athletic than us, there wasn't a lot of space on the field to get open, we don't have anyone good enough at QB to really want to do it, and it was pretty windy. It was a lot easier to move the ball when running for us -- and a lot harder to defend when they ran it. There were several plays where I was on the QB, and after the five second count I could rush, but I knew that if I did, the QB would have taken off running, which would have been awful for us, as he would have gone right by me. Maybe once we get better grabbing flags it will be a different story, though.

[Passacaglia]

Not exactly a game strategy thing, but another comment. I played in co-ed sports all through college and I had a co-ed rec league flag team last fall. Don't look at your girls as dead weight. Involve them as much as possible, don't make it seem like "damnit, we have to throw to them AGAIN?". What I see in those cases is the teams that treat their girls in that way tend to start having trouble fielding girls as the season goes on. They're a part of your team, use them and treat them like real team members. Generally I haven't played in leagues with the "must touch every 3 downs" rule - so it's even more pronounced. Your girls should be an asset and the more you get them involved the more likely they are to show up again and try hard when they're there.

This is a good point. It seems like the girls came in knowing they're not going to be the strength of the team, and didn't really like the rule, either. I don't think it's that they don't want to get involved, but that they'd probably rather be involved when it's legitimately the better play, not when forced to by rules. I think that not being afraid to give it them on 2nd down will help in that regard. And besides, it's not like the guys on the team are studs or anything, so we're not missing out on much.

[mauchow]

Stiff arming in flag football, that's the dumbest thing I've ever heard of. If there was stiff arming that means that you could technically flag guard because essentially it's the same damn thing.

/venting as a flag baller who has to use pure athleticism to break shit wide open

[cuervo72]

Don't hate on athletic arms.

[mauchow]

Well, not athletic enough to just grab her boob as a stiff arm.

[lordscarlet]

Also, if you are stuck in a "closed" (girl required) play here's another strategy: If you have more girls than the minimum, sub out guys for girls. They'll run out of guys to cover your girls and you can throw to the (wait for it.....) girl-on-girl matchup.

[Passacaglia]

Also, if you are stuck in a "closed" (girl required) play here's another strategy: If you have more girls than the minimum, sub out guys for girls. They'll run out of guys to cover your girls and you can throw to the (wait for it.....) girl-on-girl matchup.

I've thought about that. We have four girls, so that's a possibility. The people on the bench were at the endzone, though, so we rarely subsitute in the middle of a drive. That might have been because we had less space than usual, though. We're probably not coordinated enough to do that, but it's something worth trying.

[Passacaglia]

So I'm thinking that we should run out of a basic formation of two girls on each side of the QB. Then once we get to the line, the QB can decide to hand off to either girl, and if that doesn't happen, they can head to either flat for a screen pass if no one else is open -- even an incomplete pass to a girl counts as a 'girl play' so that would be fine.

[Anthony]

what i don't understand is why does there have to be requirements for girls? if you're playing co-ed, it's obviously a casual, not-overly competitive game (or else you'd be playing tackle football will all guys). if you're gonna put yourself in a situation where you're gonna be stuck with inferior (presumably) talent then you're already agreeing that ultra-high quality athleticism isn't a requirement and you're just out for tossing around a football. some games/matches you play to win, others you play for the enjoyment and commaraderie. if you want to win at all costs then you'd be playing with the boys.

[wade moore]

what i don't understand is why does there have to be requirements for girls? if you're playing co-ed, it's obviously a casual, not-overly competitive game (or else you'd be playing tackle football will all guys). if you're gonna put yourself in a situation where you're gonna be stuck with inferior (presumably) talent then you're already agreeing that ultra-high quality athleticism isn't a requirement and you're just out for tossing around a football. some games/matches you play to win, others you play for the enjoyment and commaraderie. if you want to win at all costs then you'd be playing with the boys.

Agreed 100000000000%. Like I said, I play in leagues where this rule doesn't exist - and it's a blast. Most of the teams that I saw who were uber competitive and ignored their girls ended up forfeiting games because the girls didn't put up with it for more than a few games.

[wade moore]

Dola: The main reason I play co-ed is for the reasons HA mentions. I'm not super-athletic, but I like sports and competition. Co-Ed tends to be a lot less "serious" and you're able to have fun while trying to also win.

[Anthony]

exactly. i haven't ever played in a co-ed sport, but i have the mentality that if i was a qb (and i wouldn't be, cuz i don't throw a football well) i would just as soon pass to a girl as i would to a guy (provided the girl was open). what's the point in saying "oh great, i didn't pass to a girl the 1st two downs so now i *have* to pass to a girl, well that's just great"? if you truly feel that way then why bother playing with girls? no one will confuse me with being a morally upstanding guy, but this is just common sense.

i guarantee you even if you win utilizing girls as little as possible you won't be signed by a NFL team and you won't win any big rewards. with that in mind - just have fun.

[wade moore]

exactly. i haven't ever played in a co-ed sport, but i have the mentality that if i was a qb (and i wouldn't be, cuz i don't throw a football well) i would just as soon pass to a girl as i would to a guy (provided the girl was open). what's the point in saying "oh great, i didn't pass to a girl the 1st two downs so now i *have* to pass to a girl, well that's just great"? if you truly feel that way then why bother playing with girls? no one will confuse me with being a morally upstanding guy, but this is just common sense.

i guarantee you even if you win utilizing girls as little as possible you won't be signed by a NFL team and you won't win any big rewards. with that in mind - just have fun.

Yup.

[Noop]

We have a formation we ran which i tried to post in this thread but the format doesn't work for some reason.

Have you considered running a variation of the spread option with alot of motion and wide sweeps? We pretty much ran that offense all the way to the championship. I have never played an 8 on 8 so I am not sure how that would work especially with girls but I guess its possible.

If their was a program i could use to design a play i would draw up a few for you along with a route tree.

[wade moore]

We have a formation we ran which i tried to post in this thread but the format doesn't work for some reason.

Have you considered running a variation of the spread option with alot of motion and wide sweeps? We pretty much ran that offense all the way to the championship. I have never played an 8 on 8 so I am not sure how that would work especially with girls but I guess its possible.

If their was a program i could use to design a play i would draw up a few for you along with a route tree.The only problem you have with that in co-ed is that your decoys do not work quite as well.

One thing i did find was that overloading one side with girls and one guy allows you to use the girls to screen off the one guy as the girls tend to not know how to handle that situation - and certainly they're not going to switch off like guys would in a crossing pattern.


Another thing we did. Teach your girls a few basic patterns. Hook, cross, fly, in, out is what we did. Then it's a LOT easier for them. Even if you don't "call plays" they get some logical ways to move instead of feeling lost and just moving around and the QB doesn't know what to expect.

[Noop]

Good point Wade. I would teach a route tree so the QB can call plays by numbers. i.e. 325 Slant, Drag, Out or something like that.

We passed 80% of the time but we ran so many plays from the same set that it was hard to defend. For example one play we ran was called Godzilla which was a PA read from a two back shotgun set.

Tokyo meant give it to the RB on the read and we did this all the time and once we did it the fourth time the defense would totally commit to the play leaving the middle open for a middle screen ran by the second running back.

Once they adjusted to that there was another option for "Pearl" which was just a one on one fly route.

[lordscarlet]

what i don't understand is why does there have to be requirements for girls? if you're playing co-ed, it's obviously a casual, not-overly competitive game (or else you'd be playing tackle football will all guys). if you're gonna put yourself in a situation where you're gonna be stuck with inferior (presumably) talent then you're already agreeing that ultra-high quality athleticism isn't a requirement and you're just out for tossing around a football. some games/matches you play to win, others you play for the enjoyment and commaraderie. if you want to win at all costs then you'd be playing with the boys.

Agreed 100000000000%. Like I said, I play in leagues where this rule doesn't exist - and it's a blast. Most of the teams that I saw who were uber competitive and ignored their girls ended up forfeiting games because the girls didn't put up with it for more than a few games.

Just because we feel that way does not mean everyone does. There are many people that join a co-ed league that are very competitive and would never let a girl touch the ball if they were allowed, thus ruining the spirit of the league.

Also, regarding female running plays: be warned that most girls I have played flag with have no idea how the ball transfer process works for a running play. They don't know where to run to to get the ball, when to do it, or how to receive the hand off.

[kcchief19]

Is your center receiver eligible? My team was campus intramural champions my senior year at Mizzou and we basically had three plays:

* Five-yard out our WR
* QB option
* Center screen

We had a quick WR who could pretty much get five yards on any play with the out route. We'd occassionally run a QB option since our QB had some speed. I played center we would throw to me when the defense started to overcommit to the outside and the middle of the field as wide open. Every once in a while our wideout would break one and be gone, otherwise we pretty much moved the ball in 5 and 10 yard chunks down the field.

[wade moore]

the Center screen is a very, very useful play if they rush hard.

I found it less effective in a "5 mississippi" system like it sounds like he's playing in vs. a straight rush system though.

[Passacaglia]

The center screen is worth trying, I think. Even on 5-mississippi, I think it has merit -- it gives everyone else time to go deep. I don't remember how the defense played us, even though I was the center sometimes. I know that when we were on defense, we had a guy on the QB and on the center. If they play a zone, it would work well too, since the defense would gravitate deeper as the play went on.

[wade moore]

If they play a zone then overstacking is a huge asset.

[lordscarlet]

In our league people don't even stay in to block.