Run da Ball - The art of the run in flag football

Pass....Pass...Pass.....

Flag Football is all about the wide open, misdirection passing game. So line play can be downright boring and frustrating. This is because you cant use your hands to block. In seven man screen flag football the screen is just what it says, you screen your blocker with your feet. Eight and nine man football is a little different you are able to full extend your arms and block. So you would think that when playing seven man why would you run the ball. The answer is simple, in seven man all defenses are looking for the pass. Some good teams from the start of the game will place Linebackers and safeties directly in most passing lanes. The run will keep them guessing and thinking, and we all know once a defense starts to think and not react it increasing the chances of the offense. So you ask what is the art of the run?. Here you go

The first thing you want to do is get in a two point stance with your feet about shoulder width apart. Placement of the feet is important. Running to the outside to the right you want to place your right foot forward with your left slightly back. This will allow a good seal screen once the play starts to help the runner get a quick jump to the outside. Even two yards matter in Flag Football. If running to the outside then it is left foot forward and right foot back.

The trick to this is when the play starts you have to move with short quick steps and place yourself in front of the oncoming rusher. If you followed the above foot placement then you should be in a position to either bump or limit the penetration of the rusher. Once in front of the rusher use your leverage and weight to guide or turn the blocker in the direction you want. The key here is to keep a slight bend to your stance and move into the blocker.

The greatest thing about the run is this, once the play goes forward and you provide a good block and most times the run will catch the defense off guard. This will open up the next most under used play/weapon on any flag football team. That is the pitch. Always run behind the runner providing an outlet for the pitch. So you can see playing the blocking position is not that bad

Hall of Fame Flag Football

Funny segment from ESPN Mayne event on flag football featuring Jerry Rice. Very Funny enjoy.

Flag Football Tip # 9 - Defensive Communication

I hope you all had a good weekend and enjoyed the NFL preseason games. I did and already the season is shaping up to be one of high drama. I will speak on the story lines later in the week. Today i want to talk about a very important aspect of defense - communication.


You watch any sporting event and the players will huddle and discuss in seconds what is going on. I always thought when I was younger how is it humanly possible to share information so fast during a game. I could not see any long discussion or pointing in the direction of the other team just a quick huddle and then reset for the next play. I found out once I started to play organized sports that players develop there own lingo for every action on the field. I found that this helped to quickly get me in position and give direction on what action I am to perform.


In flag football this is vital that your team develops its own lingo or lets say audibles to make sure the defense is on the same page. A typical flag football offense can be very complex, most offenses really on misdirection in there play calling. So a quiet defense is a beat defense. There should be communication going on before and after the play. There should be established audibles to blitz or drop back into a different play. The defense should be able to communicate before a play to mix up the look - its important to do this in flag football. Having a talking, unpredictable defense is the key to winning. Follow the tip to a very fast and winning defense.

Here is a video i found to display the difference between good defense and poor defense. Ignore the song in the background but focus on the team that is clearly more together than the other, plus one team using proper flag pulling technique - where the other is doing it all wrong. Enjoy

Flag Football online game

TGIF!!!!!

The weekend is almost here and that means more preseason football. This weekend is sort of a preview of things to come. Teams are trimming there rosters and camp battles are wrapping up. So the games should be a little better than the last two weeks. Originally this post was going to be on fantasy football but for some reason it was delete.

Not to worry i always have a plan B. The plan is to give you the reader a fun little game to play. Its 7 on 7 flag football. So enjoy your weekend and the only video game that i could find on the net about the game.