Draw, print and share football plays

Questions

Each page answers one coaching question in a few lines, then gives you the play, field or rules card to print or edit. The answers follow the NFL FLAG Official Playing Rules (revised 2025-03-24); local leagues may change them.

Pick a question

Start with the question your players or parents asked you this week. Every page has the short answer first, then a play, field or card you can open in the designer and change.

Tools in this group

  • Can You Block in Flag Football? — No. NFL FLAG rule X.8 bans blocking and screening at any time. A screening or blocking foul costs the offense 5 yards and a loss of down, and intentional blocking can get a player ejected. Teams create space with motion, handoffs and quick routes instead, as the six plays below show.
  • Can You Rush in Flag Football? — Yes. In NFL FLAG up to two defenders may rush the quarterback, each starting at least 7 yards from the line of scrimmage with a hand raised before the snap. In regular-season 8U, 7U, 6U and 1st to 3rd grade play nobody may rush unless there is a handoff, pitch or lateral.
  • How Do You Beat a Zone Defense in Flag Football? — Put two receivers in the area of one zone defender so he can cover only one of them, then throw to the open one. Flood, Smash and Curl Flat all do this. Receivers should sit down in the gap between defenders and face the quarterback. Eight 5v5 and 7v7 plays are drawn below.
  • How Do You Beat Man Coverage in Flag Football? — Make each defender run a long way to stay with his receiver: crossing routes at different depths, a stack that sends the front man deep, a double move, or a quick slant with a flat underneath. Receivers run their own routes and never move into a defender's path, because screening is a foul.
  • How Do You Beat the Blitz in Flag Football? — Get the ball out before the rusher arrives. In NFL FLAG the blitz is one or two rushers who must start 7 yards from the line, so a quick out or a three-step slant usually beats it. Rolling out away from the rush also helps. A forward pass caught behind the line is illegal.
  • How Long Is a Flag Football Game? — An NFL FLAG regular-season game is two 24-minute halves on a continuous clock, 48 minutes in all, with a 2-minute halftime. Tournament games are two 12-minute halves with a 1-minute halftime. A lead of 35 points ends a regular-season game early, and 28 points in tournaments.
  • How Many Downs Do You Get in Flag Football? — Under NFL FLAG rules the offense starts at its own 5-yard line and gets four downs to cross midfield. Once across, it gets three more downs to score a touchdown. Midfield is the only line to gain. USA Football's rules give four downs to score instead of three, so check your league.
  • How Many Players Are in Flag Football? — NFL FLAG plays 5 on 5, so five players per team are on the field at a time. Other leagues play 4v4, 6v6, 7v7 or 8v8, and each league sets its own roster size. The NFL FLAG rules do not give a roster number. The diagrams below show each team size from 4v4 to 8v8.
  • What Is a Motion Offense in Youth Basketball? — A youth basketball motion offense is a set of simple rules instead of set plays: pass, cut, fill the spot you left and screen for a teammate. Players read the defense and react. It teaches spacing and cutting to young players. Five basic actions are drawn on a half court below.
  • What Is the Best 5v5 Flag Football Formation? — Spread is the best 5v5 flag football formation to start with, especially for 8-year-olds: the center on the line, the quarterback 5 yards behind and three players split across the 25-yard field. Switch to Trips to overload one side or Bunch against tight man coverage. This is a coaching suggestion, not a rule.