Flag Football Defense Changeup
There is a fine line between getting too cute with your flag football defense and being a sitting duck. A simple 5v5 flag football defensive changeup is a great thing to have if your players can handle it. So look at this with honest eyes. If you are coaching 7-8 year old NFL flag players you might want to read this instead.
You can put this in your back pocket for when your flag football players get a little older.
Here at FirstDown PlayBook we really like this flag football defensive changeup for three reasons. We will detail them below but remember this defense could be used in any 6v6 flag football or 7v7 flag football league as well.
1. It Can Be Broken Down Into Parts
This three receiver set is a very common 5v5 flag football formation. This is for good reason. The offense gets all receivers on the line of scrimmage to threaten your coverage. This flag football defense is designed to help stop this plan.
This coverage tells your two DB’s to work with one another and they must communicate. They don’t care what the other three defenders are doing. They just have to be on the same page of are we playing man or zone on the two receivers to the field.
5 Ways FirstDown PlayBook Helps You teach Flag Football Better
The other three defenders have to decide (or you the coach) who is rushing and who is covering. This three player communication is not only easy but actually fun for the defenders as they hide the defense until the snap. This flag football defense looks the same every time before the snap. After the ball is snapped is when the fun begins.
2. The Rules Are Very Simple
This flag football defense has two set of rules. The two DB’s covering the two receivers to the field will either play straight up man coverage or play “Bracket” coverage. This simply means that the inside defender will take the receiver who ends up inside. The outside defender will take the other receiver.
The three man rules are just as simple. One player rushes the quarterback. The other two must push to the receivers into the boundary. Normally you want to rush a defender to the QB’s arm but you have options with this defense.
3. It Defends The Formation Strengths
As much as you have to respect the single receiver, you don’t have to worry about route combinations. Your defender who is pushing to the single receiver has one thing to cover. That receiver. Also remember, if the quarterback is going to get the ball out to the boundary receiver quickly, they are going to do it with a rusher right in their face.
Normally you will bring the rusher from the field and defend the quarterback’s throwing hand. This is why this flag football defense fits together well as a changeup. Remember, you still have your base man coverage defense and you can always check back to it if anything looks off kilter! An example would be if you see a Center Bunch formation. You could play this defense or check base.
FirstDown PlayBook offers you hundreds of flag football plays and defenses. This is just a small sample our 5v5 Flag Football formations. You should consider one or two of these for your NFL Flag offense. Tap on any one of the tiles below to visit the article describing that formation. After reading the article then go join FirstDown PlayBook and get busy coaching your NFL Flag team with the best playbook and flag football wrist sheets available!
