Flag Football Quarterback 9 Route Mechanics
You have read and heard us talk about the 9 route or the “Go” route here before on FirstDown PlayBook. We have looked at the over dependence on the 9 route by some flag football quarterbacks. At the same time, we have touted the necessity of the Go route. Without it, the defense is going to sit all over your underneath routes.
So as you can see, it is an important part of any flag football offense. Today we want to look at this from a different angle. Not so much of how many times you throw the flag football deep ball or the advantages of it. Instead FirstDown PlayBook wants to look at how you throw the Go route.
There is a huge misconception with football fans about a deep route. They mistakenly believe that if a route is a deep route then the quarterback needs to let the receiver get deep before they throw the ball. Quite the opposite is true. Most go routes are completed around 25 yards deep from the line of scrimmage. Keep in mind that is for high school, college and NFL offenses.
This ball is normally thrown off a 3 step drop in the shotgun or a 5 step drop under center. Why? First of all, if the quarterback holds the ball any longer a sack is imminent. This goes the same for flag football.
The second reason is that the longer the ball is in the air, the better chance for a defender to find it. Announcers like to call it a 50/50 ball but last time I checked that’s a 50% chance for an interception. The odds are much better for the offense if your Go route is thrown quickly where only your flag football receiver can catch it.
Your Flag Football Quarterback Should Have The “Go” Route Gone In 3 Steps
The final reason, (and I am looking right at you NFL Flag coaches and you who coach young flag football players.) Most quarterbacks cannot throw the ball deep enough and accurately enough if they allow the receiver to get too far down the field. The ball is often underthrown and the defender has an opportunity for the dreaded interception.
So today’s 58 second video touches on how your flag football quarterback should throw a Go route. We use one of FirstDown PlayBook’s nine flag football fields to illustrate. It also makes the point that this will help you throw all of the other targets in your route tree as well.
FirstDown PlayBook offers youth and adult flag football plays and defenses just like the ones you see below. Click on any of the plays below to learn more about FirstDown PlayBook’s coaching help!
