Many Reasons For NFL’s Flag Football Failure
First things first. Make no mistake about it. The NFL players and coaches got embarrassed on national TV by the U.S. Men’s Flag National Team yesterday. . Congratulations to the flag football Men’s National Team as they took the professional players and coaches to school in so many ways at the Fanatics Flag Football Classic. They beat two (One of them twice) NFL flag football teams and it was not close.
Most of you were watching the NCAA March Madness and good for you. This flag football mismatch was hard to watch. Most of the NFL players (Joe Burrow) thought they were playing in the NFL Pro Bowl Games, which is basically 7on7 with flags. They found out very quickly that this was a different game.. Even the ones that took it seriously (Tom Brady) were surprised at the talent they faced and the game planning required.
Let’s Break Down Some Of The Ways NFL Players Can Improve Playing Flag Football
I have a unique perspective on all of this. I coached football for 30 years in college and the NFL. Here at FirstDown PlayBook we have been growing with the flag football game over the past decade. I have to say, I did not see this coming. I really thought the NFL coaches would study the flag football game more than they did coming into this game. That obviously did not happen.
So now that it is over, let’s take a step back and point out several ways the NFL players can get better in the future at this game.
Better Roster Selection Is Needed
This is a different game than tackle football but one similarity is that it starts with personnel. This is a small, quick person’s game. There is little to no room for the tackle game’s Dropback Quarterbacks, Tight Ends, Linebackers or big Running Backs. As mismatched as these players were, the decision to include professional boxers and fighters was even more costly.
The Hollywood Clown Show Atmosphere Only Hurts The Cause
If the NFL players were looking to use this event as an example of how serious they were about being considered as Olympic team members, they failed. The organizers failed too. The atmosphere was that of a circus not a competition. Also, once you put people on a football field that are not football players, it is a clown show. The NFL players came for a show. The USA team came to play flag football.
We Knew Flag Pulling Was Going To Be An Issue.
Luke Kuechly or any tackle football player will find it easier to tackle a ball carrier than to pull a flag. One act requires you to run your feet though the target while the other requires you to pull one of two flags being worn by a quick, spinning and dipping player. Bill Belichick knew this several years ago. That’s why he had his Patriots’ defense work on pulling flags in non contact practices. The NFL players were lost trying to pull flags.
A Vast Improvement In Strategy Will Be Needed
If I was recently named the head coach of the Tennessee Titans I would not be overly focused on how to defend Team USA in flag football so I do not blame Robert Saleh. Having said this, the NFL defense had no clue about a two quarterback system. It’s only been out there for about 10 years. FirstDown PlayBook wrote an article about how the college women were defending it several years ago.
As bad as the defense was, the NFL offenses were also unprepared for the field size and how do use it as an advantage. The NFL players came into the game with a pure 7on7 attack for the most part. They had a two quarterback system but even that resulted in two pick sixes for the USA team.
The Rules Are Different. Learn Them Or Pay The Price.
It was almost like the NFL coaches and players were expecting to be forgiven for breaking every rule of the flag football game. They were repeatedly wrong and it cost them. There were countless examples of penalties like illegal contact and leaving your feet.
There Are Still NFL Talents That Can Be Used
Finally, as bad as the performance was on Saturday, there are parts of the game that were maybe over thought on the part of the NFL players. Narrow field or not, there are advantages to be had if you run a 3×1 formation and allow an NFL receiver work with an NFL Quarterback on the single receiver side.
The NFL receivers were running crossing routes through zone coverage as opposed to sitting down in zones. This was baffling because it’s the same concept that they see vs NFL defenses. We can only assume that this was due to lack of practice for the game.
So does any of this really matter? Maybe not. if any lesson was learned, it might be that if an NFL player current or former wants to be a part of the 2028 Olympics, they have their work cut out for them. Even after that there is no guarantee that they will be good enough to make the team and that’s okay.
