There is a brand of flag football where passing all around is the norm.  I don’t mean laterals, where a runner is looking to soft pitch the ball to a nearby ally.  No, I mean “all-around-passing.”  The strategy is simple.  Throw a short or medium pass to a receiver.  While the Defense is converging on the ball-carrier, quickly pass the ball across the field to an open teammate, who can streak up the field for a big gain. 

I recently played against a team highly skilled in this brand of football, which hardly resembles football at all, but is more like rugby or even fast-break basketball.  Incredibly the ball-carrier was not standing still looking for a pass-back to a teammate.  Instead, the ball-carrier was running full speed up the field sideways, looking back for a teammate.  I had never seen this strategy executed so brazenly, or so efficiently, as it created three single-play TDs.

Stinging from our defeat (it was ugly), I have devoted some time to devising the proper strategy to defeat this Offense.  If you have to play this kind of Offense, either laterals or brazen all-around-passing, here is how you can limit the big plays and maybe win outright.

FORMATION

We played 7-on-7, which allows the Offense six potential receivers for the “pass-back.”  Our initial thought was to play a simple 2-3-2 Zone, where we would rush two people, drop three people in short zones, and sit two safeties over the top.  Typically rushing two will rattle the QB and force bad passes or even get you some sacks.  But our rush was completely neutralized by the QB’s quick release.  Since all the passes were short, there was no time for the rush to reach the QB.  The Offense did not even put a blocking back in the backfield.  As a result, we were wasting a defender in a futile rush, which only compounded the problem of defensing the “pass-back.”   The better formation is the 2-4-1, where you have two Safeties at 10 yards deep and four defenders in short 5-yard zones to attack the short completion.

RUSH

Therefore, if you play against this Offense, rush only one person.  Know that the rusher will likely NOT reach the QB in time.  The rusher must try to disrupt the timing of the throw or, at the very least, attack the QB’s dominant arm to influence a less accurate throw.  The rusher must also stick with the QB after the ball is thrown to defend against the “pass-back.”

PURSUIT IN “SWIM LANES”

So, after the completion is when the play really starts.  The pass-back is potentially deadly, and the goal becomes being in position to make a play rather than everyone converging on the lone ball-carrier.  To prevent the pass-back from breaking wide open, defenders need to be disciplined in maintaining their zones vertically.  It looks like this:

In this example, the pass is completed to the up receiver on the left.  He immediately looks back for the pass-back.  At this point, the Safeties both sprint up toward the first line of defense and the playside Cornerback (C) breaks down to make the flag pull.  This means the Cornerback has vacated his swim lane.  As a result, the Safety behind the play steps up and fills the swim lane.

If the Cornerback can make the play, that’s great.  But chances are good that the pass-back will occur.  No worries. Once the ball is thrown backward across the field, the Cornerback returns to his swim lane, freeing the Safety to work towards the middle of the field.  The nearest play-side defender attacks the new ball-carrier, with the opposite Safety stepping up to fill the now vacant swim lane.

DEFENSIVE GOAL

Remember, the goal is to be in position to make the play.  In theory, every pass-back is an opportunity for a turnover, an incompletion, or a loss of yardage.  As long as the defense is in position to make the play, they can force the Offense to be perfect in execution.  The pass-back Offense can be defensed.

Many 5-Man leagues make it tough to get creative on defense.  Usually your 5-Man team is safest when playing Man coverage.  All receivers are accounted for and you have one person running free at the QB.  It looks like this:

For these “empty” sets (where all receivers are on the line of scrimmage), your best bet is to rush your very best athlete.  Your best player needs to rush in order to disrupt the QB’s timing, make him move from his starting point, and force the play in one direction. 

An outstanding rusher can single-handedly remove as much as ½ of the QB’s field vision just by make him run towards the sideline.  This is called “flushing the Quarterback,” and the best direction to “flush” the QB is away from his dominant hand.  Make a right-handed QB run to his left and squeeze him between a relentless DL and the sideline.  Any throw should be less accurate and less powerful, making it harder for the Offense to succeed.

In 5-Man flag football, any defense other than head-up Man Coverage opens you up to risk. The right zone can surprise your opposing QB and open the door for a defensive big play. The benefit is, if you guess right, you can counter their best plays or players. The problem is, if you guess wrong or telegraph your intentions, you can give up easy yards.

Zone in 5-Man flag is, to me, too big of a risk unless the opposing offense runs all its plays through one receiver. And you get this from time to time - one athlete who dominates and controls the whole game. In that case it may be worth the risk to try to neutralize their star with a zone.

Take the following play - Double Zone:

Here the rusher forces the play towards the sideline and into the over and under zone.  This is effective in disrupting the timing on deep routes either down the sideline or to the Post.  Notice you are abandoning the right side of the field, so there is a risk of an athletic QB escaping the rush, rolling right, and running or passing for big yards.

In versions of flag football where there are more defenders - 7-man and 8-man for sure fit this mode - you have enough bodies to cover a significant area in the secondary without abandoning pressure. But in 5-Man, it's almost impossible to cover the whole field with 4 players AND get pressure with the only rusher.
 
Also, in 6-man, 7-man, or 8-man flag, you can use zone to delay or slow down the Offense's momentum. But in 5-man, you just don't have enough defenders in coverage. Too often zone defenses in 5-man expose large chunks of open field for quick receivers to exploit. Zone allows Offenses to bunch receivers and create mismatches purely from formation.
 
Therefore, if you plan to use Zone in 5-Man Flag Football, I recommend it be
used as a surprise - a special defense designed to take away a specific player or a specific area of the field. 

Remember, Zone is a risk, but it is sometimes worth the risk.  If you put your best rusher at DL, you'll give yourself the best shot at success every time.

In flag football, there is usually little argument over the style of defense you will play. 

If your roster features lightning-fast athletes with good instincts for the ball, you will play a traditional Man coverage and blitz the remaining defenders assigned to the backfield blockers.  This can get great pressure on the Quarterback, cut off outside running lanes, or force the Quarterback to roll away from his dominant arm to create a bad pass.  All the while your coverage is insuring that every potential receiver is matched one-for-one with a defender.

If your roster is less athletic than your opponent’s Offense, you’ll likely resort to traditional Zone coverage, with an eye on covering large areas of the field and being in position to make smart decisions and sound, fundamental flag-pulls.  The focus of the Zone defense is to delay or slow down the Offense, take advantage of a Quarterback’s mistakes, and force perfect execution from the receiver and the passer to make the play succeed.  Zone can rattle less-talented or less-savvy Quarterbacks, especially ones with big arm strength but poor accuracy.

Defense is about executing the strategy with reaction and instinct.  Thinking about where you are supposed to be, who you’re supposed to cover, what your “assignment” is on this play, that is where the coverage breaks down, the flag pull is missed, etc.  So above all else, make your defense simple.

But your defense should not APPEAR to be so simple to your opposing Offense.  That is the big secret.  How do you infuse the appearance of complexity into a system that is very straight-forward?

Here are a few tips on how to achieve the appearance of complexity.  Before we list them, remember this one basic rule: “If my players are confused, make it simpler.  If my players are STILL confused, make it even simpler.”  Confusion is the first sign of failure.

1. Pre-snap motion – Examples include linemen switching positions pre-snap, Cornerbacks bailing or running up to the line pre-snap, shifts in the secondary.  Pre-snap motion can confuse less experienced QBs and help put defenders closer to the point of attack.

2. Live audibles – Defenses can change alignment, pressure, or coverage combinations with simple verbal cues from the Middle Linebacker.  Use colors, numbers, or terms like “Omaha” or “zebra” to covertly communicate the change to your defenders.

3. Fake audibles – Better still, use lots of terms, letters, numbers, other colors that have no meaning (“48 Green!  Strong Go!  Razor-Razor!”) to make the Offense think you’re making major changes at the line.  I would often designate one “hot” color to indicate a simple change, like Man to Blitz or Man to Zone, and tell the Middle Linebacker to improvise the rest to confuse their QB.  Be sure your defenders know to ignore this chatter to minimize confusion.

4. Non-standard formations – Try different depths for the outside cornerbacks.  Play with the starting position of your rushers, pinching them in or flexing them wider to the sidelines.  Running your base package out of unique-looking formations can help disguise your base package for when you need it in the clutch.

5. Surprise assignments – Blitz from unexpected places, like the cornerback or safety positions.  Drop your rushers into coverage.  These tactics can often disrupt a QB’s decision making long enough to affect the play.

6. Monster Back / Lone Wolf – On occasion, allow your best defender to roam free anywhere they like.  Give them the freedom to diagnose the play, blitz, drop in coverage, delay rush, or shift their location within the formation.  By using it sparingly, the Monster Back technique will appear carefully scripted to the opposing QB, and that will make it harder for the QB to diagnose your base defense during the game.

Good luck!