Franchise Flag Maker

This article will cover flag football strategies. I am going to assume you are coaching or playing 7-on-7 flag football.

Offense in flag consists of a couple of key things, first misdirection. Misdirection is key for running an efficient offense. Reverses, halfback passes, and having your offensive lineman pass are some very effective trick plays. Those plays are a good place to start from. You can add your unique touches on these plays. Try to run a trick play once every 12-15 plays.

Next, remember to use your offensive lineman for catching passes. Most teams just use their offensive linemen to block. Using your offensive lineman to only block will limit your offense. For example, when starting a game, start the game by passing to your offensive lineman. As the defensive begins to key on your offensive lineman, your wide receivers will begin to get open for the deep passes.

Speed is key in flag football, especially for offensives. Every position should have a player who has speed, even your offensive lineman. A slow offensively player does more damage to your offense and will also slow your offense down. There may be some situations where you may want a big slow lineman in the game but these situations should come rarely. With fast players on the field the defense will not be able to key out your top offensive performers. Speed, speed, and more speed mixed with misdirection plays will help you score a ton of points.

Somethings you should practice with your offensive units are breaking towards the sidelines after a catch, catching the ball at the highest point, and blocking. Teach your players to break towards the sidelines. There are two reasons for this: First the sidelines cut off the numbers of flags the defenders can pull and second, it makes it tough for the defenders to get a good angle to pull the flags that are available. Catching the ball at the highest point teaches your players to be aggressive and to go up and get the ball. A simple drill to use is to have a head to head competition between two players. Toss the ball and allow the players to fight for it. The loser runs a lap and if they both drop the ball then they both run a lap. Blocking is key and the blocks do not have to be quality blocks. Pretty much your players just have to put a body on someone. One key block can lead to a big play for your offense. These are basic flag football strategies, you can build from here.

Using flag football strategies to run your defense is a lot easier then using flag football strategies to run an offense. when creating your defense a couple of things to focus on are 1. not giving up the big play and 2. pulling the flag. When running a defense a simple formation is to have 2 Defensive Ends, 2 Defensive Backs, 2 Linebackers, and 2 safeties.

We will start with your defensive ends first. Your defensive ends should be your top 2 athletes. Why? Because in flag football most offensive plays take time to develop. With you top 2 athletes creating havoc in the backfield your defense has already won half the battle. Have your defensive ends line up about 3 feet outside of the tackle and let them loose. Their main job is to force the offense into mistakes giving the rest of your defense a chance to capitalize on those mistakes.

Your defensive backs should be your 2 most aggressive players. Attitude is key here. Your defensive backs will be the only players in man coverage. They need to be aggressive and have speed. Your defensive backs should line up at the line of scrimmage and bump the receivers at the snap of the ball. Bumping the wide receivers serves two purposes. First , it sets the tone for the game and gives your defensive an edge with intimidation. Next it puts your defensive backs in a great position to help out and cover the run.

Your 2 linebackers should be your best flag pullers on the team. Your linebackers main job is to clean up any plays that get away from your defensive ends and backs. Your linebackers will play a zone and their zone will be each half of the field. Your linebackers main job is to protect not to attack. You should not blitz your linebackers unless you have. When you blitz your linebackers you leave half of the field open.

Your 2 safeties are your last resort. Their only job is to prevent the big play. No one should ever get deeper than your safeties. Teach your safeties to keep everything in front of them. Their main job is to protect against the big play.

These are very basic defensive flag football strategies but when used correctly they are very effective.

 

Football News on the Web

Justin Mongiardo

Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada

Whether you call it soccer or football, there are millions of fans devoted to this sport. For many, watching the games is simply not enough. Additional news, insights, and interviews are also of interest. That’s why numerous fans have turned to the web to fulfill their football cravings. There are so many great resources available on the internet. The key is to know where to look to find all the great sports information you want.

The top UK site for football info is www.newsnow.co.uk. Although the site also features a vast array of other news topics, its football section is one of its major highlights. News is updated every five minutes and displayed in chronological format. Next to each article is a flag, making it easy to see which nation is the focus of the football article. You can also check the most popular top stories based upon the views of other users. The site is made even more user-friendly by its left navigation, which features news sorted by specific topic. These subjects range from player transfers to non-league teams. You can even search for news about your favorite player quickly and easily. Finally, the site allows you to customize your view. Users can change the font size, create a tabbed organization, post feedback, and more.

For news posted in the United States, your best bet is to check out Fox’s soccer page on msn.com at http://msn.foxsports.com/foxsoccer. The homepage for this site features top stories with pictures in a rotating slide show. There’s also an extensive list of current headlines from football both in the U.S. and around the world. The site also has special feature article by football experts and an interactive poll about the sport. Photo news and videos are also included in addition to text-based articles. Users can also subscribe to the site’s RSS feed, mobile updates, and e-mail alerts to keep apprised of their favorite football topics. There’s even a fan community and fantasy league run by the site as well as an online shop with football memorabilia.

Another great site is www.football365.com. This site has dozens of great features. It includes recent news headlines as well as specific info on teams from various teams in the United Kingdom and Ireland. You can even find reliable football statistics ranging from league tables to individual team stats. The site also employs a team of soccer experts who provide opinions and previews of upcoming games. For those who enjoy interactive sites, there are also games, polls, and a chat forum. You can even play fantasy football with fellow visitors. There are also mobile features like podcasts, phone wallpapers, and text message alerts.

Finally, there is www.wldcup.com. This site focuses on those teams who compete in the World Cup. Not only does it feature updated news, the site also sponsors live score feeds from a variety of games around the globe. You can also use their calendar features to check upcoming games or see results from previous matches. News archives from previous World Cup championships go as far back as 2000, and you can even find interviews with players from the last several years. For those who have a soccer fan page, you can subscribe to have www.wldcup.com’s news delivered as a feed to your site for a modest fee. Finally, you can also make use of the forum and “soccer shop” run by this site.

As you can see, there are many great places on the web where you can go to get your fill of football. Whether you just want to check the score of a game you missed, or you are an intense fantasy football player, there is sure to be something on these sites to appeal to your interests. New fans can use these sites to get caught up, while veteran football watchers can stay up to date on all their favorite teams and players. So, next time the game ends, don’t despair. Just turn on the computer and keep enjoying your football passion.