GridIronVaultFlag football coaching guide
5 flag football plays that beat zone coverage
Smash, Flood, curl-flat, Stick and verticals: what each one does to a Cover 2 or Cover 3 defense, and how to coach it.
Zone coverage guards areas of the field, not players. In 5-on-5 flag that usually means Cover 2 (two deep defenders split the field in halves, with help underneath) or Cover 3 (three defenders split it into deep thirds). Zones are good at stopping the deep ball and bad at handling two receivers in one area. Every zone beater does the same thing: put two receivers on one defender, either high and low (a vertical stretch) or inside and outside (a horizontal stretch), and throw to the one he doesn't take.
How to spot zone before the snap
- Defenders are 6 to 8 yards off the ball and looking at the quarterback, not at a receiver.
- Nobody follows a receiver who goes in motion across the formation.
- Two deep defenders split wide of the hashes usually means Cover 2. One deep in the middle with the corners bailing usually means Cover 3.
1. Smash: the high-low on the corner
Why it works: The corner can't cover the hitch in front of him and the corner route behind him. If he sits on the hitch, throw the corner. If he bails deep, throw the hitch. Against Cover 2 the corner route lands in the hole between the corner and the safety.
Coaching point: Read the corner, not the safety. Coach the corner-route runner to push 8 to 9 yards before he breaks, so the defender has to honor the hitch first.
2. Flood: three levels, two defenders
Why it works: Three receivers at three depths on one side outnumber the two defenders who can cover it. Somebody is always uncovered, and the quarterback reads high to low.
Coaching point: The deep clear has to run hard to the end zone even when he knows he won't get the ball, or the deep defender sits on the out.
3. Curl-flat: the soft-zone staple
Why it works: The flat defender has to pick one. If he widens with the flat, the curl opens behind him. If he sinks under the curl, the flat is a free 5 yards.
Coaching point: Teach the curl runner to settle in the open grass between defenders, not at a set depth. Against a deep Cover 3 corner, this is your bread-and-butter third down.
4. Stick: the quick answer
Why it works: Stick is a short horizontal stretch: the stick and the flat put the underneath defender in a bind, and it's out quick enough to beat a rusher.
Coaching point: Y turns inside to face the quarterback and sits in the window. If a defender walls him, he slides away to open grass. One read, ball out in two seconds.
5. Verticals: four deep against three
Why it works: Cover 3 has three deep defenders and Cover 2 has two. Three or four vertical routes outnumber them, and the seam splits the space between them.
Coaching point: Throw the seam between the deep defenders. If they all bail, the checkdown to C is wide open in front of them.
Picking the right one
Against Cover 2, attack the hole on the sideline between the corner and the safety (Smash, Flood) and the middle of the field between the two safeties (seams). Against Cover 3, attack the flats and the seams: curl-flat, Stick and Flood stretch the underneath defenders, and verticals outnumber the three deep. Run the play in GridIronVault's Coverage check before Saturday to see which look your exact drawing beats.
Common questions
What is the best flag football play against zone?
Plays that put two receivers on one defender: Smash (hitch and corner) and Flood (three levels) against Cover 2, and curl-flat, Stick or Flood against Cover 3. The receiver the defender doesn't take is open.
How do you beat Cover 2 in 5-on-5 flag football?
Attack the sideline hole between the corner and the deep half defender with a corner route over a short route (Smash), or split the two deep defenders with a seam route.
How do you beat Cover 3 in flag football?
Stretch the underneath defenders horizontally with curl-flat or Stick, flood one side with three levels, or send more vertical routes than there are deep defenders.