Flag football is a great game to play, especially for youth players who are learning the basic skills of the game.
A lot of flag football leagues will play as 7-on-7 teams. This means each team has seven players on the field, as opposed to the normal 11 players for a regular football game.
The normal breakdown for an offense includes three offensive linemen, a quarterback, and either two wide receivers and one running back or one wide receiver and two running backs.
The rules in most 7 on 7 flag football leagues also state that one of the offensive linemen can also run a passing route (which is most often the center).
When creating offensive 7 on 7 flag football plays, the idea is to try to get the ball to a receiver or running back in space.
Since in flag football, all a defender has to do is rip off a flag from a belt (rather than make a tackle), the idea is to keep the ball handler as far away from defenders as possible.
This makes creating offensive plays in 7 on 7 flag football slightly different than that for normal tackle football.
Let's take a look at the top ten 7 on 7 flag football plays for offenses -- five passes followed by five runs.
7 on 7 Flag Football Plays
1. Shotgun Receiver Swirl
In this play, two wide receivers will line up at the line of scrimmage, out wide toward the sideline on either side of the quarterback.
A running back will line up in the backfield parallel to the quarterback, behind the wide receiver.
At the snap, the Y will run a quick hook.
The running back will run a fly pattern and the center will run a post.
The X wide receiver will run what's called a swirl route. He will curl back as if he's running a screen and then slant across the middle of the field.
2. I Slant
This play will be run out of an I Formation, with a receiver tighter to the line of scrimmage to make the defense think the play will be a run.
In reality, it'll be a passing play that will try to take advantage of the defense overcommitting to a run.
The quarterback will line up under center, with the running back behind him about five yards.
The Y will line up wide to the right, with the X to the left but tighter to the offensive linemen.
At the snap, the center will run a combo drag/slant route to the left.
The Y will run a deep In route and the X will run a quick slant.
The running back, meanwhile, will run a swing route in the backfield, then make his way downfield.
3. Slants & Go
This is another passing play that’s designed to cross up defenders and potentially create natural picks just by the passing routes that the receivers will take.
All players except the quarterback will line up at the line of scrimmage on this play, with the X wide left, the running back wide right, and the Y in between the tackle and running back.
The quarterback will line up under center.
The X will fake a slant and then run a corner route.
The center and running back will run slants that will cross each other.
The Y will run a go route.
4. Stack Right Post Left
This play will stack the running back and Y out wide to the right.
The running back will line up directly behind the Y, maybe about one yard back.
The X will line up wide to the left, and the quarterback will be under center.
At the snap, the X will run an In route, and the center will run a curl.
The Y will run a go route while the running back will run a deep post.
5. Out and Go
This play will employ a different formation to make the defense think it's a run.
The running back and X will each line up in the backfield, about five yards behind the quarterback and just to the outside shoulder of the tackles.
The quarterback will be under center, and the Y will line up at the line of scrimmage to the right.
At the snap, both the center and Y will run Go routes, while the running back and X will run Out routes just beyond the line of scrimmage.
6. Y Formation RB Run Right
This play will feature both the running back and Y in the backfield. They will line up about five yards deep behind the quarterback.
The running back will line up to the left near the outside shoulder of the tackle while the Y will line up a little wider on the right side.
The X will be at the line of scrimmage near the left sideline and the quarterback will be under center.
At the snap, the X will run a Comeback route, the center will run an Out route to the left, and the Y will run a Slant to the inside.
The running back, meanwhile, will run on a diagonal to the right side and take the handoff from the quarterback.
7. Counter Run Right
This is a misdirection play to make the defense think the run is going to go to the left side, only to have the play go to the right.
The X will line up wide to the left, while the running back and Y will both line up in the backfield, about five yards back from the quarterback and just to the outside shoulder of the tackle on their side of the field.
At the snap, the X will run an Out route and the center will run a Deep Post.
The Y will run toward the outside of the tackle on the left and fake that he's taking the hand-off.
The running back will start by taking a step to his left only to come back around and run to the right. He'll take the handoff from the quarterback and run to open space on the right.
8. Shotgun Motion Left Sweep
This play will look like a pass based on the shotgun formation but will end up being a run to the left.
The X will line up wide to the left at the line of scrimmage, and the Y will do the same but to the right.
The running back will line up about two yards in the backfield, just to the outside of the tackle on the right side of the field.
The quarterback will be in the shotgun.
The X will run a slant to the middle, the Y will run a deep Go/Slant to the middle, and the center will run a deep slant. The idea is for all of these players to clear out the left side of the field.
Before the snap, the running back will go in motion slowly to the left. The goal is for him to take a direct snap from the center, just as he crosses behind the center (and in front of the quarterback) during his motion.
9. Play Action Run Option
This play is a combo, giving the quarterback the option to either throw a pass or keep it and run it himself.
It will first use a play-action pass to make the defense think it's a run, then a pass -- and give the quarterback the final decision on a potential run.
The quarterback will be under center with the running back directly behind him about five yards deep.
Both the X and the Y will line up wide left, with the X outside and the Y about two yards to his right.
At the snap, the X will run a Drag route over the middle while the Y will run a Go route.
The center will stay in and block on this play.
The quarterback will fake a handoff to the running back, who will then run a slant to the middle of the field.
After faking the handoff, the quarterback will roll to his right. He will have a choice to throw to one of the receivers or keep the ball and run to his right.
10. X Counter Left
This play is all about confusion and misdirection.
With two players in the backfield, the defense will think it's a run, but the counter will confuse them as to which direction the play is headed.
The quarterback will line up under center, with the running back and X both in the backfield about five yards deep and almost directly behind the tackles.
The Y will line up wide to the right at the line of scrimmage.
At the snap, the center will run a shallow Out route to the left while the Y will run a deep Slant to the middle.
The running back will take a direct diagonal path to the right.
The quarterback will open to his left, faking as if he is going to hand the ball to the running back.
Instead, though, he will wait for the X to cross his face and hand the ball off to him so he can run to the left.