Category Archives for "Football Plays"

What is a Bootleg Play in Football? (Explained)

ByCoach Martin|Football Plays

To be successful, offenses have to incorporate misdirection plays to keep defenses off balance.

If teams only called straight running plays up the middle and short passing plays, the defense would catch on and key in on the play before they even happened.

That’s why offensive coaches come up with plays that make the defense think a play is going one way — when in fact it’s doing the exact opposite.

One of the most common misdirection plays offenses run is the bootleg play.

What is the Hail Mary Play in Football? (Explained)

ByCoach Martin|Football Plays

Your team is losing with only seconds left in the game, and only a touchdown will win you the game or tie it up.

What do you do?

You call for every receiver you have to run straight downfield to the end zone.

The Buck Sweep Play for Youth Football Teams (Deceptive)

ByCoach Martin|Football Plays

The Buck Sweep is one of the keystone plays in youth football.

This play has been run for so long and with such success that coaches at more advanced levels have begun to using it out of different formations.

The Best Time to Use Play Action in a Football Game (and 3 Examples)

ByCoach Martin|Football Plays

The play action pass is one of the most effective misdirection plays for an offense. At the same time, it’s one of the most basic and simplest plays for an offense to install.

Play action passes can be run out of literally every offensive formation there is. But there are certain game situations in which the play action pass is more effective than others.

So, offensive coaches should learn when these times in the game are so that they can call an effective game plan to take advantage of what the defense is trying to do.

In this article, you’ll read about when the play action pass is more effective as well as three examples of play action passes.

The Jet Sweep Play for Youth Football Teams

ByCoach Martin|Football Plays

The jet sweep is one of the best plays an offensive coach can teach his youth football team.

It helps younger players take advantage of the fact that they’re often undersized.

It gets the ball into your most talented players quickly, and it attacks the defense where it’s weakest — on the outside.

Most importantly, it’s a play that can result in big gains without being too difficult for players to understand.

Here’s an in-depth look into what the jet sweep is, the formations that it can be run out of, how to coach youth football players on it, and some example plays.

12 Football Plays for Easy First Downs and Touchdowns

ByCoach Martin|Football Plays

There are plenty of instances in football where the offense just needs to gain a few yards to get a first down or score a touchdown.

These crucial plays will often determine the outcome of the game.

That’s why coaches need to have some high-percentage plays in their playbook that they can call for these times.

The good news is that there are plenty of great plays that the offense can use to get this done.

In this article, you’ll read about some of the best short-yardage football plays for a few of the most common and popular offensive formations.

Understanding the RPO in Football (Run-Pass Option)

ByCoach Martin|Football Plays

The RPO is a play that gives the quarterback the option to either hand the ball off to a running back or make a quick pass to a receiver instead.

It’s a misdirection play that’s designed to keep defenders off balance, on their toes, and guessing on whether the play is a pass or a run.

So, here’s a closer look at what the RPO is, how it’s run, and three RPO plays with explanations on the quarteback’s reads.

7 on 7 Flag Football Plays (The Top 10 Plays for Kids)

ByCoach Martin|Football Plays

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 10 7 on 7 flag football plays for offenses — five passes followed by five runs.