Curl-Flat: a 5v5 flag football play
Curl-flat attacks the defender who covers the flat. The outside receiver runs 9 yards and curls back; a teammate runs underneath to the flat. The defender can't cover both, and the QB can pick a side before the snap.
Opens the free play maker with Curl-Flat added, ready to edit and print on a wristband card.
How Curl-Flat works
- X and Z sprint 9 yards and curl back inside toward the QB, working back to the ball.
- Y runs the flat to the right.
- C snaps and runs the flat to the left, underneath X's curl.
The quarterback's read
- Before the snap, choose the side with fewer defenders or more space.
- Read the flat defender on that side.
- Defender widens to the flat: throw the curl.
- Defender drops under the curl: throw the flat.
Coaching points
- Receivers come back toward the ball after the curl; a curl that waits gets picked off.
- Flats need depth of 1 to 2 yards beyond the line, not behind it.
- Throw the curl on time, as the receiver turns.
When to call it
Second and medium, against zone, and against a defense sitting deep to stop your go routes.
For youth teams
Run it to one side only at first, with the other side running go routes to clear space.
Rules check
IFAF (5v5, 7v7 and beach)
Legal everywhere. Every catch is beyond the line of scrimmage, so it works in the no-run zone.
NFL FLAG and other rulebooks
Legal as drawn.
Rule numbers refer to the IFAF International Flag Football Rules 2023, the current edition. See the trick plays guide for the six rules that decide most plays.
Put Curl-Flat on a wristband
Add it to your playbook in the free play maker, change the routes to fit your team, and print numbered wristband cards and a coach's call sheet on regular paper.