Drive: a 5v5 flag football play
Drive layers two crossing routes: a shallow cross just past the line and a dig at 10 yards coming the other way. The defender in the middle can't take both. Two go routes on the outside clear the deep defenders out of the picture.
Opens the free play maker with Drive added, ready to edit and print on a wristband card.
How Drive works
- C snaps and runs a shallow cross to the left, 2 to 3 yards deep.
- Y pushes 10 yards and breaks flat across the middle on a dig.
- X and Z run go routes to take the deep defenders with them.
The quarterback's read
- Watch the middle defender.
- They jump the shallow: throw the dig behind them.
- They drop with the dig: throw the shallow in front.
- Against man, the shallow runs away from their defender. Lead it.
Coaching points
- The two crossers are at different depths and come from opposite sides. Keep them apart; running a crosser into a defender's path is a foul.
- The dig breaks flat, not back toward the line.
- Throw the dig as Y clears the middle defender.
When to call it
Third and 5 to 8, and against man coverage where the shallow cross outruns a defender.
For youth teams
Good for 10 and up. Younger players can run only the shallow cross with the go routes.
Rules check
IFAF (5v5, 7v7 and beach)
Legal as drawn. The two routes don't meet, so there's no shielding. Near the goal line the shallow cross is still a pass caught beyond the line, so it's fine in a 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 Drive 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.