Four Verticals: a 5v5 flag football play
Everyone goes deep: two outside go routes and two seams. A single deep defender can only play one side of the middle, and man defenders have to run with receivers all the way down the field. Even when nothing is open deep, the underneath space is huge.
Opens the free play maker with Four Verticals added, ready to edit and print on a wristband card.
How Four Verticals works
- X and Z run go routes along the sidelines.
- Y runs up the seam on the right.
- C snaps and angles into the left seam.
The quarterback's read
- Find the deep safety at the snap.
- Safety shades one seam: throw the other seam.
- Safety stays in the middle: throw the go route with the best matchup.
- Everything covered: the receivers keep running and the QB takes what's underneath, or throws it away.
Coaching points
- Seams must stay wide of the safety. Bunching the seams lets one defender cover both.
- The QB throws before the receiver turns; lead them.
- Change it up with a hitch-and-go once the defense starts sprinting deep.
When to call it
After you've hit a few short passes and the defense creeps up, or on the last play of a half.
For youth teams
Older players only. Younger QBs rarely have the arm, and a deep throw that falls short gets intercepted.
Rules check
IFAF (5v5, 7v7 and beach)
Legal everywhere, including the no-run zone, though near the goal line the end zone is only 10 yards deep, so the verticals become fades and seams. Every receiver is eligible under IFAF, including the center (the snapper), which is what lets C run the second seam.
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 Four Verticals 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.