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Flag football glossary
50 words you'll hear at a flag football game, in plain English. Where NFL FLAG and the Olympic (IFAF) rules use a word differently, there's a note.
- Blitz
- A rush at the quarterback. In NFL FLAG only defenders who start at least 7 yards back may rush, and at most two of them.IFAF: two signalled blitzers have the right of way; any defender 7+ yards back may rush.
- Center
- The player who snaps the ball to the quarterback. In flag football she is an eligible receiver as soon as the ball is snapped.
- Check-down
- A short, safe throw to the last receiver in the read order, usually the center or a back, when everyone downfield is covered.
- Cornerback
- A defender who covers a wide receiver near the sideline, in man or in a zone.
- Coverage
- How the defense guards the receivers: man-to-man (each defender follows one receiver) or zone (each defender guards an area).
- Down
- One play. A team gets a set number of downs to cross midfield, then a new set to score.
- Drive
- All the plays a team runs from the moment it gets the ball until it scores or gives the ball back.
- End zone
- The area at each end of the field. Carry or catch the ball in the other team's end zone for a touchdown.
- Extra point
- The try after a touchdown: 1 point from the 5-yard line (a pass) or 2 points from the 10. Also called the PAT (point after touchdown).NFHS high school: 1 from the 3 or 2 from the 10, run or pass.
- Flag
- A strip of fabric or plastic worn on the belt, one on each hip (sometimes three). Pulling it off stops the ball carrier.
- Flag belt
- The belt that holds the flags. Pop-off belts release the flag with a pop; others clip or use a sock.
- Flag guarding
- Protecting your own flags while carrying the ball: a stiff arm, or a hand, arm, shoulder, head, the ball or a jersey over the flags. Illegal; spins are fine.NFL FLAG and IFAF: 5 yards and loss of down. IFAF also counts jumping and diving; in NFL FLAG a jump or hurdle ends the play at that spot. NFHS: 10 yards.
- Flag pull
- Taking a flag off the ball carrier's belt. It ends the play, like a tackle in tackle football.
- Formation
- How the offense lines up before the snap: spread, trips, twins, stack, bunch.
- Handoff
- The quarterback hands the ball to a teammate behind the line. It ends the 7-second clock and lets that player run.
- Hitch
- A short route: run about 6 yards, stop and turn back to the quarterback.
- Interception
- A pass caught by a defender. Her team gets the ball, and she may run it back: 6 points if she scores on a regular down, 2 on a try.
- Lateral
- A backward or sideways toss to a teammate. Unlike the one forward pass, it isn't limited to behind the line in every league, so check yours.
- Line of scrimmage
- The imaginary line across the field where the ball is placed before each play. The offense starts behind it, the defense across it. Often shortened to LOS.
- Man-to-man
- A coverage where each defender follows one receiver wherever she goes.
- Midfield
- The line halfway between the goal lines. In NFL FLAG crossing it gives a team a new set of downs.
- Mirror
- Running the same play to the other side of the field. Every play can be mirrored.
- Motion
- One offensive player moving before the snap, to read the defense or get a running start. Everyone else must be set.NFL FLAG: one player, off the line, moving parallel or backward. IFAF: one player, not moving toward the opponent's goal line.
- Neutral zone
- The space the length of the ball between the offense and the defense before the snap. Nobody but the center may be in it.NFL FLAG: entering it is an automatic dead-ball foul.
- No-run zone
- A 5-yard area where the offense may not run the ball: it must pass.NFL FLAG: before midfield and before each goal line (none in 6U–8U league play). IFAF: only before each goal line. NFHS high school: none.
- Offside
- A defender in the neutral zone or across the line of scrimmage at the snap. A penalty that moves the ball forward for the offense.
- Pick play
- A receiver getting in a defender's way on purpose so a teammate gets open. Illegal in NFL FLAG and IFAF, which have no screens or blocks.NFHS high school allows non-contact screen blocking.
- Pick-six
- An interception returned for a touchdown.
- Pitch
- A short backward toss from the quarterback to a teammate behind the line. It ends the 7-second clock like a handoff.IFAF counts a pitch as a backward pass, which also beats the clock.
- Quarterback
- The player who takes the snap and throws or hands off. In NFL FLAG she can never run past the line herself. Often shortened to QB.
- Read
- What the quarterback looks at to decide where to throw. The read order (1, 2, 3) is the order she checks her receivers.
- Red zone
- The last part of the field before the goal line. In flag it overlaps the no-run zone, so most red-zone plays are passes.
- Route
- The path a receiver runs: slant, out, post, hitch, go and more. Numbered routes make up the route tree.
- Route tree
- The basic routes numbered 1 to 9. Odd numbers break toward the sideline, even numbers toward the middle, 9 is the go.
- Rush line
- The mark 7 yards from the line of scrimmage where rushers start. Leagues often show it with cones.
- Rusher
- The defender who goes after the quarterback. She must start at least 7 yards from the line of scrimmage.NFL FLAG: up to 2 rushers, each raising a hand before the snap. NFHS: no rush line; defenders 1 yard off the ball may rush.
- Sack
- Pulling the quarterback's flag behind the line of scrimmage before she throws.In NFL FLAG, a flag pulled in the offense's own end zone is a safety.
- Safety (player)
- The deepest defender, the last line against long passes.
- Safety (score)
- Two points for the defense when the ball carrier is downed in her own end zone.IFAF: a safety during a try is worth 1.
- Seven-second clock
- The time the quarterback has to throw or hand off after the snap. When it runs out, the play is dead and the down counts.NFL FLAG: ends on a pass, handoff, pitch or lateral. IFAF: on any pass or a handoff. IFAF beach flag: 5 seconds.
- Shotgun
- The quarterback standing a few yards behind the center to take the snap, the usual flag football set-up.
- Shovel pass
- A short forward flip, often underhand, to a player close by.NFL FLAG: legal, but it must be caught beyond the line. IFAF: a forward pass caught behind the line counts as a running play.
- Slant
- A quick route: two steps up, then a sharp angle toward the middle.
- Snap
- The center passing the ball back to the quarterback to start the play.
- Spot
- Where the ball is placed for the next play: where the ball carrier's flag came off.
- Sweep
- A run to the outside: a player takes a handoff moving sideways, then turns up the field. Not allowed inside a no-run zone.
- Touchdown
- Six points: the ball carried or caught in the other team's end zone.
- Turnover on downs
- When a team uses all its downs without crossing midfield or scoring. The other team gets the ball, in NFL FLAG on its own 5-yard line.
- Zone
- A coverage where each defender guards an area of the field and covers whoever enters it.
- Zone to gain
- The high-school (NFHS) version of a first down: reach the next 20- or 40-yard line for a new set of downs.