Rules
The 7-second rule (pass clock)
From the snap, the quarterback has 7 seconds to get rid of the ball. It's the same in NFL FLAG and IFAF.
- A handoff stops it, and in NFL FLAG a pitch or lateral behind the line too. In IFAF the rule is "pass or hand off" within 7 seconds, and a backward pitch counts as a pass.
- If time runs out the play is dead at the spot of the snap and the down counts.
- Rushers still come from 7 yards: the clock and the rush work together.
How to beat the clock
Good QBs decide by about four seconds. Know your read order before the snap, look at the defender instead of your favourite receiver, and throw as a receiver breaks open, not after.