Objective
Teach rushers to start legally from the rush line, attack the quarterback on an angle that contains the play, and pressure the throw with hands up and no contact.
Setup
Area
15 x 15 yards behind a line of scrimmage, with a cone line 7 yards from it (adjust to your league's rush distance)
Players
3–8 players: a center, a quarterback, and a line of rushers
Equipment
Flag belts, 2–3 balls, 6 cones (rush line plus a 2-yard-wide target gate behind the QB)
Duration
8–10 minutes
How it works
- 1
Learn the rush line
Under NFL FLAG rules a rusher must be at least 7 yards from the line of scrimmage when the ball is snapped; many leagues use a similar distance but check yours. Mark it with cones. The rusher raises a hand before the snap so the officials (and the offense) know who is coming, and any number of defenders may rush.
- 2
Explode on the snap
The rusher starts in a staggered stance with eyes on the ball, not the quarterback. On the snap, the first two steps are low and fast. Any rusher who crosses the rush line before the snap goes to the back of the line; that habit is worth more than any angle.
- 3
Take the angle
Aim for a point about 1 yard in front of the quarterback's throwing shoulder rather than straight at the body. The curved path forces the QB to step up or roll away from the throwing arm, and if the quarterback runs sideways the rusher mirrors the hips and pushes them toward the sideline.
- 4
Hands up in the last 2 yards
As the rusher closes, both arms go high to take away the passing lane and the quarterback's view. Contact with the quarterback, including the arm or the ball in the passer's hand, is a penalty in most leagues; a pass knocked down in the air after release is legal.
- 5
Run it live against the clock
The quarterback takes the snap, drops 3–5 yards and must throw into the target gate. The rusher scores a point for a flag pulled before the throw or a pass that misses the gate. Rotate after each rep so every player rushes 5–6 times.
Coaching points
Start from the rush line with feet already moving on the snap; a rusher who pauses to read has already lost the race.
Contain before you attack: keep the quarterback inside your angle so they cannot escape to the open side.
Rush the throwing shoulder, because it forces a right-handed QB to throw across their body when they move left.
Stay under control in the last yard so you can react if the QB fakes, steps up or hands the ball off.
Once the ball is handed off behind the line, the rush-line restriction ends for the whole defense in NFL FLAG, so every defender should flow to the new ball carrier.
Variations
Handoff read
Add a running back behind the quarterback. On half the reps the QB hands off, and the rusher must redirect from the quarterback to the runner and pull the flag before the runner reaches the line of scrimmage.
Two-rusher pressure
Send two rushers from different spots on the rush line, one taking the throwing shoulder and one taking the opposite side to cut off the scramble. Use it only in practice until your coverage players can handle one fewer defender behind the rush.
Build it in Coach Board
On a flag football board in Coach Board, place the quarterback, center and rusher, draw the 7-yard rush line, then draw the curved rush angle to the throwing shoulder. Animate a straight rush on one board and the angled rush on a duplicate, and play them back side by side so young rushers see why the straight path lets the quarterback slip away.