Lisa and I learned today that flag football will be a medal sport in the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.
While I’m generally opposed to adding more sports to the Olympics–host cities struggle to keep up–I have enjoyed playing flag football for most of my adult life. I had to give it up when I turned 50 as injuries mounted after each game.
Over the years, I created a system for plays, mainly offense, called the Yankee-Bingo System. I geared the system towards seven-on-seven competition, but one could readily adapt to the five-on-five anticipated in the 2028 Olympics.
The essence of the system is an appearance of complexity but implementation of simplicity. The challenge is one has little time in the huddle to get each player on the same page. The fact that most adults do not have time to practice in the same manner as high school, college, or pro teams further exacerbates the challenge. The team may have only one practice before games start.
Thus the Yankee-Bingo system.
One of the most successful plays is Cadillac Special. The playsheet below depicts the routes.
Route diagram depicting one of my favorite plays to run: Cadillac Special.
The burden in the system is on the quarterback (Q). I have abbreviated the call syntax above. Folks on my teams know this play well–thus the abbreviated call is sufficient.
Each position only has to learn a few concepts. The full call for the above play would be “Wide, Shotgun, Cadillac Special, AB Box, XZ Post, Yankee drag.” Each play has multiple progressions, and the diagram only shows the first progression to the center (C), or Cadillac, position.
The progressions are important in football as the goal is to “teach” a team your plays. As one runs a play multiple times, a defense will “bite” on the early progressions. As the defense shows their hand, the later progressions, which are usually further downfield, open up for big plays.
In addition to cohesive plays that have an intentional progression, the Yankee-Bingo System includes strategic elements on how to attack different teams.
Image by Oliver Cardall from Pixabay
When one looks at an opponent, ask questions such as:
- Is a team more athletic? Quicker? More speed?
- What talent level is the opposing team? Particularly the defensive rushers?
- Do you anticipate the other team to score quickly?
A multitude of other questions are important to consider. One’s offense can dictate the pace of the game, for example, and slow the game to reduce the total number of scoring opportunities. A fast front rusher can be mitigated with hot passes and isolations on vulnerable backs.
A good quarterback can also control a defense with his eyes (or tip his hand too).
I truly enjoy football as the complexity of the game is often misunderstood as a “brute’s” game. I think it is more like a violent chess match. Perhaps I can assemble the Yankee-Bingo System into another book for the 2028 games!