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Flag50 Coaches · 7v7 Girls & College

The Best 7v7 Plays to Beat Man Coverage

Man coverage locks a defender to each receiver, so 7v7 beats it with traffic. Mesh crosses two receivers underneath, Return sells vertical and comes back, and Scissors switches a post and a corner so one runs free deep. Motion tells you it is man before the snap, and a jet sweep punishes the defender who follows.

Three of the 15 plays in the Flag50 7v7 playbook are tagged man-beaters, Mesh, Return, and Scissors, and all three work off a rub rather than raw speed.

By Jay Fraser. Published .

Coaching tip: Send a receiver in motion before every snap for one game. If a defender goes with her every time, you have found a team that plays man, and your rub concepts are the rest of your night.

Man coverage: Man coverage assigns each defender one receiver to follow wherever that receiver goes, which is why the offense wins by creating traffic the defender cannot run through.

Open the free 7v7 coaching tools →The 10 best 7v7 plays →
Plays curated by the Flag50 coaching staff
5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 LOS QB C X Z Y H A
#1

Mesh

Spread · diagram from the Flag50 7v7 playbook
The classic rub

Two shallow crossers running at each other force man defenders into a collision they cannot avoid, and whoever loses it gives up an easy completion.

Read progression
First crosser, then the second, then the back out of the backfield.
Say this in the huddle
Crossers, almost high-five, and do not slow down through the traffic.
When to call it
Your first man-beater on any down, and the call you go back to after motion confirms man coverage.
intermediatequick-gameman-beater
5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 LOS QB C Z Y X H A
#2

Return

Bunch Right · diagram from the Flag50 7v7 playbook
Sell vertical, come back

Stacked releases out of a bunch rub the man defenders off naturally, then X breaks back to the flat with nobody assigned to the space she returns to.

Read progression
Confirm man pre-snap, then throw X coming back to the flat.
Say this in the huddle
Three hard steps upfield before you break back out.
When to call it
Second and medium, and any down inside the 20 where you want a high-percentage throw.
intermediatetrickman-beater
5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 LOS QB C X Y Z H A
#3

Scissors

Stack Left · diagram from the Flag50 7v7 playbook
Switch release deep

The stacked pair crosses vertically, so the post and the corner switch releases and the pick at the top frees one of them deep almost every time against man.

Read progression
Post first, corner second. Whoever the pick freed is open.
Say this in the huddle
Cross at 8 yards, do not drift apart before then.
When to call it
First down from your own 30 to midfield, when a man team has no safety help in the middle.
advanceddeep-shotman-beater
5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 LOS QB C Y X Z H A
#4

Spot

Bunch Right · diagram from the Flag50 7v7 playbook
Traffic in a phone booth

The bunch triangle makes three man defenders run through the same square of grass, and the spot sitter comes open in the wash.

Read progression
Corner up first, spot sitter second, flat third.
Say this in the huddle
Spot sitter, find the hole in the traffic and stop there.
When to call it
Third and short against man, and any snap after a rub concept already worked.
red-zoneintermediatequick-game
5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 LOS QB C H Z Y X A
#5

Jet Sweep

Trips Right · diagram from the Flag50 7v7 playbook
Punish the follower

Man coverage means a defender leaves with the motion, so the jet sweep both tells you what the coverage is and attacks the edge that defender just left.

Read progression
No read. Sell the pass fake and hand it to H in full motion.
Say this in the huddle
H, if she chases you, keep going and beat her to the sideline.
When to call it
Early in a game to test the coverage, and later on first down once you know a defender follows the motion.
intermediateruntrick
5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 LOS QB C Y X H Z A
#6

Four Verts

Spread · diagram from the Flag50 7v7 playbook
Win one-on-one

Man coverage with no help means every vertical is a one-on-one race, so Four Verts lets the quarterback pick the matchup she likes and throw it.

Read progression
Find the deepest defender, then throw the seam she is not covering. The back checks down.
Say this in the huddle
Full speed for 20 yards. Do not look back until then.
When to call it
One shot per drive on first down, and against a man team that has been jumping your short routes.
advanceddeep-shotaggressive

Man beater wristband set

Five calls, every one of them a rub or a matchup. Put them in one block next to a reminder to motion a receiver before the snap.

Man beater wristband set: one call per situation
SlotPlayFormationWristband call
First man beaterMeshSpreadSPREAD MESH
High-percentage rubReturnBunch RightBUNCH RIGHT RETURN
Deep off a pickScissorsStack LeftSTACK LEFT SCISSORS
Short yardageSpotBunch RightBUNCH RIGHT SPOT
Punish the followerJet SweepTrips RightTRIPS RIGHT JET
Print this set on a wristband →Find your scheme →

Common questions

Which 7v7 formation creates the most natural rubs?

Bunch Right and Stack Left. Bunch Right puts three receivers in a tight triangle so man defenders have to run through each other, and Stack Left puts one receiver directly behind another so their releases cross. Return, Spot, and Scissors all come from those two formations.

Should the quarterback look for the rub or the safety valve first?

The rub first, then the back. On Mesh the crossers are the play and the back out of the backfield is the answer if the traffic does not free anyone. Looking at the back first is how a quarterback talks herself out of an open receiver.

Does the 7v7 run game help against man coverage?

Yes, more than it does against zone. In man coverage a defender leaves with motion and nobody is watching the ball carrier, so a jet sweep or a Dive often finds more space against man than it does against a zone that keeps eyes in the backfield.

What do you call when man coverage is also blitzing?

Mesh or Stick. Both get the ball out on the third step, and both still work as rubs. Save Scissors and Four Verts for downs where the rush is not getting home, because a deep concept needs a beat your quarterback will not have.

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