10 Backyard Plays for Your Turkey Bowl Playbook

It’s that time of year again. Time to tape up the ankles, pull out the knee braces, and relive the glory years. Sure, you’ll be hobbling around the office next week, but this is what you live for… Alright, well not at all, but that felt somewhat inspirational. Regardless, now that everyone is getting older, and weaker, and heavier, here’s your big chance to show them you were always more valuable than those last pick selections would suggest. You’ve just joined a gym and you even started a new pilates class. So, goodbye old school image because today is a whole new ball game. And! Along with your newfound attitude and physique, I’ve revisited 10 popular backyard plays that you can review and master and bring to your huddle. I’ll go ahead and say it Mr. Turkey Bowl sleeper, you’ve just become underrated.

1. Crossing Route

The old criss-cross. Pick your two best athletes, line ‘em up wide opposite each other, have them cross about 10 yards downfield. They can use each other to “inadvertently” screen the corners. Whoever sheds their defender first, hit him in the corner. Easy yet effective.

“But what should I do?” asks the routeless receiver with the stone hands who should probably be helping his mother make cream corn instead of running patterns. “Uh, just run in circles over by that tree and try to get open underneath man. I’ll hit ya if they’re not open.” There ya go, good save.

2. Hook and Ladder

In the NFL it’s always a last minute option. In backyard football, it comes up whenever you feel like it. Start this trick play by throwing to the receiver who’s DB has been playing 20 yards off of him all game. You know, the one who thinks he’s so smooth he’s gonna play safety and corner so he can make plays all over the field, but really he’s killing his team by letting his receiver pick up chunks of yards underneath. Anyhow, send your receiver on a curl or button hook route over the middle, then have one of your speedsters hesitate at the line and run a slant underneath him, where he’ll take the pitch. It never works as well as you’d think, but it’s always exciting nonetheless. You can also run another version where the QB follows his pass and takes the pitch himself. Orrrr, you can run it again and have the receiver fake the pitch and continue running downfield, orrrrr, you can run it to the outside and have the running back run underneath. The options are endless, really! Go crazy! Get hooked on ladders!

3. Just Get Open

Quarterback is clearly growing tired of his receivers. Johnny “Computer salesman” can’t catch a pass for his life. Steve “I’ve put on 60 pounds since we had the kid” is sitting this play out sucking wind. Jeff “Former D1 basketball star” just pulled up limp clutching his hammy. Quarterback is way too pissed off at this point to choreograph a whole new play. What’s the point anymore? “Just get open.” he says, seeming to forget this is supposed to be the best time of the year getting back together your friends and family, “Screw the huddle, just get open.”

4. Button Hook

Want 5 yards on first or second down? Been wasting precious downs all game trying to air it out like Shake n’ Blake? Time to play small ball. Here’s your route. Run 5 to 10 yards and turn around. Hopefully the DB is giving you some room on early downs as he preps for the deep ball. This is one of the more conservative routes but it’s a high percentage play. If your good enough, you might be able to execute the tricky “the ball will be there when you turn around” version of this play. More power to you if you can, but that kind of stuff takes timing and practice. And go ahead and try it but someone’s probably gonna take a ball off the face, which could be worth it.

5. Fly Pattern

The “go long!” one and done play. In some games this route could probably be used on every down. One team will always have the guy who played in college, and he’s still in game shape, and he smokes his defender on every play, like this guy. But that’s no fun. Other times this play is called out of frustration or when a team is down a few scores. “Just go long, I’ll hit you. Everyone else just be a decoy.” A Hail Mary of sorts, it’s probably the most popular play in backyard football.

6. The Reverse

This play takes forever to develop, and it’s always easy to spot, but someone’s going to call it at some point, no doubt. And once you’ve been playing for a couple hours, and everyone is getting tired and silly, someone will call probably call a double reverse, or a double reverse pass, or a quadruple reverse pass hook and ladder. I’ve seen it. The reverse tends to work best in a tackle football game where running is more prevalent and you’re able to catch the defense off guard. But whatever, it’s a fun play either way and who doesn’t want to be part of a reverse?

7. The Slant

Need to get past the 2nd maple tree on a crucial 3^rd and short? Here’s your play. Send your speedster/top hands guy on a quick slant and fire an accurate first down pass. It’s uncoverable in the back yard football if executed correctly, but its also great way to get your receiver killed over the middle. But that first down is huge, you know? Could be the game, and he just sits at a desk all week anyway…

8. Quick Hitch

Avoid this in a touch game, unless you have a Hester-like player on offense or the corner plays really deep. If your playing tackle (football) and you can see that the guy covering your 6’2 220 pound receiver is getting tired of making tackles and taking knees to the face, get your receiver a quick hitch/wr screen and have him run through those lazy arm tackles and pick up a solid 10 before the rest of the D gang wrestles him to the ground.

This is also a great play for the guy who is terrible at sports, but showed up somehow because he caught wind of the email list. He’s growing noticeably upset that he hasn’t touched the ball in 4 straight series, so you have to give it to him here or he’s going to start running his mouth. Get him a quick hitch and get his touch out of the way. Hike, quick fire, annnnnd dropped pass… well at least you tried.

9. The Chair Route

The down and out and up route. Make the D think you’re running a quick out for a first down, then turn it up field, slip behind the defender, and catch a perfect lob pass from the quarterback. These routes require a little more time to develop, so hopefully the pass rusher is counting his Mississippi’s really slow.

10. The Stop and Go

The button hook with a twist. Receiver sprints at the defender then begins to stop. QB gives a pump fake and the receiver blows by the coverage toward the endzone.  You can set this play up with a few quick hitters, and once the DB sees you’re moving the ball with the dink and dunk passes, you’ll get him to bite on this play. Also, right before the fake pump, have the receiver scream the QB’s name like he did 10 years ago when he walked in on him making out with his sister. Helps to sell it.

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