Football is arguably the sport most closely linked with strategy, since each and every play in a football game is meticulously calculated and planned to achieve the goal of either advancing the ball when running an offensive play or preventing the advancement of the ball, as is the case with defensive plays. Without the successful application of football plays, your team might as well just be running around the field like chickens with their heads cut off.

First, we’ll focus on offensive football plays. Generally, offensive plays can be categorized into running plays and passing plays. Running plays are a great way for the quick players on your team to gain extra yardage. The most basic of the running football plays is the run up the middle. This is where the ball is handed off to the running back who runs like the wind through a prearranged hole in the offensive line up, either between the center and a guard or between a guard and a tackle. For this play, the job of the offensive line is to keep the hole free from the other team’s defensive players. While this is hardly an original play, it can be quite successful if the other team is expecting something a little fancier.

The next of the offensive football plays your team should master is the sweep, where the running back heads for the sidelines before changing direction and running up the field. Instead of just blocking, it is up to the offensive linesmen to abandon their normal positions and create a lane for the running back to run the ball.

Running football plays is all about keeping the other team guessing as to what you are going to do next. A classic play for doing just that is the counter or misdirection play, where a runner starts by moving in one direction before abruptly changing his trajectory and heading in the opposite direction. This play works wonders when the other team’s defense is committed to the first steps of the runner and he is able to fake them out, gaining a clear path to run up the field. The counter play is made more successful by the use of influence blocking, which is where the offensive line blocks towards the intended direction of the play, causing the defensive line to believe the play will be ran in the opposite direction.

The other type of offensive play is the pass play. While it goes without saying that the ball is passed instead of ran, there are just about as many varieties on the pass play as on the running plays. When you have a receiver whose speed is much greater than the opposing team’s defense back, consider the go play, where the receiver runs as fast as he can to get a deeper field position than the defense back. Then, the quarterback throws to ball to the spot where only the running back can make the catch.

If your running back isn’t lightning quick enough to execute the go play, try the post play. This is where the wide receivers run straight up from their positions for 10 to 15 yards then angle inwards towards the center of the field, approximately lining up with the goal posts. Conversely, the flag play is where the wide receivers angle outwards towards the flag as opposed to inwards to make the catch and continue running the ball up field for additional yardage.