Interior run
42 Dive
The simplest teaching diagram on this page: a handoff, a back's track through the hole, and the whole line blocking with terminals. Install this one first and the numbering system explains itself.
Open 42 Dive and press playTackle Football Playbook
Build a Tackle Football Playbook Your Whole Team Can Read
A tackle football playbook has to communicate what all eleven players do. The ball carrier is one job. The other ten — who blocks, where they go, who pulls, who fakes, who releases — are the play. Football Playbook is a tackle football play designer built to draw those jobs, animate them on one clock, and get them to your staff and your players.
- Blocking as a real action, with a terminal bar
- Pulls, kick-outs and lead blocks as drawn paths
- Handoffs and pitches that have to be physically possible
- Eleven defenders on the same diagram
Free to start · No account required
If one player doesn't know his job, the play isn't installed
That is the whole difference between drawing tackle football and drawing a passing concept. Five arrows describe what a quarterback is looking at. They do not describe a running play, because a running play is mostly the ten people without the ball.
Most play-diagram tools were built for routes. Everything on the field gets the same arrow, so a guard's down block and a receiver's post look identical on paper, and the coach fills in the difference out loud. That works in a meeting and fails on a printed install sheet, in a group chat at 9pm, and with a position coach who wasn't in the room.
This page uses real plays coaches published to Discover — not demos — because the argument only holds if you can look at the diagram and answer four questions: who has the ball, where is it going, who is blocking, and where are those blockers going.
Written and reviewed by Matt Sullivan, flag football coach and founder of Football Playbook · Updated September 2026
One play, eleven jobs
A published 11v11 sweep, broken down by position group. Every line below is read off the drawn diagram beside it — nothing here is added description.
The play
67 Sweep
This is what a coach means by an install. Not "sweep left" — eleven separate jobs that have to happen in an order, and one exchange that has to be physically possible.
- 01Ball carrierFB (Z)
- Takes the exchange from the quarterback, works across the formation behind the blocking, then turns and runs — drawn as two actions in sequence, a route to the ball and a run after it, so the animation shows the turn rather than one straight arrow.
- 02QuarterbackQB
- Opens and steps to the exchange point. The handoff is a recorded ball action, so playback only completes it if the two players are actually close enough when it happens.
- 03Interior lineC · LG · RG · LT · RT
- Five separate block assignments, each ending in a perpendicular bar rather than an arrowhead — about seven or eight yards of movement apiece on this diagram. They are drawn individually because they are taught individually.
- 04Tight endsTE · second TE
- Both block at the edge of the front. On a sweep the edge is the play, so these two assignments decide whether the ball carrier ever gets to the corner.
- 05Back away from the ballRB
- The long block — the widest assignment on the play, running across the formation rather than staying home. This is the job that never survives a routes-only diagram, because it looks exactly like a route.
- 06ReceiverX
- Blocks on the perimeter. He is not running a route on this play, and the diagram says so, which is the point.
Read straight from the published play. Watch it animate to see the order these jobs happen in — the exchange, then the edge, then the turn upfield.
Blocking
A block is a different thing than a route, so it's drawn differently
Assign a block and the path ends in a short perpendicular bar — the terminal every coach already draws on a whiteboard. In tackle formats the five interior linemen default to blocking when you draw them, and blocking concepts (base, drive, reach, down, trap, pull) are one tap, then fully editable, because your down block and mine are not the same block.
Everything stays a real path, so a pull is drawn the way you teach it: behind the center, around the edge, up to the target — not a straight line with a label.
The run game, three concepts deep
Published 11v11 run plays where the blocking is genuinely drawn — every lineman assigned, the exchange recorded, and the ball carrier's path separate from everyone else's.
11v11 American
Counter · pulling guard
65 Pitch Counter
A guard pulls about ten yards across the formation while the back's path counters the other way first. Watch it animate and you can see whether the pull arrives before the ball does — the only thing that makes a counter work.
Open 65 Pitch Counter and press playMisdirection · pitch
46 Fake Dive Pitch
The dive fake and the pitch are separate recorded actions in sequence, so the quarterback's fake happens before the ball leaves. Misdirection is a timing concept, which is why it is hard to teach off paper.
Open 46 Fake Dive Pitch and press playSame family, different hole: 46 Dive runs the same blocking with the back hitting a different gap — which is how a numbered run series is supposed to install.
The routes are only half the play
Pass concepts are where routes-only diagrams look most convincing and cost the most. Underneath every one of these is protection, a backfield action and somebody blocking a defender the receiver never sees.
Rollout · protection
Rollout Pass
Seven drawn blocks under a moving pocket. The quarterback's path travels roughly thirteen yards across the field, which means the protection is not a wall — it is a set of assignments that has to move with him.
Open Rollout Pass and press playMotion · screen
FB Motion Return Screen
Pre-snap motion, then a block from the player who moved, then the screen. Motion runs before the snap on its own clock, so the animation shows whether the mover is actually set when the ball comes back.
Open FB Motion Return Screen and press playPlay action
Split Back - Play action, Flat Right
A back's fake is its own action type, sequenced ahead of the routes it sells. Play action is a lie told in a specific order — the order is the diagram.
Open Split Back - Play action, Flat Right and press playFormation, assignment, timing
Three questions a tackle install has to answer. The first two are a drawing problem. The third is why these plays move.
Formation
Where everyone starts
Alignment is information. Split, depth and the extra tight end change the play before anyone moves, so the diagram opens in a real formation on a real field — including the wider Canadian field for 12v12.
Assignment
What every player does
Block, route, run, fake, motion — different actions, drawn differently, one per player. Nobody on the field is left as 'and the rest of them block'.
Timing
When those jobs happen
Sequence, delay and speed live on each action, and everything plays back on a single clock. Assignments that are all correct and badly timed still lose.
- 01
Motion
The mover has to be set. Motion runs before the snap on its own clock.
- 02
Snap
The ball leaves the center and the play clock starts for everyone at once.
- 03
Mesh
The exchange only completes if the two players are genuinely close enough.
- 04
Pull arrives
The puller either gets to his target ahead of the ball or he doesn't.
- 05
Contact
Blocks finish at their terminals while the carrier chooses his lane.
Animate
Eleven players is where animation stops being a novelty
With five players, an animation is a nice extra. With eleven, it is the only way to see the things a static sheet hides: two assignments crossing the same grass, a puller who arrives late, a back and a quarterback who are never actually close enough to exchange the ball, a motion that hasn't finished at the snap.
Every visual runs off one playback clock, and you can scrub it, so you can stop the play at the mesh and ask a room what should be happening at that exact frame.
Alignment
0.0sMid-route
1.2sDraw the other side of the ball
Two published defensive calls, eleven defenders each, with pressure and movement drawn — because half of installing an offense is showing the front it is being run against.
A front with all eleven defenders placed and two of them bringing pressure — the picture your line is being asked to block.
Pressure from two defenders with a robber sitting underneath, and the rest of the movement drawn rather than described.
You can also drop a front and coverage onto any offensive play, so the install sheet shows the look, not just the call.
Youth tackle, and everything above it
Same eleven assignments, different amount of information on the page.
Youth tackle
A ten-year-old lineman does not need the whole install — he needs his job, in the same picture, every time. That usually means fewer plays, bigger labels, and the assignment on something he can hold. The youth football playbook guide is written for that problem specifically, including wristbands and printing.
High school and full-team tackle
A staff needs one version of the install that a position coach can teach from without a phone call — protections, pulls and adjustments included. That is what the rest of this page is about: density on purpose, and a shared team workspace so the coordinator's version is the version.
Formats this covers
Honest about where the published examples are: every diagram on this page is 11v11, because that is where coaches have published tackle plays so far. The editor supports the rest today.
| Format | On the field | What changes |
|---|---|---|
| 11v11 AmericanFive-man line, quarterback, backs, receivers | Five-man line, quarterback, backs, receivers | The full install. Every example on this page is an 11v11 play published by a coach. |
| 12v12 CanadianTwelve a side on the wider Canadian field | Twelve a side on the wider Canadian field | The extra player and the real field width, so splits and motion are honest rather than squeezed. |
| 9v9 tackleNine-player tackle football | Nine-player tackle football | Supported in the editor with the same blocking tools. No coach has published a public 9v9 example yet, so there is nothing to show you here — only the format to start from. |
Draw it, animate it, install it, call it
The workflow a tackle staff actually runs, from a blank formation to the headset.
- Draw it
All eleven jobs
Open a formation, block the line, draw the backfield action and the routes, and record the exchange. Nobody is left unassigned.
- Animate it
See them interact
Play it at speed or scrub to a frame. Pull timing, mesh distance and converging paths show up here or not at all.
- Install it
Order and share
Group plays into packages in teaching order, tag the situation, export PDFs, and share a private link with your staff and players.
- Call it
Sideline and wristband
Game Mode locks a playbook into a read-only sideline view; wristband printing puts the calls a player needs on his arm.
Organize
Install packages, not a pile of plays
Keep the base run install, the third-down package and the red-zone calls in separate playbooks, ordered the way you teach them. Situation tags mark down, field position and intent, and a team workspace keeps coordinators and position coaches on one version.
My Library
12 playsMy PlaysFavoritesPlaybooks
Trips Right — Smash
5v5
Mesh Concept
6v6
Goal Line Slant
5v5
Flood Right
7v7
Game day
From the install meeting to the headset
Game Mode turns a playbook into a locked sideline view: one big diagram, oversized navigation, starred quick calls and a scoreboard. Read-only by design, so nothing changes at 34-31 in the fourth.
My Library — Desktop
LibraryTrips Right — Smash
Mesh Concept
Goal Line Slant
Editor — Tablet
PlaySave
Details that matter on an eleven-player diagram
Action colors
Color protection, run track and route concept separately so a dense diagram stays readable when it is projected or printed.
Labels you control
Rename a player for your terminology without losing his positional identity, so a lineman still behaves like a lineman.
Formations you keep
Align once, save the play, and start the next concept in the family from it instead of rebuilding the formation.
PDF exports
Install sheets, call sheets and anything your staff still wants on paper.
Private sharing
Send a playbook to your staff or players with a private link — no account required to view it.
Wristbands and booklets
Print play lists to wristband size with an optional cover sheet, for the positions that need one.
Tackle football playbook questions
- Can I draw offensive line blocking assignments?
- Yes. Blocking is its own action, not a route with a different color. Give a lineman a block and the line ends in a short perpendicular bar instead of an arrowhead, the way a block is drawn on a board. In tackle formats the five interior linemen default to blocking when you draw them, so you are not converting five arrows by hand on every play.
- Can I draw a pulling guard?
- Yes — a pull is just a drawn path with a block terminal, so you can take a guard behind the center, around the edge and up to his target, with the path bending the way you actually teach it. The published counter on this page has a guard pulling roughly ten yards across the formation, and the animation shows whether he arrives before or after the ball does.
- Does the diagram show who has the ball?
- When the play is drawn with a ball action, yes. Snap, handoff, pitch, lateral, pass and fake are all recorded on the play, so the ball travels from the center to the quarterback to the ball carrier during playback instead of being implied by an arrow. A handoff requires the two players to actually be near each other at the exchange, so a mesh that could not happen on grass will not happen on the screen either.
- How many players can I put on a play?
- Eleven a side for 11v11, twelve for Canadian 12v12, nine for nine-player tackle, plus a full defense on the same diagram. You can add or relabel players, so a formation with an extra tight end or a second back is drawn as it is, not approximated.
- Can I add a defense to a tackle play?
- Yes. Add a front and coverage to an offensive play so the install shows the look you are teaching against, and draw defensive movement — slides, drops, blitzes — when the defense is the play. Two of the diagrams on this page are published defensive calls with all eleven defenders drawn.
- What does animation show that a static diagram doesn't?
- Timing and convergence. Everything runs on one clock, so playback shows the pulling guard arriving relative to the back, the mesh happening at a real distance, motion finishing before the snap, and two assignments crossing the same patch of grass. A static sheet shows where everyone ends up; the animation shows whether the play is possible at speed.
- Is this for youth tackle or high school football?
- Both, and the difference is what you show, not what you draw. Every tool here works at either level. If your problem is teaching eight- and nine-year-olds their first assignments, the youth football playbook guide is the one written for that — it covers simplifying diagrams and getting a job onto a wristband. This page is about communicating eleven assignments in full-team football.
- Can I organize the install by week or package?
- Playbooks are ordered collections you control, so the base run install, short-yardage package and red-zone calls live separately and in teaching order. Situation tags mark down, field position and intent, so the right calls surface when you need them.
- Can I export or print a tackle playbook?
- Yes. Plays and playbooks export as PDF for install sheets and call sheets, any play can be shared with a private link, and wristband printing lays calls out for players who need them on the field.
- Does it work on the sideline?
- Game Mode is a read-only, tablet-sized view of one playbook with oversized navigation, starred quick calls and a scoreboard — usable on the field or in the box without risking an accidental edit.
Start your tackle football playbook
Open an 11v11 formation, block it up, draw the concept and press play. It takes less time than sketching it twice on a legal pad.