The Air Raid offense in American football has several principles, including:
- Leverage: A key principle of the Air Raid offense
- Open grass: The offense looks for open grass to throw to
- Simplicity: The offense aims to stay simple and spread out the defense
- Vertical and horizontal: The offense is spread out horizontally before the snap and vertically after the snap
- Displacing defenders: The offense aims to displace as many defenders as possible across the field
- Quarterback checks: Some play callers allow quarterbacks to make checks if they feel comfortable with a play
- Base four verticals: The "6" play is a base four verticals play that can be adapted based on the defense
- Outside release: All receivers must release on the outside of their defender
- Dropout rules: Receivers use dropout rules to determine when to break off their route
