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Sunday, April 4, 2010

Video Blog: Grantham Explains the One-Gap Scheme

(*Note: Read my feature from today's Telegraph on the latest on the QB competition HERE.)

I wrote on Friday that listening to Todd Grantham talk football is a fun experience. While I'll readily admit, a good bit of it goes over my head, I'm thrilled to interview a coach who doesn't dumb down what he's explaining just because the reporters he's explaining it to aren't exactly in football shape. He's direct, informative and, more than anything, extremely enthusiastic about what he's talking about.

Anyway, JM From Louisville posted this question on the blog a week or two ago: "Could you get one of the coaches to explain better the difference between a 2 gap 3-4 and a 1 gap 3-4 scheme?"

It's a good question, and one I'm guessing more than a few of you might have. So I of course posed the inquiry to Grantham, who delivered a patented Todd Grantham explanation.

If you want to get excited about football, you definitely want to watch this video. (And apologies in advance for the lighting.)



And that's not all from Grantham. Here's his thoughts on the advantages of the one-gap vs. the two-gap scheme...

"People that two-gap, they still play the gap based on the release of the block, so they still only have one gap, they're just squeezing the other gap. Which, truthfully, in a one-gap, you do the same thing, it's just -- you're playing this gap. Personally, the way we play it, it's better suited for today's game because, No. 1, you play the run physical and it allows you to rush the passer when that occurs. I think you have to be more disciplined to play this way, because you can always attack a guy, knock a guy back and come out of your hips, deliver blows and strike guys, then when he goes to pass, you convert. I think the way we play now is the way you want to play."

*Video courtesy of Brandon Spoon

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks. Now, it's crytal clear to me the difference. lol

Anonymous said...

This guy!! The more he talks the more I like him.

JRL said...

Great - I thought all the "gap" talk was referring to teeth - like Strahan's.

UGA69Dawg said...

That part about reguiring discipline has me worried. What have we lacked on D the last few years eh discipline. Scary ain't it.

IveyLeaguer said...

We've lacked discipline on offense as well, 69. But if the scrimmage is any indication, the Thursday Rolls helped a lot. Could be a coincidence, but it's the first improvement I've noticed in years.
~~~

Anonymous said...

I've heard more about hips this year than any time before in life. Who knew hips were this important in football?

HVL Dawg

PJ said...

I don't care how long it takes to the players to catch up 100% on the new system, but it is a great relief that finally we have some people who actually know their $hit controlling the D.

Furban8 said...

I think if you were designing a DC from scratch he would be a heck of lot like Grantham. The guy just loves what he does and he knows his stuff.

Anonymous said...

David,

Do you know if Montez Robinson's arrest this weekend has anything to do with the taxi incident?

Anonymous said...

Glad to hear that thug Montez Robinson was the only player jailed for the taxi incident....He is a cancer kind of like TO and Vick. Hope and pray that they kick him off the team and no other player goes down. Have fun in Indy punk!

Anonymous said...

Huh???

Wow, I'm glad they are not counting on me to understand this.

Ugh, it just occured to me that we are counting on our team to figure it out.

Should be interesting to say the least.

JM from Louisville said...

:)

Thanks David! That was an awesome answer... certainly a little over the head but at the same time I was tracking with him.

It comes down to the decision making process of the defensive lineman. In the 2 gap defense, the d-lineman decides which gap is his according to the blocking scheme, as where, in the 1 gap defense, the d-lineman's attack is already decided pre-snap. Hence, in the 1 gap scheme, the dlineman is able to consistently attack more aggressively without the split second deicsion making process that is there in the 2 gap scheme.

At least, I think that's what he said.

Thanks again David! Keep up the great work!

Go DAWGS!