Control Your Gap

Control Your Gap

Gap control is a large part of playing defensive line. A noseguard or defensive tackle can shut down an entire element of a team’s running game with good gap control.

Being a Houston Texans fan, I love to watch J. J. Watt. Watt has a tremendous ability to control the gaps on his side of the line. He is a sack specialist, and even if he doesn’t get the sack, he consistently puts quarterbacks on their backs by controlling his gaps and creating opportunities for his teammates. He also swats balls out of the air and consistently makes tackles for loss in the backfield.

One of the greatest testimonies about Watt is his zeal and effort for every single play. This hasn’t always been the case in Houston on the defensive line. Another first-round draft pick was accused by the media of taking plays off and not being reliable. Eventually, this player signed with another team. But Watt has now won three Defensive Player of the Year awards because he won’t allow himself to take any plays off. When Watt signed the $100 million contract, it was reported that he went to the Texans training facility at three in the morning to get in another workout. His drive to be the best and not get comfortable with what he has already achieved challenges every teammate around him to do the same.

How do our teammates view us? Are we taking plays off? When we do, we are seen as unreliable. Proverbs 25:26 states, “If the godly give in to the wicked, it’s like polluting a fountain or muddying a spring.” Don’t give in! Zealously go out every single day and honor the Lord. Stand your guard and control your gap!

If the godly give in to the wicked, it’s like polluting a fountain or muddying a spring.

Proverbs 25:26