Manipulating Gaps to Limit Explosives - Shane Dierking, Defensive Coordinator, North Central

Are offense having their way with your defenders they put in conflict? At the 3rd Annual Lauren's First & Goal Clinic Shane Direking, DC at D3 National Champion North Central also the 2022 Football Scoop D3 Coordinator of the Year, shared his insight on gap manipulation & limiting explosive plays 

He covered everything from understanding the importance of a tight top-down defense to mastering the art of manipulating gaps.

He includes a short discussion on their 30% rule and how this helps guide their planning week to week, as well as his reasoning for manipulating gaps and the four methods they use.

In general, offenses love the RPO because of the way it can conflict with a defender and open up voids behind level two or potentially leave a gap open in the box. Either situation can lead to explosive plays.

Explosive plays can be a game-changer in football. The chances of scoring in any single drive increase significantly with a single explosive play. Ensuring that the defense never gives up explosive plays, forces the offense to work harder and increases the chances of the defense creating havoc plays like TFLs, tackles, interceptions, and fumble recoveries.

By making the offense earn every yard, the defense can increase the team’s win-loss percentage and maintain a strong defensive presence on the field.

That’s what Coach Dierking shared in this segment from his clinic. The entire talk shows the different ways the Cardinals manipulate gaps with Coach Direking explaining with game film.  

Show Notes:

• Defensive Structure and Philosophy
• Manipulating explosive plays
• Set-up to make the offense earn yards.
• Why manipulate gaps
• Gap manipulation in 
• Winning Edge

The previous episode with Coach Dierking:

An Obsession with Learning and Growing Plus Coaching the 4-2-5 

https://chrt.fm/track/EFGCF3/traffic.megaphone.fm/CCML5125248937.mp3?updated=1677533204

Entire Clinic Talk - “Manipulating Gaps”

https://coachtube.com/course/football/shane-dierking-manipulating-gaps/18885516?a=ddd391c93af2433281656b763

Coach Dierking’s Clinic - “Defending Empty Formations”

https://coachtube.com/course/football/shane-dierking-defending-empty-formations/13906706?a=ddd391c93af2433281656b763

Be sure to go to coachandcoordinator.com for enhanced show notes with links to related episodes, resources, articles, and with our winning edge takeaways detailed in text. Also sign-up for our free weekly tip sheet which highlights the best ideas from the previous week, trending episodes, and featured resources.

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