One gap, two gap defense

Football geeks like to toss around the word "gap" in conversations without ever explaining what it means. Sports talk show hosts and color analysts are the worst at this. They love throwing in terms normally reserved for NFL game film break-downs in order to make the audience feel the mighty weight of their bloated sense of superiority. "Look at me! I'm on TV and am - by definition - more important than you! I need to use esoteric terms without divulging their meaning." That's okay. None of those guys are quantum physicists, so none of the terms can be too hard to learn.

Defensive linemen are said to have gap responsibilities depending on certain defensive plays. In a one-gap defense, the defensive lineman attacks the gap between two offensive linemen. In a two-gap defense, the DL reads the play and must react to either side of the O-lineman in front of him.