This story appears in ESPN The Magazines September 19 NFL Preview II Issue. Subscribe today!INSIDE CINCINNATIS DARK dark and deserted players cafeteria, Adam Jones chuckles to himself as the rest of the Bengals joyously fly toward the stadium exits, free from another grueling session in the dog days of training camp. Jones, a first-round draft pick by Tennessee in 2005, insists hes finally content right here -- alone, out of the spotlight, talking football. At 32, he has matured from the player who was suspended for the entire 2007 season after repeated off-the-field issues, including involvement in a shooting outside of a Las Vegas strip club. Now Jones is a Pro Bowl cornerback and an enthusiastic student of the game -- a trait on full display in the cafeteria. Minutes after sitting down, he shed his backpack and collected two fistfuls of a visitors shirt to illustrate a point about press coverage. By the end of the afternoon, his hands-on lecture revealed exactly how NFL offenses, and Jones himself, have evolved.THE MAG: Take us back to your rookie year. What did offenses look like in 2005?JONES: It was power football -- fullbacks and running backs and tight ends who blocked. In 2005, corners had to tackle. If you wouldnt tackle, you wouldnt play. Now you see lots of quick stuff, spread, West Coast, lots of on-the-ball, no-huddle. When I started, Peyton Manning was about the only one doing what every QB is doing now: going to the line, reading the defense and checking out of plays. His approach was probably the biggest thing that changed for offenses. The smart QB. The studying QB. The QB who can read when the safety is creeping down or see that the linebacker is a little more outside and switch to a better play. Its all about getting that last chess move before the snap.So what would an old base offensive formation from 2005 look like?Its called Ace: two wide receivers, a fullback, a running back. [See below.] Youd have a tight end blocking. Tight splits on the line. QB under center. Thered be a big power back like Jerome Bettis behind an even bigger fullback.And now?The fullback -- poof -- gone. The whole league is moving away from power football. So no fullback, no big back, and the tight end wont be a big-ass slow guy close to the line; hell be running like a receiver. Add three-, four-wide to the picture, linemen spread out, more zone-blocking, pass-blocking, QB in shotgun, ball out quick.If I had to pick one thing to show the offensive evolution, Id go with tight ends.When I got drafted, Antonio Gates was the only tight end running like a wide receiver. Now every goddamn tight end is running like hell -- and fast as hell. [See below.] Thats a big, big difference. Thats the biggest mismatch going. If you got a good No. 1 receiver and a good tight end, it makes it really hard. You cant double both. So pick your poison.What else has changed?Just today we watched film off and on from 7 a.m. until 5:30. We practiced for maybe two hours. So that should tell you how much of a mental game this is now. Lots of kids are coming into the NFL dumb as hell and they cant pick up a defense. With what we face from offenses, you have to be able to check out of three calls in a few seconds before every play. If the receivers are lined up two-by-two, were playing this coverage -- wait, nope, now they shifted to three-by-one, now were playing another call. If I had a son and he was gifted like me at football, the main thing I would stress to him is the mental aspect of the game.Give me an example.OK, so when Im in press coverage in a cover 3 and I know the safety or the linebacker is down toward the line of scrimmage and I have help on the inside, I know if my guy releases outside, he can only run two routes. Whats he gonna run?Me? I like a fly route.Uh-huh, a go route, yep.Or a curl.A comeback, yep. See, before the ball is even snapped, Ive already eliminated the rest of the playbook. Now you can spread the field, play four wides, get the ball out fast, go no-huddle; doesnt matter, Ive taken the advantage back. Offenses move so fast -- if youre out there thinking in the middle of a play, its too late.Problem is, whenever defenses start to dominate offenses, they change the rules to protect the golden goose.So many rules now. You just have to hone your craft even more because the whole thing is set up for me not to be good. My mentality now is so different than it used to be. Im walking up in press coverage and Im thinking to myself, I gotta guard this guy within the rules. I know if I even touch him after ?6, 7 yards downfield theyre gonna flag me. It makes you focus on little stuff. Focus on your feet at the line -- thats how you have to win the route, by being in good position. I used to go up, quick-jam the guy, keep my hands on him and then wait and feel and turn when he turned. Cant do that now. Focusing on the little stuff is the biggest change in how I play.Seems like your approach with everything has changed.I look at when I first came out, dumb as bricks. Now every day Im calling out plays in practice to the point where linebacker Vincent Rey says, Man, you must have a cheat sheet in your pocket! When youre young, you take a lot of stuff for granted. There was a point in my life where I wasnt even thinking about a future even existing like this for me. When youre the laughingstock of the league and you just got kicked out of the league, those are some dark times. But I always told myself, Im gonna get the last laugh. Every day I still make a point to visit my past, all the dumb s--- I did. I have to. Its easy to slip up. If you dont remind yourself, youre gonna wind up right back in those situations. Adidas Stan Smith Sale . Pirlo limped out of Sundays 1-0 win over Udinese after just 13 minutes. Juventus says Pirlo underwent tests on Monday which revealed he has "a second-degree lesion to the collateral medial ligament in his right knee. Adidas Stan Smith Cheap Online . LOUIS -- Cardinals cleanup hitter Allen Craig says hes recovered from a foot injury and ready to be put on St. http://www.cheapadidasstansmith.com/ . Its an influence in football and a big part of the game. Adidas Stan Smith Clearance . PETERSBURG, Fla. Cheap Adidas Stan Smith . Instead of dwelling on the negative, Oates focused on what was good about the clubs recent play. It worked. RIO DE JANEIRO -- Nothing could stifle Dan Paynes spirits Tuesday, not even the U.S. teams heartbreaking 17-14 loss in rugby sevens when Argentina scored after the siren.The CEO of USA Rugby expects a big boost in the sports popularity in the U.S. with the mens gutsy performance coming on the heels of a surprisingly strong showing by the womens squad.The Olympics is what we understand in the United States, more than anything, Payne said. Its just a pleasure for these guys to be able to play the game that they love in front of a strong crowd.And really for us its about competing here, but its also about that 8- to 9- to 10-year-old boy and girl at home watching it. We want them to aspire to be future rugby Olympians and share that goal, and that really helps the game grow and fills the stands.Player Nate Ebner, who learned the game from his late father, who played college rugby, has similar hopes for the sport.I hope it does worlds for rugby. I hope it changes the game, Ebner said after the Americans followed the loss in the opener with a 26-0 shutout of host Brazil. We can kind of be trailblazers for something great in the United States and obviously thats our hopes and dreams for this sport.I love this sport. I want to see it have tremendous success, but thats ultimately up to the people back in the United States and how they embrace the game and how many people get involved, added Ebner, whose fulltime job is as a safety for the New England Patriots.Rugby sevens is a fast-paced version of the time-honored sport that was last played at the Olympics in 1924. The Americans won the gold in that 15-a-side tournament back when boxing and horse racing were the big pastimes, baseball was blossoming and the NFL wasnt even around.Rugby sevens features two seven-minute halves divided by a two-minute halftime plus any stoppage time kept by the referee. The games are over in 20 minutes tops.One thing thats helping grow the sport in the U.S. are fears of head injuries that are driving plenty of of parents to steer their kids away from football. Some youths are taking up rugby, where head-to-head hits are rare and the cardiovascular and aerobic benefits are more like soccers.What I can say safely is that growth is taking off exponentially, especially in that age group. So, whatever the reasons are, I like to say that theres multiple contributing factors, Payne said. But eeven just watching that (first slate of games) and being around that energy is probably the primary driving factor.ddddddddddddBut contrary to popular belief, its a very safe game, Payne added.There was only one player in the 24 womens matches who was taken off the pitch for concussion protocol and she returned in the second half.So, the rules are around keeping it safe. And when you dont have the helmet and you dont have the pads, you have to do things very technically, and thats in how you carry the ball and in how you tackle, Payne said.In youth rugby in the U.S. kids 5 to 12 play with flags just like flag football, and when contact starts with the teenagers, the first season is dedicated to learning body control, safety and proper tackling technique where the head is protected and players hit with a shoulder as they wrap up, he said.Youre seeing it in football where theyve started to do a lot of the rugby tackling in a lot of the NFL camps and colleges, Payne said. So, its a very safe game and I think people will see it and watch and theres the contact. Especially in America, we love the physical contact, theres that. But its in a very safe and controlled way.Rugby can be played by all sorts, the big, the tall, the squat, the fast, the slow.The greatest thing about the game? Payne said. Whatever position you are, you have a chance to carry the ball, which is what we love.Americans that know the most obscure of NFL rules, however, have a difficult time with rugbys rules.So, what does Payne tell his confused compatriots?Youre not alone, he said with a chuckle. Its like anything: you have to do some research on it but you also just have to sit next to somebody that knows the game, Payne said. Its pretty quick to pick up, but youre right, it looks like a little bit of chaos but its a controlled chaos. Theres a rhyme to the reason.Just then, the Brazilians made a good play on the pitch against powerhouse Fiji and the stadium shuddered.That was amazing, Payne said. There was just goosebumps on my arms, just hearing that crowd and the energy.He wants to have that feeling back home, too.---AP Summer Games website: http://summergames.ap.org---Follow AP Sports Writer Arnie Melendrez Stapleton on Twitter: http://twitter.com/arniestapleton Chiefs Jerseys China Cheap Nike Chargers Jerseys Cheap Nike Raiders Jerseys Wholesale Cowboys Jerseys China Cheap Nike Giants Jerseys Philadelphia Eagles Jerseys For Sale Wholesale Redskins Jerseys China Cheap Nike Lions Jerseys Packers Jerseys China Cheap Vikings Jerseys Free Shipping Cheap Panthers Jerseys Hoodies Cheap Saints Jerseys Free Shipping Cheap Nike Buccaneers Jerseys Cardinals Jerseys China Cheap Rams Jerseys Hoodies Cheap Nike 49ers Jerseys Seahawks Jerseys China Bears Jerseys China Cheap Nike Bills Jerseys Ravens Jerseys China Wholesale Falcons Jerseys China ' ' '