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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.Yeezy Boost 350 Buy Online . After taking two big hits this week -- losing at home and dropping back-to-back games for the first time all season -- Indiana struck back by playing its most complete game of the year. Yeezy 350 Sale Online . The team says the Spain international has a muscle pull in his right leg. Barcelona hosts third-division side Cartagena in the return leg of their round-of-32 tie after winning their first meeting 4-1. http://www.cheapyeezy350.com/ . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season. Yeezy Boost 350 China Wholesale . 10 Texas A&Ms offence dominated as usual against SMU. Yeezy Boost 350 Discount . They reached the 100-point plateau for the fourth time in five games, bested the visiting Trail Blazers by 34 in the paint and scored 19 of the final 25 points in regulation.ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Buffalo Bills outside linebacker Manny Lawson responded Sunday to an NFL investigation into his potential violation of the leagues personal conduct policy, saying there was no physical violence in a 2014 incident in Scottsdale, Arizona, in which Lawson was charged with misdemeanor disorderly conduct/domestic violence.[It was] disorderly conduct, domestic because it happened at home, Lawson said Sunday, the first time that the Bills have allowed the veteran linebacker to speak to reporters since the NFL confirmed its investigation Aug. 18. No physical violence. Im being investigated and well see what the NFL has to say about it.Lawsons case was dismissed in November 2014 following his completion of a diversionary program.It remains unclear wheether the 2014 arrest is the only subject of the NFLs probe.dddddddddddd Lawson said Sunday that he has not been involved in any other legal incidents in the past two years.The Buffalo News reported Aug. 16 that Lawson faces a possible one-game suspension. Lawson adamantly denied the report the next day, adding that he immediately contacted the NFL to inquire about the report.I honestly do not know what is happening or where that came from, but were looking to get into the bottom of it, Lawson said Aug. 17. I wish I knew [where it came from]. I dont know where and how or why that would come up about me, but were going to look into it. ' ' '