ESPN The Magazine’s New Issue Features Two Covers: Special Package on The New Football Offense Revolution & The Best D in Football – The Pittsburgh Steelers

Plus: The Latest Hoops Hotbed Maryland’s Prince George’s County

Could quarterbacks evolve into an explosive run-oriented player? Could there be two quarterbacks? 11 receivers? Only six players required on the line of scrimmage at a time? In “Shock to the System,” writer David Fleming, takes a peek at the bold future awaiting NFL offenses and examines how these new offenses being incubated on the high school and college levels could change football as we know it.

When done with the offense, Fleming goes one-on-one with the best D in the NFL, the Steelers, to talk about these high tech offenses.

Quotes from the article:
Troy Polamalu: A high school uses two quarterbacks? Imagine for a second having Tom Brady and Peyton Manning on the same team, running this offense.
Dick LeBeau, defensive coordinator: I’d pray for divine intervention.
James Harrison: Yeah, this A-11 sounds dangerous to me. Dangerous for offenses. Guys spread out like that? All you have to do is shoot that big gap? I would love to see that in the NFL.
Aaron Smith: But the more you spread out, the more you change the angles of the game. They spread you out and let the athletes play and try to take the meat and the hitters out of the game. If it continues to go this way, you’re gonna see the bigger guys out of the game for good.

Exclusive video of the Steelers cover shoot can be viewed on espnthemag.com.

Plus, the latest hoops hotbed is not in one of the urban communities best known for nurturing NBA legends. Instead it’s tucked in a southern, suburban community that boasts Kevin Durant and Michael Beasley – 2007 and 2008’s No. 2 NBA Draft picks respectively – as home grown. Maryland’s Prince George’s County (also known as “PG”), despite a population of more than 800,000, is home to six current NBA players, three of the NCAA’s top four starters, and more talent is on its way thanks to robust high school and AAU programs. In “Rated PG,” writer Chris Palmer examines the blend of talent, initiative and opportunity that has put PG on every college recruiter’s map.

Other features:

COUNTDOWN TO THE NHL WINTER CLASSIC. The Blackhawks are in Chicago sports conversation again. Good timing because on New Year’s Day they face off against Detroit at Wrigley Field in front of more than 40,000 freezing fans. Peter Keating reports.

THE GAMES THAT MATTER. The payouts are smaller and most stadiums less grand, but to college football teams on the rise, non-BCS bowls matter all the same. Ryan McGee reports.

NO ANSWER. How does Oklahoma’s Courtney Paris stay unstoppable? Just ask the folks who helped make her that way. Then ask her. Jerry Bembry reports.

AN-AR-CHIST. MMA fighter Jeff Monson has a simple solution for all that ails the world: revolution in and out of the cage. Tim Keown reports.

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