ON ONE PLAY, Ravens All-Pro tight end Todd Heap is in the backfield. On another, he is in the slot. On another, he becomes a split end. The Ravens can use him from the line of scrimmage or in motion. They have him in short patterns as well as long and intermediate ones.
And then there are the alley-oops, the ones in which Heap would bring down to choruses of "Heap!" that echo throughout the Ravens' stadium.
But last season, his second after a rookie year as Shannon Sharpe's understudy, Heap had a coming-out party, catching 68 passes for 836 yards and six touchdowns. Everybody knows about him now. Every team knows he is the central figure in the team's passing game.
So the Ravens have a new strategy for Heap in 2003. They want to play hide-and-seek.
Hey look, Heap is over there. Hey, no, he is over here. Wait a minute, he's now over there.
"We're going to move him around a great deal," coach Brian Billick said yesterday. "You have to. If you're going to cover him, you're going to have to find him first."
Covering him was no easy task last year. Because of his speed, Heap is a mismatch for most linebackers. Because of his size and strength, Heap can overpower most safeties or cornerbacks.
He has a vertical leap a lot of NBA players would admire.
But near the end of last season, teams started finding ways to defend Heap. Linebackers would jam him at the line of scrimmage, with a safety waiting on the second or third level of the secondary. Teams would bracket Heap, and force the Ravens to throw to their inconsistent wide receivers.
But this season, Heap will not be an immobile target on the line of scrimmage. He'll be bouncing around more than an old Enron check.
"It's a little bit more to learn, you've got to watch the receivers a little more, get more reps out there," Heap said of being a wide receiver. "But it's the same challenges out there as on the inside. You've still got to beat the man you're up against. You still can't give them the same move every time; you've got to change up regardless if you're inside or outside.
"I'm used to running routes and getting that separation. It's a different speed out there, and you've got to perform at a little higher level. But I don't think it's a major adjustment."
Maybe not for Heap, but it might be for the rest of the receiving corps with new players like Frank Sanders and Marcus Robinson.
"This puts a lot of pressure on the other guys as well, not just Todd," Billick said. "Other guys have to step up and understand what their responsibilities are. Terry Jones [the No. 2 tight end], for example. If we're in a lot of two tight-end sets and move Todd in the backfield, on the line of scrimmage or outside to wide receiver, that puts pressure on Jones to compensate and he has to know what his responsibilities are.
"The receivers have to understand: What does it mean when Todd Heap lines up inside of me; what does it mean when he lines up on the outside of me. The other guys have to step up as well because there are a lot of moving parts there."
If it sounds confusing, then just imagine what this does to a defense. That's exactly what the Ravens want. Distraction. Hesitation. Confusion. Then boom, six big points.
It's all about creating pressure. Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome was a Hall of Fame tight end with the Cleveland Browns. He knows a good tight end can cause as many problems as a top-notch receiver.
"It's tough because you have to start to commit a linebacker and a safety to get involved in it," Newsome said of covering Heap, "which means you automatically start to get some single coverage with a receiver. The biggest thing -- and they don't do it as well when Kellen Winslow, Todd Christensen and I were playing -- was to hold the guy on the line of scrimmage.
"So many teams are putting the defensive end over the tight end for the running game, they are getting a free release. To stop him [Heap], you probably have to have a linebacker play over him and do anything they can to not let him up the field."
Regardless of what happens, Heap is ready for another big year. He has gained about six pounds. He has the offensive system down, as opposed to a year ago when he was still learning it.
This time, he is getting used to the different styles of the quarterbacks. Chris Redman throws the overall better ball, but Kyle Boller and Anthony Wright have stronger arms. The adjustments aren't subtle.
"We've got some talent and some competition," Heap said of the quarterback derby. "Red looks excellent. He is throwing the ball well, his movement is fluent, and he knows what is going on around him. Kyle is an athlete and he has a cannon. Red throws the ball with anticipation because he knows where guys are breaking. With Kyle, you've got to have your hands up and head turned around because everything is on a rope because he is still learning stuff."
