RememberTheRockpile Posted March 23, 2018 Share Posted March 23, 2018 1 hour ago, Shotgunner said: 212/210 TD/INT ratio? 51 completion percentage? Yuck. Wouldn't last 2 years in today's NFL. You do realize there was no chuck rule until 1977 which allowed the defender to chuck the receiver once. Anywhere. A defensive player could level a receiver anyplace anytime as long as the ball wasn't in the air. It wasn't till 1978 when the chuck rule limited the defender to the first five yards. The rule was only loosely enforced until 2004. Quote The seminal moment that led to the most recent passing explosion came after the New England Patriots bloodied the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Championship Game in January 2004. Afterward, Colts players complained that officials didn’t call illegal contact penalties on Patriots’ defensive backs, echoing complaints by other teams. In the offseason, the competition committee instructed referees to emphasize the 5-yard chuck rule, calling jersey grabs and the like to the letter of the law, whether or not they affect the play. The next year, penalties for illegal contact more than doubled, from 79 in 2003 to 191 in 2004. Sure enough, scoring rose, from 41.66 points per game in 2003 to 42.97 in 2004. Until 1978 offensive linemen were not allowed to extend their arms. That is why you see old pictures of linemen with their elbows out and fists up against their chest. Passing and blocking in the 70's 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buffaloboyinATL Posted March 23, 2018 Share Posted March 23, 2018 The main difference in my opinion was that the media protected professional athletes (and celebrities in general) back then. I can only imagine how different the perception of these athletes would have been if their every move was made public like it is now. Now a days, everyone with a phone is the media and the story is public almost instantaneously. Just ask Zay... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJS Posted March 23, 2018 Share Posted March 23, 2018 2 hours ago, Buffalo716 said: He also had the single highest passing yardage season in NFL history at the time ... what about YA Tittle and George Blanda? Why are they in the HoF with more Picks than TDs I don't know much about them except Blanda played well into his 40's. I'll have to do research on them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Wiz Posted March 23, 2018 Share Posted March 23, 2018 3 hours ago, oldmanfan said: That was Al Gore, wasn't it? He just pushed for the expansion of ARPANET which eventually turned into the internet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColoradoBills Posted March 23, 2018 Share Posted March 23, 2018 3 hours ago, oldmanfan said: If we had had all these Internet "journalists" pontificating on QBs back then, can you imagine what would have been written. Here's a couple I thought about: Terry Bradshaw: strong arm but inaccurate, cannot process defenses rapidly enough to survive in the NFL, grades out in the 2-3 round Fran Tarkenton: gimmick QB who will not survive his first big hit in the NFL, has to learn how to throw from the pocket if he wants to play in the league Feel free to add your own Fran Tarkenton was a 5th round draft pick! That being said, I do like these threads. 2 hours ago, Buffalo716 said: So did HoF George Blanda and YA Tittle... it was a different game I love the talk about Namath etc. Jack Kemp only wished he had a stat line like Namath. 34 minutes ago, RememberTheRockpile said: You do realize there was no chuck rule until 1977 which allowed the defender to chuck the receiver once. Anywhere. A defensive player could level a receiver anyplace anytime as long as the ball wasn't in the air. It wasn't till 1978 when the chuck rule limited the defender to the first five yards. The rule was only loosely enforced until 2004. Until 1978 offensive linemen were not allowed to extend their arms. That is why you see old pictures of linemen with their elbows out and fists up against their chest. Passing and blocking in the 70's All great examples of how the passing game has changed over the years. My biggest is the simple "fear factor" QB's faced in the "olden' times". Remember how QB's would just get crushed in the pocket. Hit's to the knees, one guy holding a QB's leg while another blasts him. Hit's to the head. Heck, I remember DL guys picking up QB's and "body slamming" them to the ground. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drunken Pygmy Goat Posted March 23, 2018 Share Posted March 23, 2018 We'd definitely have flying cars by now 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beast Posted March 23, 2018 Share Posted March 23, 2018 (edited) It was a little tougher to complete passes in those days when WR’s were being mugged up and down the field. Edited March 23, 2018 by Binghamton Beast 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
707BillsFan Posted March 23, 2018 Share Posted March 23, 2018 Where I live, the Raiders used to train here at the El Rancho Tropicana. We used to go down and watch them practice. Stories of them are legendary, still today. If they had social media back then, they'd all be suspended for their actions off the field. https://deadspin.com/5646039/the-1970s-oakland-raiders-boozin-and-coozin-through-el-rancho 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreggTX Posted March 23, 2018 Share Posted March 23, 2018 5 hours ago, Shotgunner said: 212/210 TD/INT ratio? 51 completion percentage? Yuck. Wouldn't last 2 years in today's NFL. The rule changes are what has changed, not QB talent. If today's QB's had to play with old school rules (ie - bump and run, no pass interference unless the ball is in the air and catchable) they'd have a hard time matching those numbers. 4 hours ago, MJS said: Namath made the HOF because he was the first AFL QB to win a super bowl. That's the only reason. Ummmm... no. He was good. He was very good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Frankish Reich Posted March 24, 2018 Share Posted March 24, 2018 3 hours ago, GreggTX said: The rule changes are what has changed, not QB talent. If today's QB's had to play with old school rules (ie - bump and run, no pass interference unless the ball is in the air and catchable) they'd have a hard time matching those numbers. Ummmm... no. He was good. He was very good. Correct. He was very good. Some of his best work came with some highly flawed Jets teams after the Super Bowl year. This one is just incredible: https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197209240clt.htm 496 yards passing on 15 completions! How do you do that?? Well, TD passes of: 65, 67, 79, and 80 yards - all in one game! - is one way. He got kind of a pass for having a sad fadeout as his knees completely gave out, but so have other guys. He was a definite Hall of Famer, and as they say, it's not the Hall of the Statistically Excellent. It's fame. He was famous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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