Pop on the tape from an NFL game back in the early-to-mid 1970s and you’ll come away feeling like you’re watching a game from a different planet compared to the football on your TVs every Sunday today, especially defensively.
Some of that can be attested to the implementation of the “Mel Blount Rule” in 1978 that barred contact with wide receivers beginning five yards beyond the line of scrimmage, a rule that helped mark a turning point in the game that began to skew more heavily to an open passing attack.
Today, the game of football is very much a pass-heavy game, which has evolved from the pre-1978 game that was three yards and a cloud of dust into today’s game with footballs filling the air and receivers and tight ends making huge plays down the field.