WEBVTT - The Wolfcast: March 16, 2022

0:00:00.280 --> 0:00:03.200
<v Speaker 1>Here I was an unimportant fifth round draft pick from

0:00:03.240 --> 0:00:07.920
<v Speaker 1>Syracuse University, waiting for my first NFL action, Standing amongst

0:00:08.039 --> 0:00:12.440
<v Speaker 1>and surrounded by future to be Steelers legends. He found

0:00:12.440 --> 0:00:18.000
<v Speaker 1>the Wolf cast on Steelers Nation Radio and Steelers dot Com.

0:00:18.040 --> 0:00:20.439
<v Speaker 1>The crowd was bigger than I've ever seen anywhere in

0:00:20.480 --> 0:00:23.119
<v Speaker 1>my life. The roaring from the home crowd seemed to

0:00:23.120 --> 0:00:26.840
<v Speaker 1>come from everywhere, swirling through the upper reaches of the meadowlands.

0:00:27.040 --> 0:00:29.760
<v Speaker 1>Even though it was just the first preseason game of

0:00:29.800 --> 0:00:33.800
<v Speaker 1>the nineteen eighties season, the significance of a Giant Steelers

0:00:33.800 --> 0:00:36.880
<v Speaker 1>matchup in a meaningless preseason game was in the big

0:00:36.880 --> 0:00:40.160
<v Speaker 1>scheme of things, minor, to be sure, unless, of course,

0:00:40.320 --> 0:00:42.600
<v Speaker 1>you happen to be a rookie like me trying to

0:00:42.640 --> 0:00:45.520
<v Speaker 1>make the roster of the recently crowned four times Super

0:00:45.560 --> 0:00:49.640
<v Speaker 1>Bowl Kings of the NFL. Kickoff was fast approaching. Man

0:00:49.640 --> 0:00:52.400
<v Speaker 1>adrenaline washed over me in buckets, and I was fighting

0:00:52.400 --> 0:00:55.760
<v Speaker 1>the strangling tendrils of nervousness of being overwhelmed in my

0:00:55.920 --> 0:00:59.440
<v Speaker 1>very first NFL game. Here, I was an unimportant fifth

0:00:59.480 --> 0:01:03.240
<v Speaker 1>round draft pick from Syracuse University, waiting for my first

0:01:03.360 --> 0:01:07.240
<v Speaker 1>NFL action, standing amongst and surrounded by future to be

0:01:07.600 --> 0:01:10.840
<v Speaker 1>Steelers legends. The Giants kicked off and I was out

0:01:10.840 --> 0:01:13.759
<v Speaker 1>of my mind with excitement watching the game unfold from

0:01:13.800 --> 0:01:17.040
<v Speaker 1>the sidelines. Back to back running plays left the Giants

0:01:17.040 --> 0:01:19.839
<v Speaker 1>short of the first down marker. Now on third down,

0:01:19.920 --> 0:01:22.680
<v Speaker 1>the Giants threw the ball. It was a typical every

0:01:22.800 --> 0:01:25.920
<v Speaker 1>day short out route by a Giant's wide receiver, just

0:01:25.959 --> 0:01:28.399
<v Speaker 1>trying to nudge the ball past the first down marker.

0:01:28.880 --> 0:01:31.839
<v Speaker 1>The wide receivers sprinted several steps down the field, dropped

0:01:31.840 --> 0:01:34.800
<v Speaker 1>his hips, planted strongly on his outside foot, cut hard

0:01:34.840 --> 0:01:37.480
<v Speaker 1>for the sidelines, then reached out and caught the well

0:01:37.520 --> 0:01:39.520
<v Speaker 1>timed past a couple of yards away from the out

0:01:39.560 --> 0:01:43.560
<v Speaker 1>of bounds with shocking closing speed, Like a giant bird

0:01:43.560 --> 0:01:46.399
<v Speaker 1>of prey, melt Blunt swooped in and circled the waist

0:01:46.480 --> 0:01:49.920
<v Speaker 1>of the Giants receiver, planted his feet firmly, and then

0:01:50.080 --> 0:01:53.640
<v Speaker 1>in an explosive, violent upheaval of the hips, legs, and back,

0:01:53.960 --> 0:01:57.640
<v Speaker 1>Blunt ripped the Giants receiver off the artificial turf, pivoted

0:01:57.680 --> 0:02:01.520
<v Speaker 1>and slammed him head first back to the ground. The

0:02:01.560 --> 0:02:05.280
<v Speaker 1>sidelines around me exploded and shouts of exultation as the

0:02:05.320 --> 0:02:07.760
<v Speaker 1>ball came loose and rolled out of bounds from the

0:02:07.800 --> 0:02:11.400
<v Speaker 1>now lying still wide receiver. I think my jaw hit

0:02:11.480 --> 0:02:14.960
<v Speaker 1>my shoetops. Mel, standing above him, looking for all the

0:02:15.000 --> 0:02:18.760
<v Speaker 1>world like a heavyweight champion, having just vanquished the latest

0:02:18.800 --> 0:02:21.560
<v Speaker 1>threat to his reign, glared to see if anybody else

0:02:21.600 --> 0:02:24.200
<v Speaker 1>wanted a shot at the belt. Blunt watched as, now

0:02:24.400 --> 0:02:27.960
<v Speaker 1>rising groggy to his knees, Wide Receiver simply rolled over

0:02:28.040 --> 0:02:31.040
<v Speaker 1>onto his back. Once the trainers arrived, Mel looked down

0:02:31.120 --> 0:02:34.600
<v Speaker 1>at him, shrugged his shoulders, turned and walked to the sidelines.

0:02:35.000 --> 0:02:39.360
<v Speaker 1>No history onics, no classless borish behavior, just a simple

0:02:39.400 --> 0:02:43.640
<v Speaker 1>acknowledgement of physical superiority and power displayed in one heart

0:02:43.680 --> 0:02:48.560
<v Speaker 1>stopping moment such as I'd never experienced before this close up. Meanwhile,

0:02:48.600 --> 0:02:52.080
<v Speaker 1>the crowd, now roused by Blunt's ferocity, countered and began

0:02:52.160 --> 0:02:56.200
<v Speaker 1>making their feelings. Heard an avalanche of booze cascaded down

0:02:56.200 --> 0:02:59.440
<v Speaker 1>in a sonic flood. Blunt continued walking to the bench,

0:02:59.520 --> 0:03:02.080
<v Speaker 1>never agnowed, colleging the play, the crowd, or the sheer

0:03:02.160 --> 0:03:05.359
<v Speaker 1>violence that had just been unleashed. Man, you talk about

0:03:05.400 --> 0:03:09.799
<v Speaker 1>being impressed. This was the NFL circ and it was

0:03:09.880 --> 0:03:12.480
<v Speaker 1>just another play on the job by a future Hall

0:03:12.560 --> 0:03:17.359
<v Speaker 1>of Famer Mel Blunt, a k A. Soup short for superstar.

0:03:18.200 --> 0:03:20.600
<v Speaker 1>Said Mel, one of the things that I always wanted

0:03:20.639 --> 0:03:23.960
<v Speaker 1>to do was let people know that this is my territory.

0:03:24.120 --> 0:03:27.720
<v Speaker 1>If you come in here, you're gonna have to pay pay. Indeed,

0:03:28.280 --> 0:03:30.560
<v Speaker 1>yes the game has changed, and yes, the play that

0:03:30.680 --> 0:03:32.799
<v Speaker 1>just unfold in front of me on that day so

0:03:32.880 --> 0:03:35.560
<v Speaker 1>long ago would have cost Mela's second mortgage on his

0:03:35.640 --> 0:03:38.920
<v Speaker 1>house to pay off the fine in today's football. You see,

0:03:38.960 --> 0:03:42.120
<v Speaker 1>that was bawling out in today's terminology, but in yesterday's

0:03:42.160 --> 0:03:46.640
<v Speaker 1>accepted physicality, said Mel. Football is a physical game, and

0:03:46.920 --> 0:03:50.280
<v Speaker 1>well it used to be anyway. You see, there's the

0:03:50.320 --> 0:03:54.040
<v Speaker 1>Mel Blunt rule, and then there was Mel Blunt's personal rule.

0:03:54.440 --> 0:03:58.440
<v Speaker 1>Quite a difference. Prior to a wide receiver could be

0:03:58.480 --> 0:04:01.200
<v Speaker 1>physically jammed all the way up down the field prior

0:04:01.240 --> 0:04:04.920
<v Speaker 1>to the throw. Someone such as a physically dominant Blunt

0:04:05.400 --> 0:04:09.200
<v Speaker 1>six ft three pounds, a cow punching rodeo ranch or

0:04:09.200 --> 0:04:13.800
<v Speaker 1>tough muscle physically overwhelmed receivers, sometimes not letting them even

0:04:13.800 --> 0:04:17.000
<v Speaker 1>get off the line of scrimmage. Mel Blunt's personal rule

0:04:17.040 --> 0:04:20.320
<v Speaker 1>of thumb was, as he said to make them pay.

0:04:20.400 --> 0:04:22.760
<v Speaker 1>So the NFL decided there needed to be a change.

0:04:22.960 --> 0:04:26.440
<v Speaker 1>Thus the Mel Blunt Rule. Simply put, you couldn't touch

0:04:26.480 --> 0:04:29.000
<v Speaker 1>your receiver after you got five yards down the field.

0:04:29.520 --> 0:04:32.400
<v Speaker 1>Now do you think that offended Mel? Said Mel. I

0:04:32.400 --> 0:04:34.520
<v Speaker 1>think any time a player can have such an effect

0:04:34.560 --> 0:04:36.880
<v Speaker 1>on the game that they name a rule after you,

0:04:36.960 --> 0:04:38.880
<v Speaker 1>I think it's an honor and it's something that my

0:04:38.960 --> 0:04:40.919
<v Speaker 1>kids can read about, and so it's a part of

0:04:40.920 --> 0:04:43.640
<v Speaker 1>your legacy, and I'm honored that they thought enough of

0:04:43.680 --> 0:04:45.960
<v Speaker 1>the way I played the game that they would change

0:04:45.960 --> 0:04:48.520
<v Speaker 1>the rule and call it the Mel Blunt rule. He's

0:04:48.520 --> 0:04:50.880
<v Speaker 1>a game changer, and folks, I do that in aarrow quotes.

0:04:51.320 --> 0:04:54.480
<v Speaker 1>It's an often used term to describe the brilliant, cuble player,

0:04:54.560 --> 0:04:57.200
<v Speaker 1>but in this case, it really does apply. I can't

0:04:57.240 --> 0:05:00.560
<v Speaker 1>even imagine being so good, so dominant. They the NFL

0:05:00.640 --> 0:05:03.120
<v Speaker 1>rules makers, felt they had to change the rules of

0:05:03.120 --> 0:05:06.599
<v Speaker 1>the game, specifically for a man like Mel. The game

0:05:06.680 --> 0:05:10.640
<v Speaker 1>was literally, not figuratively, but literally changed by Mel Blunt.

0:05:10.960 --> 0:05:13.680
<v Speaker 1>I imagine there's a lot of cornerbacks in today's NFL

0:05:13.960 --> 0:05:16.440
<v Speaker 1>to look back at the man, the legend, and the

0:05:16.480 --> 0:05:20.000
<v Speaker 1>source of so much angst in today's passing game, said

0:05:20.120 --> 0:05:23.440
<v Speaker 1>mel defense backs today they probably look at me and say, man,

0:05:23.680 --> 0:05:27.880
<v Speaker 1>that's the guy right there that's causing so many problems today. Yes,

0:05:27.960 --> 0:05:30.159
<v Speaker 1>that is the man. He is no myth, but he

0:05:30.240 --> 0:05:33.039
<v Speaker 1>is a legend and forever will be remembered for the

0:05:33.160 --> 0:05:36.039
<v Speaker 1>rule that changed the game and that bears his name.

0:05:36.960 --> 0:05:39.880
<v Speaker 1>I'm Greig Wolfley and this is the wolf Cast. Thank

0:05:39.880 --> 0:05:40.640
<v Speaker 1>you for listening.