Speaker 1: Here I was an unimportant fifth round draft pick from
Speaker 1: Syracuse University, waiting for my first NFL action, Standing amongst
Speaker 1: and surrounded by future to be Steelers legends. He found
Speaker 1: the Wolf cast on Steelers Nation Radio and Steelers dot Com.
Speaker 1: The crowd was bigger than I've ever seen anywhere in
Speaker 1: my life. The roaring from the home crowd seemed to
Speaker 1: come from everywhere, swirling through the upper reaches of the meadowlands.
Speaker 1: Even though it was just the first preseason game of
Speaker 1: the nineteen eighties season, the significance of a Giant Steelers
Speaker 1: matchup in a meaningless preseason game was in the big
Speaker 1: scheme of things, minor, to be sure, unless, of course,
Speaker 1: you happen to be a rookie like me trying to
Speaker 1: make the roster of the recently crowned four times Super
Speaker 1: Bowl Kings of the NFL. Kickoff was fast approaching. Man
Speaker 1: adrenaline washed over me in buckets, and I was fighting
Speaker 1: the strangling tendrils of nervousness of being overwhelmed in my
Speaker 1: very first NFL game. Here, I was an unimportant fifth
Speaker 1: round draft pick from Syracuse University, waiting for my first
Speaker 1: NFL action, standing amongst and surrounded by future to be
Speaker 1: Steelers legends. The Giants kicked off and I was out
Speaker 1: of my mind with excitement watching the game unfold from
Speaker 1: the sidelines. Back to back running plays left the Giants
Speaker 1: short of the first down marker. Now on third down,
Speaker 1: the Giants threw the ball. It was a typical every
Speaker 1: day short out route by a Giant's wide receiver, just
Speaker 1: trying to nudge the ball past the first down marker.
Speaker 1: The wide receivers sprinted several steps down the field, dropped
Speaker 1: his hips, planted strongly on his outside foot, cut hard
Speaker 1: for the sidelines, then reached out and caught the well
Speaker 1: timed past a couple of yards away from the out
Speaker 1: of bounds with shocking closing speed, Like a giant bird
Speaker 1: of prey, melt Blunt swooped in and circled the waist
Speaker 1: of the Giants receiver, planted his feet firmly, and then
Speaker 1: in an explosive, violent upheaval of the hips, legs, and back,
Speaker 1: Blunt ripped the Giants receiver off the artificial turf, pivoted
Speaker 1: and slammed him head first back to the ground. The
Speaker 1: sidelines around me exploded and shouts of exultation as the
Speaker 1: ball came loose and rolled out of bounds from the
Speaker 1: now lying still wide receiver. I think my jaw hit
Speaker 1: my shoetops. Mel, standing above him, looking for all the
Speaker 1: world like a heavyweight champion, having just vanquished the latest
Speaker 1: threat to his reign, glared to see if anybody else
Speaker 1: wanted a shot at the belt. Blunt watched as, now
Speaker 1: rising groggy to his knees, Wide Receiver simply rolled over
Speaker 1: onto his back. Once the trainers arrived, Mel looked down
Speaker 1: at him, shrugged his shoulders, turned and walked to the sidelines.
Speaker 1: No history onics, no classless borish behavior, just a simple
Speaker 1: acknowledgement of physical superiority and power displayed in one heart
Speaker 1: stopping moment such as I'd never experienced before this close up. Meanwhile,
Speaker 1: the crowd, now roused by Blunt's ferocity, countered and began
Speaker 1: making their feelings. Heard an avalanche of booze cascaded down
Speaker 1: in a sonic flood. Blunt continued walking to the bench,
Speaker 1: never agnowed, colleging the play, the crowd, or the sheer
Speaker 1: violence that had just been unleashed. Man, you talk about
Speaker 1: being impressed. This was the NFL circ and it was
Speaker 1: just another play on the job by a future Hall
Speaker 1: of Famer Mel Blunt, a k A. Soup short for superstar.
Speaker 1: Said Mel, one of the things that I always wanted
Speaker 1: to do was let people know that this is my territory.
Speaker 1: If you come in here, you're gonna have to pay pay. Indeed,
Speaker 1: yes the game has changed, and yes, the play that
Speaker 1: just unfold in front of me on that day so
Speaker 1: long ago would have cost Mela's second mortgage on his
Speaker 1: house to pay off the fine in today's football. You see,
Speaker 1: that was bawling out in today's terminology, but in yesterday's
Speaker 1: accepted physicality, said Mel. Football is a physical game, and
Speaker 1: well it used to be anyway. You see, there's the
Speaker 1: Mel Blunt rule, and then there was Mel Blunt's personal rule.
Speaker 1: Quite a difference. Prior to a wide receiver could be
Speaker 1: physically jammed all the way up down the field prior
Speaker 1: to the throw. Someone such as a physically dominant Blunt
Speaker 1: six ft three pounds, a cow punching rodeo ranch or
Speaker 1: tough muscle physically overwhelmed receivers, sometimes not letting them even
Speaker 1: get off the line of scrimmage. Mel Blunt's personal rule
Speaker 1: of thumb was, as he said to make them pay.
Speaker 1: So the NFL decided there needed to be a change.
Speaker 1: Thus the Mel Blunt Rule. Simply put, you couldn't touch
Speaker 1: your receiver after you got five yards down the field.
Speaker 1: Now do you think that offended Mel? Said Mel. I
Speaker 1: think any time a player can have such an effect
Speaker 1: on the game that they name a rule after you,
Speaker 1: I think it's an honor and it's something that my
Speaker 1: kids can read about, and so it's a part of
Speaker 1: your legacy, and I'm honored that they thought enough of
Speaker 1: the way I played the game that they would change
Speaker 1: the rule and call it the Mel Blunt rule. He's
Speaker 1: a game changer, and folks, I do that in aarrow quotes.
Speaker 1: It's an often used term to describe the brilliant, cuble player,
Speaker 1: but in this case, it really does apply. I can't
Speaker 1: even imagine being so good, so dominant. They the NFL
Speaker 1: rules makers, felt they had to change the rules of
Speaker 1: the game, specifically for a man like Mel. The game
Speaker 1: was literally, not figuratively, but literally changed by Mel Blunt.
Speaker 1: I imagine there's a lot of cornerbacks in today's NFL
Speaker 1: to look back at the man, the legend, and the
Speaker 1: source of so much angst in today's passing game, said
Speaker 1: mel defense backs today they probably look at me and say, man,
Speaker 1: that's the guy right there that's causing so many problems today. Yes,
Speaker 1: that is the man. He is no myth, but he
Speaker 1: is a legend and forever will be remembered for the
Speaker 1: rule that changed the game and that bears his name.
Speaker 1: I'm Greig Wolfley and this is the wolf Cast. Thank
Speaker 1: you for listening.