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History of Football EssayFootball, Ameri croup, distinct type of football biz pole that developed in the United States in the 19th hundred from soccer (association football) and rugby football. Played by passkeys and amateurs (generally male college or high school team up ups), football is one of the most popular American sports, attracting thousands of participants and millions of spectators yearbookly. The fore melt downner of American football may commence been a bouncy tinkered by the ancient Greeks, called harpaston. In this game in that respect was no limit to the image of pseudos. The object was to move a ball crosswise a address melody by propel, retching, or run behavior with it. Classical literature contains detailed accounts of the game, including its rougher elements, much(prenominal) as uncivilised tackling. Most mod versions of football, however, originated in England, where a form of the game was cognize in the 12th century. In subsequent cen turies football became so popular that mixed English monarchs, including Edward II and Henry VI, forbade the game beca engage it took fire forth from the military sport of archery. By the in- surrounded by of the 19th century football had split into devil distinct enti attracters.Still popular today, these both sports included the football association game, or soccer (the name being a slang adaptation of the triad letters, s-o-c, in Association), and rugby, in which players ran with the ball and tackled. young football evolved out of these ii sports. The Playing Field and the Ball The football acting knit stitch is rectangular in shape, measuring 100 yd (91. 4 m) long and 53. 5 yd (48. 9 m) colossal. At both abrogates of the 100-yard dimension, white draw offs called inclination lines mark get rid of the entrances to the annihilate zones. Each team defends one end zone.A team essential carry, pass, or kick the ball into the 10-yd (9-m) end zone on the opponents hal f of the field to score. Lines parallel of latitude to the end zones cross the field at 5-yd (4. 5-m) intervals. These lines give the field a resemblance to a large gridiron. an opposite(prenominal) set of lines, k instantaneouslyn as the followings, runs along both sides of the field. In addition, 2 rows of lines, called hash mark, run parallel to the pursuances. The hash marks atomic number 18 53 ft 4 in (16. 3 m) from to distributively one sideline in college and high school football, and 70 ft 9 in (21. 6 m) from each sideline in the National Football group discussion (NFL).Each play must begin on or between the hash marks. Before each play, the officials place the ball either between the hash marks or on the hash mark closest to the end of the foregoing play. Situated in the middle of the rear line of each end zone are goalposts, consisting of a 10-ft (3-m) vertical pole transcend by a horizontal crossbar from which two vertical upright posts extend. In college and m aster key football, the posts are 18 ft 6 in (about 5. 6 m) apart. The football consists of an inflated rubber bladder encased in a leather or rubber contend.The ball is an extended spheroid, having a circumference of 28. 5 in (72. 4 cm) around the long axis and 21. 25 in (54 cm) around the short axis. It weighs between 14 and 15 oz (397 and 425 g). Playing Time A game of football is divided into four periods, known as quarters, each consisting of 15 minutes of playing time. The runner two periods constitute the original half the import two comprise the second half. Between the halves, a rest period, commonly lasting about 15 minutes, is permitted the players, who may leave the field. The teams change halves of the field at the end of each quarter.The clocks stop at the end of each quarter and at certain opposite times, when particular events occur or when designated by the officials. The Players Football is played by two opposing teams, each fielding 11 players. Each team tri es to move the ball down the field to score in the end zone defended by its opponents. During a football game the teams are designated as the funky team (the team in stubbornness of the ball) and the vindicatory team (the team defending a goal line against the funky team). Players involved in kicking situations are known as the special teams.The 11 players of the ill-scented team are divided into two groups 7 linemen, who play on the line of melee (an imaginary line designating the grade of the ball) and a backfield of 4 players, called backs, who stand in various positions after part the linemen. The lineman whose position is in the middle of the line is called the center. On his left hand is the left forethought and on his right is the right guard. On the left of the left guard is the left tackle, and on the right of the right guard is the right tackle similarly, on the ends of the line are the smashed end and the split end.The back who usuallystands at present behind t he center and directs the play of the offensive team is known as the quarterback. In a balanced backfield geological formation, or T-formation, the fullback stands behind the quarterback, and the left and right halfbacks stand to either side of the fullback. Teams oftentimes use wide receivers in the place of tight ends, split ends, halfbacks, or fullbacks. Wide receivers line up on the line of scrimmage but wide of the rest of the formation. The protective team consists of a row of linemen, who comprise the justificative line, a row of linebackers, and a collection of defensive backs, known as the secondary.The defensive line can use any number of players, though most teams use three or four linemen. antitank linemen ledely are obligated for stopping the oppositions rushing attack and, in brief situations, putting pressure on the quarterback. The linebackers line up behind the defensive line and, depending on the situation, are used to stop runners, pressure the quarterbac k, or c all over the oppositions receivers. Teams usually employ three or four linebackers. The secondary is comprised of cornerbacks, who cover wide receivers, and safeties, who cover receivers, base on balls support in stopping the rushing attack, and pressure the quarterback.The secondary commonly consists of two cornerbacks and two safeties. antifertility Equipment To protect themselves from the often violent bodily contact that characterizes football, players wear elaborate equipment, including lightweight plasticized padding viewing the thighs, hips, shoulders, knees, and often the forearms and hands. Players also wear plastic helmets with guards that cover most of the face. The Officials Play is supervised by simple officials. Professional and major college football programs use seven officials a subscriber, an umpire, a linesman, a field judge, a back judge, a line judge, and a side judge.The officials carry whistles and yellow penalty flags. They blow the whistles or t hrow the flags to indicate that an infraction of the rules has been committed. The referee is in charge of the game at all levels of play. The referee supervises the other officials, decides on all matters not under other officials specific jurisdiction, and enforces penalties. The referee indicates when the ball is gone (out of play) and when it may again be put into play, and uses hand signals to indicate specific decisions and penalties.The umpire makes decisions on questions concerning the players equipment, their conduct, and their positioning. The principal duty of the linesman is to mark the position of the ball at the end of each play. The linesman has assistants who throwaway distances gained or lost, using a device consisting of two vertical markers connected by a drawing string or cord 10 yd (9 m) long. The linesman must particularly watch for violations of the rule requiring players to remain in certain positions before the ball is put into play. The field judge times the game, using a stop watch for this purpose.In some cases, the stadium scoreboard has a clock that is considered official. Game Procedure At the beginning of each game, the referee tosses a coin in the presence of the two team captains to determine which team kicks off or receives the kickoff. At the start of the second half, these conditions are reversedthat is, the team that kicks off in the inaugural half receives the kickoff to start the second half. During the kickoff, the ball is put in play by a place-kick from the kicking teams 35-yd (32-m) line, or the 30-yd (27. 4-m) line in the National Football League (NFL).The NFL kickoff was move from the 35-yd line in 1994 to increase the importance of the kickoff return. The kicking team lines up at or behind the ball, man the opponents spread out over their territory in a formation mensural to help them to catch the ball and run it back effectively. If the kick stays within the boundaries of the field, any player on the rec eiving team may catch the ball, or pick it up on a bounce, and run with it. As the player runs, the player may be tackled by any opponent and stopped, known as being downed. The player carrying the ball is considered downed when one knee touches the ground.Tacklers use their hands and arms to stop opponents and throw them to the ground. After the ball carrier is stopped, the referee blows a whistle to stop play and places the ball on the spot where the runner was downed. Play also stops when the ball carrier runs out of bounds. A scrimmage (action while the ball is in play) accordingly takes place. Before scrimmage begins, the team on offence usually gathers in a circle, called a huddle, and discusses the next play it will use to try to advance the ball.A coach either signals the play choiceto the team from the sidelines, or the teams quarterback chooses from among the dozens of rehearsed plays in the teams repertoire. The defensive team also forms a huddle and discusses its next attempt to slow the offense. Each play is designated by code numbers or words, called signals. After the teams come out of their respective huddles, they line up mated each other on the line of scrimmage. If the quarterback analyzes the defensive alignment and decides that the chosen play should be changed, the quarterback can call an audible and shout the coded instructions for a new play.Play begins when the center crouches over the ball and, on a spoken signal, grabs itgenerally to the quarterbackby handing it between his legs. Based upon the chosen play, the quarterback can pass the ball, hand it off to a teammate, or run with it. During the scrimmage, the players on the offensive team may check the defenders using their bodies, but they are constrained by specific rules regarding the use of their hands or arms. The player running with the ball, however, is allowed to use an arm to ward off potential tacklers.The offensive players check defenders, or try to force them out of the way, by performing a maneuver known as blocking. Good blocking is considered a fundamental technique in football. Perhaps the most owing(p) offensive play is the forward pass, in which the ball is thrown in a forward direction to an eligible player. The ball is n archaeozoic always thrown by the quarterback, and those who may catch it include the other three backs and the two ends. A forward pass may be made only during scrimmage, and then only from behind the line of scrimmage.A lateral pass may be made anyplace on the field anytime the ball is in play. The defending team tries to prevent the attacking team from advancing the ball. The defending players may use their arms and hands in their attempt to break through the opponents line to reach the player with the ball. The defending team tries to keep the offense from gaining any distance, or to stop the offense for a loss by tackling the ball carrier before the ball carrier reaches the line of scrimmage. The offense must adv ance the ball at least 10 yards (9 m) in four tries, called downs.After each play, the teams line up again and a new scrimmage takes place. If the team on offense fails to buy the farthestm 10 yards (9 m) in four downs, it must surrender the ball to its opponent after the fourth down. A team will often punt on fourth down if it hasnt gained at least 10 yards (9 m) in its previous three tries. In punting, the kicker drops the ball and kicks it before it touches the ground. By punting, a team can send the ball farther away from its own end zone before surrendering it, thus debilitative the opponents field position. Methods of Scoring.The object of the game is to score more than points than the opposing team within the regulation playing time. In college football, a game can end in a tie if both teams have scored the same number of points at the end of regulation time. In case of a tie in an exhibition or regular-time of year victor game, the teams play an overtime period, known a s sudden death, in which the depression team to score is declared the winner. If neither team has scored at the end of this 15-minute overtime period, then the tie is allowed to stand. In skipper playoff games no ties are allowed, and the teams play until one scores.A team scores a touchdown when one of its players carries the ball into the opposing teams end zone or catches a pass in the end zone. A touchdown is worth 6 points. After a team has scored a touchdown, it tries for an extra-point conversion. This is an opportunity to score an surplus one or two points with no time elapsing off the game clock. In college football, the offensive team lines up 3 yd (2. 7 m) from the goal line of the opponents and passes, kicks, or runs with the ball. A running or exceedingly conversion in which the ball crosses the goal line counts for 2 points.A conversion by place-kick that propels the ball between the goalposts and over the crossbar counts for 1 point. In professional football, the offensive team lines up 2 yd (1. 8 m) from the goal line. A conversion attempted by place-kicking the ball is worth 1 point. In 1994 the NFL introduced the running or passing 2-point conversion. On offense, teams may also attempt to score by kicking a field goal, which counts for 3 points. A field goal is scored by means of a place-kick, in which one player holds the ball upright on the ground for a teammate to kick.For a successful field goal, the ball must be kicked between the goalposts and over the crossbar. After each field goal and extra-point conversion, the scoring team must kick off to its opponents. Finally, a defensive team earns two points for a safety when it causes the team on offense to end a play in possession of the ball behind its own goal line. If the offensive team downs the ball behind its line intentionally, in certain situations, much(prenominal) as after receiving a kickoff, the play is known as a touchback and does not count in the scoring.When the offensiv e team suffers a safety, it must punt the ball to the opponents to restart play. Modern Football American football was made popular by teams representing colleges and universities. These teams dominated the game for most of the starting line 100 years of football in the United States. Even today, despite greatly increased interestingness in professional football, intercollegiate contestsplayed by some 640 teamare attended by more than 35 million spectators each year. Many college stadiums hold more than 50,000 spectators one stadium, at the University of Michigan, holds more than 100,000.Many of the major universities are now grouped in conferences, much(prenominal) as the Big go (northern midwest), the Big Eight (midwest), the Pacific Ten (western states), the Southeastern Conference, and the Ivy League (northeast). The birth date of football in the United States is generally regarded by football historians as November 6, 1869, when teams from Rutgers and Princeton universities met in New Brunswick, New Jersey, for the rootage intercollegiate football game. In the early games, each team used 25 players at a time. By 1873 the number was reduced to 20 players, in 1876 to 15 players, and in 1880 to 11 players, where it has remained.In the 1900s, college football became one of the countrys most popular sports spectacles. Ranked among the greatest United States sports heroes of the 20th century are such student athletes as Jim Thorpe of Carlisle Institute George Gipp of the University of Notre noblewoman Red Grange of the University of Illinois Tom Harmon of the University of Michigan Doak Walker of Southern Methodist University Glenn Davis and Doc Blanchard, the Touchdown Twins of Army (the U. S. Military Academy) Joe Namath of the University of Alabama and O. J. Simpson of the University of Southern California.In 1935 the Downtown Athletic bludgeon of New York City established an award honoring one of the outstanding college football coaches in the countr y, stern William Heisman. Heisman is credited with legalizing the forward pass in 1906. The John W. Heisman Memorial Trophy is awarded annually to the outstanding college player of the year, as decided by a subject area peak of sportswriters. After military man War II ended in 1945, college athletes began to receive football scholarships, often paying the players room, board, tuition, and incidental expenses while enrolled in college. College sports stadium Games and National Champions.College teams generally play about 11 games during the fall. The best college teams are awarded trips to so-called bowl games, matching outstanding teams in games that conclude the ages competition. The tradition was begun in 1902 at Pasadena, California, when Stanford University invited the University of Michigan to come to California for a New Years Day contest. This event soon became the celebrated Rose bankroll game. Bowl games now represent the climax of the college season. Other notable bowl games include the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas the orange tree Bowl in Miami, Florida and the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, Louisiana.In recognition of the great semi man interest in these games, major corporations now sponsor many of the bowls. Today, the champion college team is selected by national polls of coaches and sportswriters. In the accompanying table, the teams from 1889 to 1923 were Helms Athletic Foundation selections from 1924 to 1930, Rissman Trophy winners from 1931 to 1935, Rockne Memorial Trophy winners from 1936 to today, Associated Press (AP) poll selections and from 1950 to today, United Press International (UPI) poll selections. In cases where two teams won the honor in set off AP and UPI polls, a note has been made.Many members of the football community debate whether a poll of writers and coaches should determine a champion or whether the colleges should institute a more formal playoff system. Detractors of a playoff system argue that with such a system, the popular bowl games would lose their identity. In addition, players seasons would extend by one or two months, cutting into academic time. However, advocates for a playoff point to the controversial 1993 season in which the Florida State Seminoles won the number-one rank over Notre Dame, a team that beat the Seminoles convincingly earlier in the season.Beginnings of Professional Football The first professional football game in the United States took place in 1895 in the town of Latrobe, Pennsylvania, between a team representing Latrobe and a team from Jeannette, Pennsylvania. In the following ten years many professional teams were formed, including the Duquesnes of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania the Olympics of McKeesport, Pennsylvania the Bulldogs of Canton, Ohio and the team of Massillon, Ohio.Among noted college players who took up the professional game during its early years were Willie Heston ( precedently at the University of Michigan), Jim Thorpe (Carlisle Institute), Knute Ro ckne (University of Notre Dame), and Fritz Pollard (Brown University). The professional game attracted only limited public support during its first 30 years. The first league of professional football teams was the American Professional Football Association, formed in 1920. The admission topple was $100 per team.The teams pledged not to use any student player who still had collegiate eligibility left, as the good will of the colleges was believed to be essential to survival. The teams also agreed not to tamper with each others players. Jim Thorpe, a player-coach for one of the teams, became president of the league during its first year. The American Professional Football Association gave way in 1922 to the National Football League (NFL). Red Grange, the famous halfback from the University of Illinois, provided a tremendous stimulus for the league when he joined the Chicago Bears in 1925 and toured the United States that year and the next.His exciting play drew large crowds. Thereafte r, professional football attracted larger numbers of first-rate college players, and the increased patronage made the league economically viable. Strategically, the early NFL game was hardly distinguishable from college football at that time. There was no attempt to break away from collegiate playbooks or rule books. For 13 years the NFL followed the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Rules deputation recommendations. In the leagues early years, players considered the low-paying NFL a part-time job and held other jobs during the day.Thus, while college coaches could drill their players daily for hours, professional football coaches arranged practices in the evenings, sometimes only three or four times a week. Development of Offensive Strategies The offensive techniques and formations prevalent in the contemporaneous game developed from the ideas of early and mid-20th century coaches such as Walter Camp, Alonzo Stagg, Pop Warner, Fielding Hurry Up Yost, Bob Zuppke, Knu te Rockne, and Paul Brown. Following rattling few historical precedents, these men innovated unique strategies that changed the nature of football forever.Stagg, operating out of the early T-formation, originated the between-the-legs press stud from center to quarterback and put a player in motion in the backfield before the snap of the ball. In 1906 Warner unbalanced his line, placing four players on one side of the center and two on the other side, while shifting the backfield into a wing formation. The quarterback functioned as a blocker, set close behind the line and a yard wide of the center. At the same depth, but outside the line, was the wingback. Deep in the backfield was the tailback, who received most of the snaps, and in front and to the side was the fullback.This formation became known as the Single-Wing, and it remained footballs basic formation until the 1940s. From the Single-Wing e merged Warners Double-Wing, with wingbacks set wide on either side of the line. Thi s formation forced the defense to spread itself across the field in order to protect against the pass, thus creating favorable conditions for the offense to execute unexpected running plays. The strategy is the same as todays draw and end-around concepts, but Warners teams could also pass from the formation.Warner would also open up the lines completely, splitting the ends into modern slot positions, inside the wingbacks. This was a four-receiver formation that evolved into the scattergun offense, popularized by the San Francisco 49ers of 1960. Like the double-wing, the Shotgun utilized two wideouts and two slot players, with the passer set deep in the backfield next to a running back. The NFLs newest formation of the 1990s, the Run and Shoot offense, also resembles Warners formation. With Warners innovations, wing formations came to dominate the NFL.Coach Zuppke at Illinois ran single- and double-wing formations, often sending four or five receivers downfield in pass patterns. Some teams would use a short-punt formation, with the quarterback and wings set on different sides, providing a more balanced look. At Notre Dame in 1923 and 1924, Rockne instituted his famous Four Horsemen offense. At the beginning of a play, Rockne set up the backs in a four-square, recess alignment on one side. Then, in the famous Notre Dame Shift, the backs would shift out of the box and into a single or double wing. In later years, other coaches imitated Rocknes innovation and achieved similar success.For example, former Washington Redskins coach Joe Gibbs implemented an offensive strategy called the puff Package. Modeled after Rocknes Notre Dame Shift, the Explode Package helped the Redskins defeat the Miami Dolphins in the 1983 Super Bowl. In Gibbss system, the backs and receivers would jump into new positions before the snap, thus unsettling the defense. Although talented, the quarterbacks of the thirty-something and parts of the 1940s seldom completed 50 percent of their pa sses, while many were even little successful. A major cause of these low percentages was the primitive nature of pass-blocking schemes.With little protection, passers always had to throw while avoiding entryway rushers. In the 1940s Paul Brown, the coach of the Cleveland Browns, installed a blocking system which transformed the passing game forever. Brown changed the system by arranging the linemen in the form of a cup. They pushed most incoming pass-rushers to the outside. Anyone who penetrated the line was met by a firmly planted fullback named Marion Motley. From that point on, the passing game achieved a new significance. Other teams implemented strong blocking lines, providing the quarterback with more time to release the ball.The contemporary game of the 1980s and 1990s is noted for its exciting and effective passing plays in both the professional and college ranks. Artificial turf, the surface in many of the nations stadiums, provides excellent footing for quarterbacks and receivers. With strong protection, talented quarterbacks make a perceivable difference to a game. For example, quarterback Joe Montana keyed the San Francisco 49ers three Super Bowl victories in the 1980s. Montana, who benefited from good protection, could instinctively read defenses and had the ability to deliver the ball accurately to his receivers while on the move.In college football, the University of Miami Hurricanes dominated the game in the late 1980s with a flashy passing game and a quick defense that could react effectively to the pass. Development of Defensive Strategies One striking aspect of modern football is its emphasis on defense as well as offense. This trend began after World War II (1939-1945), when college teams were allowed free substitution of playersthat is, a player could enter and leave the game an countless number of times, as long as the ball was not in play during the substitution.This feature of the game led to the modern two-platoon system, in which o ne group of 11 players enters the game to play offense and a second group enters to play defense. Such a system has fostered the development of individual skills and specialization among players. Defensive football has acquired an extensive terminology of its own. In some ways defense is more complicated than offense, because defensive teams have fewer restrictions on their manner of lining up. Generally, however, the defensive formation is determined by the way the offense lines up.For example, when defending against opponents who are expected to throw many forward passes, a team powerfulness use a formation with a four-player line of two ends and two tackles. Three linebackers would stand directly behind the front four. In addition, two cornerbacks placed wider and farther back could defend against mid-range assaults. Two safeties would position themselves deeper to protect against longer aerial attacks. Most of the innovative thinking by coaches in the NFL during the 1970s came on defense. Offensive statistics plummeted as defenses dominated.The newer game demanded speed at every position, in addition to strength and bulk. undischarged linebacker units with catchy names such as Doomsday in Dallas, Pittsburghs Steel Curtain, Minnesotas Purple bulk Eaters, and the Rams Fearsome Foursome dominated offenses. Teams turned the free safety position over to ferocious hitters such as the Raiders Jack Tatum and Dallas Cliff Harris. Rough, physical cornerbacks such as Pittsburghs Mel Blount and Oaklands Willie Brown employed tight bump-and-run techniques on receivers downfield. Professional Football Today.The present-day NFL game is immensely popular. It is played during the late summer, through autumn, and into January. Professional teams play 4 exhibition games before the start of the regular season, followed by 16 games in the regular season and then playoff games, when they qualify for the playoffs. Teams play one game each week, using the time between games to recover, practice, and go down for the next game. Each team receives one week without a game, known as a bye, during the season. The NFL is a big business for players, owners, advertisers, and other industries tied to the sport.NFL franchises generate huge revenues for host cities, in addition to promoting civic pride and national exposure. Thus, cities often compete for teams, offering prospective teams bigger and better stadiums, guaranteed fan support, and various economic incentives. In the 1980s three NFL teams relocated the Raiders travel from Oakland, California, to Los Angeles in 1982 the Colts moved from Baltimore, Maryland, to Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1984 and the Cardinals moved from Saint Louis, Missouri, to Phoenix, Arizona, in 1988. Other teams have agreed to stay only with the promise of new facilities by their host cities.Throughout the years, other consortiums have sought to capitalize on the economic potential of the sport. For three years in the 1980s a new pr ofessional spring league, the United States Football League (USFL), competed with the NFL. The NFL lost players to the USFL, and NFL teams had to pay higher salaries to keep other players from leaving. However, the USFL soon folded, with much of its more talented military group entering the NFL. Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the final contest of the professional season and determines the leagues annual champion.Currently the Super Bowl routinely finishes among the all-time top 50 programs in television ratings, and the 1994 game reached an estimated 750 million viewers around the world. Now probably the most important single-day sporting event in the United States, the Super Bowl had more modest beginnings. In 1967 the champions of the American Football League (which merged with the NFL in 1970) and the NFL met in what was called the AFL-NFL World Championship Game. The name was later shortened to Super Bowl, named after a childs toy, the Super Ball. In this first game, the Green Ba y Packers beat the Kansas City Chiefs, 35-10.The Los Angeles Coliseum, site of the game, fell far short of a sellout, although tickets were only $10 each. In comparison, the highest ticket price at the 1994 Super Bowl reached $250, with scalpers illegally charging more than twice that much. Rule Changes and Modern Developments The game of football has a history of uninterrupted rule changes. Rule changes have been implemented to bolster the excitement of the game of football and to increase the games safety. By 1906 the game was extremely rough, and many injuries and some deaths had occurred.Educators considered dropping the sport despite its popularity on campuses. United States chairperson Theodore Roosevelt, an ardent advocate of strenuous sports, declared that the game must be made safer. As a result, football leaders revamped the game, and many of the rougher tactics were outlawed. In a constant attempt to maintain public interest in the game, NFL rulemakers review trends in their sport. For example, in the early 1970s, the rulemakers brought the hash marks in close together(predicate) to the center of the field to give offenses more room to throw wide.The move, which increased scoring and made the game more exciting, also helped bolster the running game. Ten NFL runners gained more than 1000 yards in one season (1972) for the first time in history. During the next season, Buffalo Bills running back O. J. Simpson rushed for more than 2000 yards, the first time a player had gained that many yards in a single season. However, the passing game at long last suffered as defenses quickly adjusted. The Pittsburgh Steelers had a stranglehold on the NFL during the 1970s, with four Super Bowl victories.The dominant defensive athletes the Steelers put on the field shut down the wide-open passing attacks that had developed in the previous era. By 1977 scoring was the lowest it had been since 1942, while offensive touchdowns had fallen to their lowest levels since 1938. The rulemakers enacted serious measures after this low-scoring 1977 season, fearing a loss of public interest in the defense-dominated game. They established a zone of only five yards from the line of scrimmage in which a bump by a pass defender was permitted.