Vic: The telecast of Super Bowl XIII was so bad it was good. What I mean by that is that is was easy viewing: know the score, watch the play. That was OK back then but today’s viewers are more sophisticated and need more “toys” to entertain them. I had no problem with no yellow line. I immediately resorted to my old way of locating the forward stick and knowing where the stripe would be. The replays were fine. They provided everything you needed to know whether the call was right or wrong. The replay of the Bennie Barnes’ pass-interference penalty, of course, was critical and TV was right on the spot. Even to this day, it’s a controversial play. The graphics TV displayed were laughable. That’s where the real advancement has been made. Curt Gowdy’s play-by-play call was masterful and Merlin Olsen and John Brodie weren’t as brash or technical with their analysis as today’s guys are, but they were right on most of the time and made a few observations you don’t hear today.

Vic: I was right there in the press box. You mentioned the Halas-Lambert exchange; I love it. Halas arrived at midfield for the coin toss in an old-fashioned convertible, which was symbolic of the car dealership at which the league was created. After the coin toss, Lambert stopped at the car and shook Halas’ hand and the two of them appeared to have a rather lengthy and meaningful exchange. That’s what I call respect for the roots of the game.

Vic: I bow to your superior intellect. I checked out what you are saying and you are absolutely correct. Face-guarding was discontinued several years ago and I completely missed it. I talked to Dean Blandino in the league office and he confirmed what you’re saying. Blandino, by the way, was in the replay booth at the Patriots-Colts game. Ellis Hobbs should not have been flagged for pass-interference. He didn’t make contact with the receiver and in no way did Hobbs impede Reggie Wayne’s ability to catch the pass. Blandino confirmed that the incorrect call was made. It advanced the ball from the Patriots’ 19-yard line to the one-yard line and was the big play in a touchdown drive that led to a two-point conversion and a tie game at 21-21. Referee Bill Carollo made no reference to face-guarding in his explanation, but CBS analyst Phil Simms did. Apparently, he, too, doesn’t know the rule no longer exists. The next time you hear a TV analyst say, “he wasn’t playing the ball,” think of the Hobbs play, then turn down the sound.

Vic: You’re living in a dream world.

Vic: Players receive separate checks for all postseason games. The deeper you go into the playoffs, the more money you receive per game.

Vic: As far as I’m concerned, there’s one issue that supersedes all others: What are the owners going to do about the league’s current failed business model? The current Collective Bargaining Agreement, combined with the lack of a revenue-sharing program, has put the owners and the players on a crash-course for confrontation in 2010. That’s going to be the state of the league between now and then.

Vic: They blocked with their forearms. Prior to 1978, when the ball was snapped offensive linemen would grab the front of their jerseys with their hands and extend their forearms. At the same time they were grabbing their jerseys with their hands, the defensive linemen were hitting them on the helmet with a legal tactic known as the “head slap.” In the 1960’s, when the helmets had a metallic quality to them, a guy who was able to conceal a good plaster job under some tape could actually make an offensive lineman’s head ring like a bell with a strategically placed head slap just above the ear hole. Did you ever see the famous picture of Y.A. Tittle? A vicious defensive end named John Baker did that. By the way, if offensive linemen got their hands the least little bit away from their bodies, they’d get called for holding, and holding was a 15-yard penalty back then.

Vic: Yes, the rules needed to be modified, to protect the players. The game had become unduly dangerous. Lynn Swann was targeted by the Raiders and was assaulted in a way that would make the jaws of today’s fans drop. It led to the infamous “criminal element” remark. The assault on wide receivers culminated in Daryl Stingley suffering a paralyzing hit in a preseason game. The violence of the ’70’s game is almost indescribable. The 1975 AFC title game was the real-life version of “The Longest Yard.”

Vic: Yeah, and I got a lot of e-mails a couple of years ago from people who went crazy when I said Ray Lewis was in decline. Wadda ya think now?

Vic: Why do I think this subject is going to come up in contract negotiations between Fred and the team?

Vic: Seeing the field, in my opinion, is Byron Leftwich’s greatest strength. I think seeing the field is the thing David Garrard has to improve and, if he does, it could be the difference-maker in his career. I don’t know where Quinn Gray stands in this department.