Jack Tatum passes away
 

when the nfl was REAL football.
much respect from a Steeler fan R.I.P. "Assassin".
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ap-obit-tatum

Yet another RIPer.




Why am I not surprised?

Give us a break... Bigger + Faster + Stronger. It is simple Physics. Todays game is a hell of a lot tougher than the old days.

No doubt about it, he was a great player. He sure fit the Raider image of that time.

A sad day for the Silver & Black..... :(

you are sadly mistaken. todays game you CAN'T touch WRs and QBs. the rules were change because of the Steelers and Raiders DBs. they could cover and HIT people. the new breed of DBs are a freaking joke.:wf

Won't he forever be remembered more for the Daryl Stingley hit than the rest of his career? I'd say so.

it was a devastating hit that as dd notes, wouldn't be legal in today's game. i disagree with dd that the nfl has been diminished because of that rule change. i think it's obviously a better game.

tatum should be remembered as a great player but he also needs to be remembered as the guy that never visited stingley and wouldn't apologise while stingley was still alive. that's a stand up human being if ever there was one.

i do agree that the "high hit" rule was a good change BUT the rule changes in favor QBs and WRs opened the game up. IMO not for the better. first was the 5yd rule, where you could only "hand fight" the WR inside the first 5yds. the other changes have evolved from that.
the Steelers and Raiders were big strong DBs as groups and used to mug WRs at the line and intimidate them when they caught the ball.

I don't think the Steelers and Raiders were necessarily the ones who invented physical secondary play. Go youtube Dick Lane and see what you find.

I remember Night Train Lane. He would have been a star in any era.

i don't think they invented physical play. in Tatum's time as a raider, passing games were becoming more sophisticated. as units the Steelers and Raiders were able to clamp down on passing attacks.

Blame whiny ass Bill Polian and all the power he wields.

As for Tatum, he's also responsible for the Immaculate Reception. If he had just batted down the pass instead of going for the kill, the Raiders win that game.

Night Train Lane actually forced the NFL to change rules. He made Tatum look like a Pop Warner player.