Even as recent as then, officiating wasn't as nit-picky as now on late hits or the type of tackle made. Continuing after the whistle to finish a tackle was tolerated if not excessively late or excessively rough. What was done to get a guy to the ground wasn't scrutinized except for face mask grabbing. The "horse-collar" tackle was OK until 2005. Illegal contact rules in pass coverage were more lax than today. If rules and enforcement had been the same then as now, I think he would have gotten a lot of penalties.