Free to go: after years of being tied up by defenses, the passing game has been unchained by the league—and the results will be stunning

You're about to witness NFL history this season. Remember how Peyton Manning mangled the Chiefs' defense in last January's playoff game? Chew on this: That offensive deluge could be repeated on a weekly basis this fall against almost any team--and could even be generated by quarterbacks not named Manning. If you like your Sundays filled with gobs of passing yards and chunks of points, then you'll think you've died and gone to football heaven.

Prepare yourself for perhaps the greatest out pouring of throwing and scoring ever. Ravens coach Brian Billick already has warned his players to brace for the oncoming revolution. "It will have as much effect on the game as anything we've done in the past five to 10 years," he told them. For sure, we haven't seen this NFL since the mid-1990s, the last time the league said wait a Dan Marino, these defensive folks are pushing the rules too far and disrupting what is designed to be an offense-dominated sport.

The culprit--or hero, depending on your football preference--behind this change? Redskins cornerback Shawn Springs knows. "Thank you, Ty Law," he says with disgust. Because it was Law and his fellow Patriots maulers who beat up those delicate Colts receivers in last season's AFC title game, igniting the flames that led to this potentially high-octane result. A review of the final Colts possession reveals at least six downfield penalties that should have been called on New England but weren't. Even Mike Holmgren's daughters, who are casual fans, thought somebody was naughty. After witnessing how rudely the Patriots treated Manning's favorite targets, they asked, "Can they do that?"

The answer from the NFL is no, they can't. The rulebook outlaws chucking after 5 yards, the grabbing of uniforms downfield and the hooking and redirecting of receivers in the secondary. But dastardly defensive coaches have been pushing the rules for the last half-decade, teaching their players to grab a little material here, chuck and push beyond 5 yards there, maybe hook an opponent just slightly if he has you beaten by a step. Some of this hasn't been subtle. And much of it has not been penalized. The Dolphins are even more prolific practitioners of rules manhandling than the Patriots; hardly anyone within the league who doesn't work in South Florida disagrees with Holmgren's assessment that "the last few years you could call holding on Miami's defensive backs almost every play."

Receivers have become players within a real-life pinball machine, bounced around in the secondary instead of running free, which is what they are supposed to be doing thanks to the league's decision in the late 1970s to outlaw downfield chucks. Last winter, the NFL's competition committee reviewed passing and total yardage statistics from the past 14 years and didn't like the numbers. In 2003, the league produced 400.9 passing yards per game, down almost 24 from the previous season and the lowest average since 1992, when it dipped to 401. Total yards fell from 656.7 in 2002 to 636.6 last season and average points from 43.35 to 41.66. "I make no apologies," says committee co-chairman Rich McKay, the Falcons' general manager. "Our committee is always looking to make sure the offense is protected and that the skill players are allowed to play the game, because that is part of what makes this game great. If something is out of whack (statistically), we try to react, and this is something we are trying to react to."

React, they did. And hey, what's wrong with a little push from Colts G.M. Bill Polian, whose blood pressure never has readjusted after the Patriots debacle? And what's the harm in a little influence from a tape prepared by Mike Martz, who still has scars from a similar battering New England administered to his receivers in Super Bowl 36? The committee ultimately issued an edict to its officiating department: Start calling these rules as written. No new rules, just a reemphasis of some existing standards. Beginning this season, game officials have been told to toss a flag every time they see a jersey grabbed and every time they see a receiver chucked beyond 5 yards. Well, not every time, because defensive backs still have some leeway--but the gap has been tightened so much it'll be difficult for them to consistently neutralize the freedom these new emphases will give offensive players as they roam on their routes.

At a meeting of NFL coaches last March, Holmgren showed a tape highlighting pass coverage evils practiced by defenders that no longer will be tolerated. Defensive-minded coaches in the room were ready to revolt. Chiefs coach Dick Vermeil wants all of us to think about the Pro Bowl, where defensive backs are not allowed to press. "Then you see what happens with a great corner and a great receiver," he says. "The great receiver wins most of the time." Even with pressing allowed, this will be the Pro Bowl on a weekly basis. Steve Spurrier quit a year too soon; now the NFL will be practicing pitch and catch with sandlot ease.