It started in 1970 with the narrowing of hash marks to prevent defensive secondaries from cocking their coverages into the wide side.Oh yeah definitely,in this era he is indeed in a class of his own. The best quarterback to have played the game in the last 20 years. Jerry rice said it perfectly that when he was playing,players were not protected back then like they are now.pretty much echoing me that the NFL puts skirts on quarterbacks now.Rice told the truth when he said he believes he played in a tougher time in the NFL than Brady did.This one sports message board I know of,one poster there hit the nail on the head saying ifDan Marino was playing in this era the past 20 years,with the rules the NFL has now to protect quarterbacks,he would be throwing 70 touchdowns a year the way the NFL protects quarterbacks in this day and age.
For rules changes, in 1978, it was Katy bar the door.
No contacting eligibles beyond 5 yards of the LOS with only one contact of those players allowed; OL could extend their arms in pass protection, open their hands and even allowed holding if their hands remained within the torso of the defender. All to encourage throwing the ball more often across a TV screen in order to appease an intellectually challenged clientele.
