There was no rule prohibiting defensive contact 5 yards downfield.
Linemen were not allowed to use hands for blocking (or at least quite discouraged from doing so, as holding was a 15 yard penalty.)
This was the era of the 7-step drop, so EVERY pass was 20-30 yards in the air

Go look at the stats from some of the other 'great' QB from that era. How many others were getting 4K a year?

He had talent. He took a beating in his years on the field. However, his biggest asset was understanding that the league was taking the national spotlight from baseball, and he was an expert at marketing himself. He did all the commercials (including pantyhose!), he knew where the cameras were, and he worked them. The guarantee before Super Bowl III just cemented his place in infamy.

He was TO before TO.

I heard them mention him in the late stages of the game last night, and I had that sinking "Oh gad, did we lose another of the great old players" moment I always get when they bring up the old footage mid-game.

---