If you are a follower of the modern game, I can see how you appreciate these players the way you do. But there are so many other factors, aside from the rules, that have changed QB stats and play. Look at the turf they played on in the 70s and 80s. Essentially, is was a concrete slab with green fuzz on top. Nothing made the game more conducive to concussions than players being slammed down on concrete. That is what probably drove Staubach out of the game. But for my money, the best QBs were those back in the 60s. And remember they called their own plays!!! Unlike today's QBs. The three I most enjoyed watching in order were: Joe Namath, Don Meredith, and Sonny Jurgenson. Nobody before or since (although I never saw Sammy Baugh or Otto Graham) ever was more creative with passing the football than Joe Namath. It shocks me to see how his memory has been so largely forgotten. Then, there is Don Meredith and his favorite receiver, Rapid Robert Hayes. NFL teams basically invented the zone defense to deal with Meredith to Hayes. (I remember when the Philadelphia Eagles unveiled their umbrella defense for Hayes and Meredith then went out and threw for over 400 yards.) Nobody was ever faster than Hayes, although NY Giants' Homer Jones thought he was. Last is paunchy Sonny Jurgenson. The man couldn't move to save his life but he could master the passing game like nobody else except maybe Namath.
Finally, go back and look at NFL films highlight shows from the 70s through the 90s. They were all built around hits. People like Jack Tatum, Cliff Harris, Dick Butkus, Deacon Jones, Randy White, Ronnie Lott, Mike Curtis. To be honest, I don't know why there weren't more deaths and paralysis back in the 70s. The game was almost downright deadly. Put that all together, open season on QB sack rushers, bump and run DBs, horse collaring, playing on cement turf, and you'll see why so many QBs were decimated by injuries. Namath couldn't even walk at the end of his career. Had Tom Brady played back then, different story I think. Bottom line: it's just a different game now.