There are plenty of factors that have helped Marvin Harrison become a fantasy stud. Andy Lyons/Getty Images

By Bob Harris, Special to SI.com

Following up on my last column -- in which I discuss how the NFL is becoming a more fantasy-friendly league, let's review some of the rule changes and adjustments that are as likely to have an impact on the outcome of "our" contests as they are the "real" games.

Last year I discussed the decision to make illegal contact and defensive holding points of emphasis. The primary goal was increasing offensive production in games.

Mission accomplished.

The average of 43 points per game scored in 2004 (by both teams) was the sixth-highest total in the past 37 years.

And as noted last time, those same points of emphasis will be re-emphasized again this year.

Still not sure that change was a factor in the increased scoring? Think again. According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the number of illegal contact and defensive holding calls increased significantly during in 2004. In the case of illegal contact, 191 such penalties were called in 2004, compared to 79 in 2003.

That's quite a difference and the league knows it.

"That is a lot of fouls," NFL competition committee co-chairman Rich McKay admitted. "We'd like that number to come down. And the feeling was when you watch the [2004] tape, that as the year went on and people got more comfortable as to how it was going to be called, that they adjusted their play."

Sure. And NFL offenses adjusted their point totals -- again, in a very fantasy-friendly way.

Meanwhile, the most interesting new change this year was the passage of a new rule making the "horse collar" tackle illegal and subject to a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty and potential fine.

By a vote of 27-5, owners followed the lead of the competition committee and outlawed a defender dragging down a ball carrier by the back of the collar, unless he's in the tackle box near the line of scrimmage or a quarterback in the pocket.

The tackle became synonymous with Cowboys safety Roy Williams, because Williams injured three different players last season -- Eagles wideout Terrell Owens, Ravens running back Musa Smith and Tennessee receiver Tyrone Calico -- with just such a takedown.