I always thought Stabler had a soft touch on the ball but he could also throw the long ball.
He once had a contest against Fran Tarkenton on who could throw it the farthest.
Tarkenton had a cannon arm.
And easily beat Stabler on distance.
But Snake was great and accurate on the short(er) pass game.
It didn't hurt that the Raiders had fantastic receivers who made those amazing catches.
And this was in the era when it wasn't legal for receivers to wear gloves.
Belitnikof was accused of wearing "stickum" on his fingers.
Imagine what Stabler could have done with receivers wearing gloves.
RIP, Snake. You deserved to be in the HOF during your lifetime.
It's telling that his teammates, and head coach, Madden are in the HOF already.
There was some kind of anti-Stabler bias throughout the years that I just don't understand.
Maybe his hard-partying ways?
Did the league frown upon that?
He was a choirboy compared to some of the HOF members that came later in THAT aspect.