THE SNAKE: Everyone says “they don’t make them like that anymore,” but with Kenny Stabler it’s true. “He was the perfect quarterback and the perfect Raider,” is how John Madden, his old coach, described him. The Snake only won a single Super Bowl, but he defined the era. He was also one of the lead plaintiffs who challenged the league over the long-term damage concussions and head trauma caused players, and the league’s lies about it.
Rise ‘n Grind: The NFL remembers ‘the perfect quarterback’
Kenny Stabler was football in the 1970s. He’s gone now, from colon cancer, but he’ll never be forgotten. Plus, the latest on the Giants and JPP, the supplemental draft and more.
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- Stabler is also a college football legend from his days at Alabama playing for none other than Bear Bryant. Go “cry a little, laugh a little” with the fans at Roll Bama Roll.
- He also happened to be a great subject for photographers. Check out this gallery from SI, which includes such hits as smoking and playing pool.
- Hall of Fame voters, who had distinct bias against Raiders players from the 1970s era, passed over Stabler. The veteran committee should give him another chance.
- The NFL Network is going to show Stabler’s best games on Friday. Sea of Hands (1974 AFC Championship) starts at 8:00 p.m. ET.
FINGER UPDATE: The Giants have no plans of dumping Jason Pierre-Paul and his nine fingers. Meanwhile, the Florida hospital is investigating the leak of his medical records.
BATTLE BOTS: The Rams spent a fifth-round pick on former Clemson tackle Isaiah Battle in Thursday’s NFL Supplemental Draft. They need all the help they can get along the OL, but this quote from the GM about thinking of Battle’s rookie season as 2016 is dumb even by NFL doublespeak standards.
REALITY TV: The Philadelphia press isn’t all that impressed with DeSean Jackson’s reality show. Surprise.
GINGER AVENGER: Is this the year Andy Dalton and the Bengals win a Super Bowl?
NO WORRIES: A.J. Green isn’t worried about a contract extension, and he’s perfectly content to play out the last year of his rookie deal.
DEFLATEGATE DECISION: Roger Goodell, who’s at billionaire summer camp in Idaho with Bob Kraft and Stan Kroenke, told CNBC that he could decide Tom Brady’s fate next week or the week after that or the week after that ... or whenever he damn well feels like it.
LATTIMORE LOOKS BACK: Even Marcus Lattimore wondered why the 49ers drafted a running back with his knees, but he gave it his all anyway. This story of his career and life after football is absolutely remarkable.
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