Art Monk not in the HOF - DUMP SI

[Redskin in Canada]

Oh, admit it. This ain't your FIRST time, is it?.

Considering the first- and many-times statistics among clergymen recently, I am not surprised this issue was brought up in this light...

[REDEEMEDSKIN]

Oh, admit it. This ain't your FIRST time, is it?.

Considering the first- and many-times statistics among clergymen recently, I am not surprised this issue was brought up in this light...

Whuuuuuuuut??????

[BringThePain!]

You two are perfect for each other...

[REDEEMEDSKIN]

C'mon, BTP....

I'd never infringe on YOUR turf. He's all yours.

[Redskin in Canada]

:lol: You two are perfect for each other...

It is the offseason. Everybody seems to be taunting everybody else ...

This is a penalty in football, you know.

[Redskin in Canada]

Come on guys! This is too good a thread to end up like this.

Let us stay with the main topic plus some smart fun around it.

[BossHog]

So YOU take the thread as off-topic as it can go with your clergy remark, and now you're trying to play forum police in the next breath...



We have moderators, thanks. And considering the most 'off-topic' remark was your own... I'd tuck away that finger you have out wagging at everybody.

[Redskin in Canada]

I said:

Let us stay with the main topic plus some smart fun around it.

It was a call including me.

I do not come to this board to upset anybody. But it seems that I have. I have made and received in this and other threads a few remarks that cross the boundary of constructive behaviour that a few members and the administrators want to maintain.

You and a couple of members have brought up the term "policing". It is possible that my views may be understood in that way. I see it as my own views to others but it is is enough for me that you and some other posters are uncomfortable with this behaviour.

I apologise to Redeemed for my remark about clergy.

I apologise to those who may have felt "policed". It was not my intention

So, thanks guys and go Redskins!

[REDEEMEDSKIN]

I apologise to Redeemed for my remark about clergy.

No apology was needed. I was just trying to figure out what you were trying to say. Honestly. Anyway, water under the bridge. Be blessed.

[Redskin in Canada]

A Hall of Mystery

By Leonard Shapiro
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, February 24, 2005; 5:04 PM

Five years after Randy Moss retires from football, he almost certainly will be a first ballot selection to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Five years after he became eligible for induction, Art Monk still hasn’t been voted into Canton, and may have several more years to wait.

What’s wrong with this picture?

As a Hall of Fame selector for the last 23 years, I remain mystified by my fellow selectors refusal to judge Monk as one of the greatest and certainly most productive receivers in the history of the National Football League.

At the moment, no receiver in the Hall has more receptions. And when he retired, no receiver in football had more, either. That alone ought to have been enough to punch Monk’s ticket. Oh yes, did we mention that he played on four teams that went to Super Bowls, with three of them winning championships.

Steve Largent and Charlie Joiner are in the Hall of Fame, both of them fine receivers. But neither man came close to Monk in catches, or Super Bowl titles, in fact never played for contending teams. The Redskins, with Monk on the field and Joe Gibbs on the sidelines, contended for division titles every year he was in Washington, and Monk was a major reason why.

When I go to the selection meetings, hardly anyone ever speaks ill of Monk. The few nay sayers always point out that he never had a spectacular catch or huge play in a Super Bowl or conference title game, the way, say, Lynn Swann did with the Steelers of the 1970s.

I always argue that was never Monk’s role. He caught the tough pass over the middle, the critical third down reception at the sideline that kept the chains moving and allowed John Riggins to score on the ground many of the touchdowns other teams likely would have thrown through the air.

One or two others say opposing defensive coordinators have told them they were more concerned about getting beaten deep by Gary Clarke or Ricky Sanders. But I’ve never met a defensive coordinator yet who didn’t want to be embarrassed by the 50-yard bomb and spent sleepless nights doing anything in their power to avoid such a calamity. Clarke, Sanders and other assorted Smurfs plunged daggers into defenses, Monk merely killed them a little more softly, but just as effectively.

Monk’s value to his team also wasn’t always translated in the game’s cold, hard statistics. The Redskins were a power running team in those days, and Monk was a brilliant blocker, often cutting down potential tacklers that allowed John Riggins, Joe Washington, Earnest Byner and George Rogers extra yards beyond the line of scrimmage. Gibbs even used him to protect his quarterback occasionally, and Monk never once complained.

He also was the strong silent type in the clubhouse, a man who hated the harsh glare of the public spotlight and chose not to use his locker stall as a podium to advance his own or any other cause. There are some who believe his reluctance to grant interviews may now be hurting his chances in getting into the Hall, but I’d like to believe my fellow voters would be above such pettiness in judging his qualifications for entry.

This is a guy who clearly would be a credit to Canton. Before, during or after his playing days, he has always been a solid citizen, a man who gave to the community without tooting his own horn, a player who showed rookies and new arrivals the proper way to train and prepare, a loving husband and father and good neighbor according to anyone who has ever come in contact with him.

Which brings us to Randy Moss, the anti-Monk if you will and the epitome of the me-first player of the 21st Century.

Even one of his best friends on the Minnesota Vikings, quarterback Daunte Culpepper, was quoted as saying perhaps it was time for Moss to move on, if nothing but for the good of the team. Moss was Culpepper’s favorite target, one of the most physically gifted players in the history of the game, yet his quarterback had no qualms about moving on without him.

That should tell you all you have to know about Randy Moss, the person.

Randy Moss the football player likely will flourish in Oakland, where he will team with native Washingtonian Jerry Porter to give the Raiders arguably the best receiving duo in football. Head Coach Norv Turner, always considered an offensive whiz, will surely open up the offense, especially with strong-armed Kerry Collins at quarterback.

Moss will pile up the catches and the yards and the touchdowns, and eventually he will be a first ballot Hall of Fame selection. I only hope Art Monk gets in long before that day arrives. In one man’s opinion, he’s far more deserving, by any measure you care to choose.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/ar ... Feb24.html

This is an article that some of us were waitig to read. This is as clear as the irony of the case for Monk can be explained. What is so dificult to undestand by other mebers of the media?

[tcwest10]

Nice catch, RiC.
Stalker.

[BossHog]

... it was already posted.

http://www.the-hogs.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=11326

[tcwest10]

Missed it the first time.
Nice catch, BH.
RiC, you got scooped.
You're still a stalker, though.

[welch]

But, gee, I would hate to miss an opportunity to praise Art Monk.

Good article: Randy Moss? Piffle. Steve Largent? Jerry Smith was flat-out better. Steve Largent? Why not Fred Dugan? Just mentioned Dugan to give this a properly pre-historic frame of sbsurdity. Dugan was the only receiver the Redskins had when Norm Snead was a rookie. Like Largent, Dugan was slow, but had good hands. Better than Largent, maybe.

Monk, just so we don't forget:

- was the Redskins main deep threat (I'm mentioning it because the SI clowns talk about Monk as only a possession receiver, as if he was always 35 years old)

- was the tough over the middle tnreat

- was the Redskins main short, sideline, run-after-catch threat

- blocked ferociously

- had speed, size, hands, and toughness

- had all the trained skills of a running back, which he was in college until his senior year (shifted to make room for the Giants' future star, Joe Morris)

- held all the records when he retired

- broke the single-season receiving mark on a team that had Charlie Brown, Clint Didier, a team that handed the ball a lot to John Riggins. Played those games to win first, rather than set a record. Lost the mark to a receiver on a mediocre team that had no offense except Favrve-to-Sharpe.

- Might not have frightened the Giants defense as much as Gary Clark did in 1987, if we believe Mr. SI King. But ripped apart all other teams: different teams play a different defense, and, as Joe Gibbs will always say, the Redskins aim for a balanced offense: he features different players depending on what works against the defense.

- Made decisive contributions to Redskin teams that won three super bowls. (a) He was hurt before the playoffs on Sb 17, but Monk, more than anyone, got the Redskins to a 9 - 1 reord, and first seed. The super-smart writers gave the Redskins no chance after Monk was hurt, saying, "now all they can do it jam it up the gut with Riggins". Imagine if Monk had been there alongside Charlie Brown. (b) Made the big catches, and provoked the big pass interference, in the NFC championship before SB 18. (c) Played SB 22 on a sprained knee, and drew coverage that helped Clark and Sanders get free, after he took a 20 yard pass and ran it to a 40 yard gain in the first quarter. Later pulverized a Broncos safety to get extra yards on a Sanders pass that set up the fifth TD of that incredible second quarter. (d) Lifted the Redskins offense in the first half against the Bills in SB 26, in which he caught 10 or 11 passes, and a TD that was mistakenly called back.

- Finally, is notabe for NOT being here: no Redskin WR these last 10+ years has contributed the way that Art Monk did, and we are still waiting for the Next Art Monk.

- Have I forgotten anything?

[tcwest10]

Just one thing, near as I can tell. You forgot to mention that this was the one man who could literally galvanize the entire locker room with one short statement. He didn't have much to say, but when he did speak...(see "Hutton, E.F. advertising" for more info.)

[welch]

Right.

And set an example for how to play..."I never thought I was as talented as some others", he used to say, "so I worked and practiced to be the best I could". Didn't Gary Clark and other say things like: If Art Monk, the best player on the team, worked and practiced that hard, then I knew I had to.

Like the locker-room: quiet example, action rather than words, so the words had far more effect than all the boasting players on other teams who, like <QB without a name> shall also remain nameless.

[Redskin in Canada]

I have been out of circulation with way too much more than I can handle in my job. It has been tough on me and my family but I am back for a few days before I go back into the grind.

I have been thinking about this thread in my late hours some nights. Really the ONLY thing that can change the attitude (if not their minds) of these guys is a new superbowl win for the Redskins. Joe must win in order to right things up.

Thanks to the great knowledgeable members who have participated in this thread.

[General Failure]

Not that I think there's any chance of that happening, but I don't believe that would help Monk's odds at all.

I could see the committee sitting there saying "Gibbs can win with anyone, I guess Monk wasn't that great."

[Redskin in Canada]

I can see Joe Gibbs saying: Art Monk deserves to join me in the HoF when he wins again.

The bandwagon of journalists will move along in the right direction when they realise that Joe is back.

It might also be interesting to hear what other Skins players might say about it when they make it to the Hall.

[Redskin in Canada]

You might enjoy watching this gallery:

http://www.redskins.com/fanzone/gallery ... layOrder=2

[Deadskins]

From Dr. Disease's latest mailbag:

Q: Now that Tim Brown has retired, what are his chances of entering the Hall of Fame?

A: Good.

Q: Do you know how you will vote?

A: Yes.

Q: How does he compare to Art Monk?

A: Flashier but Monk had better hands.

And now we move on to ... OK, OK, the unstated question. How will I vote? Negative. He dropped too many balls.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/w ... bag/2.html

[air_hog]

I think it would be sweet if Darrell Green has Art Monk be his lead in. Just to show the voters how important Art Monk is. I bet that would send the message through everyone on how important Art Monk is, in all aspects.

[Skins Do Dallas]

I got to meet Art at a H.S. all-star game in D.C. and he is the nicest, most modest guy on Earth. He even asked me my name which is rare for pro athletes to do. There must be some kind of conspiracy against him.

[welch]

Q: Now that Tim Brown has retired, what are his chances of entering the Hall of Fame?

A: Good.

Q: Do you know how you will vote?

A: Yes.

Q: How does he compare to Art Monk?

A: Flashier but Monk had better hands.

That's the guideline: flashiness. The true indicator of HOF-ness?

[air_hog]

I don't get how every year at least 4 people make it, and they won't pick Art Monk.

I mean, how can year after year all these guys from like the 60's randomly are elected to the Hall of Fame (now no disrespect to those players) but give me a break. This is ART MONK, at least people know who he is.