We leave the rink for a moment to express congratulations to Art Monk...
That would be, "Hall of Famer" Art Monk, who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame today. He will be inducted with Darrell Green, another deserving Redskin.
Monk's induction is perhaps the most emotional for Redskin fans, not to mention for Monk himself, after years of being denied his rightful place in the Hall in favor of players who might have been more media-savvy, or who might have had more of an media-friendly edge to their personalities.
But none surpassed Monk in their talent, production, or professionalism.
The years he had to endure being named as a finalist, only to meet roadblocks to final election in the form of such as Paul Zimmerman or Peter King is an embarrassment to sports journalism. It was no more than slavish devotion to "more" in statistics of the sort that put possession receivers such as Monk at a disadvantage to the "home run hitter" deep threats. There was even the non sequitur passed around by these "experts" that Monk wasn't even the best reciever on his team, the argument being that Gary Clark -- a fine receiver in his own right -- was the one "feared" by opponents more than Monk.
What utter nonsense. If any defensive coordinator of the period had been asked what receiver on the Redskins you would absolutely have to keep track of in a game-deciding situation, I'd bet a shiny nickel that they'd have said, "Monk."
Monk played in an era when you could actually defend pass receivers, unlike the current pinball-machine version of the passing game in the NFL. And he still managed to set records (since surpassed) for consecutive games with a reception and total career catches. His statistical profile compares favorably with players such as hall-of-famer Michael Irvin in terms of total career receiving yards, catches, and touchdowns.
It is an honor long past due.
Along with Monk and Green, New England linebacker Andre Tippett, San Diego/San Francisco defensive end Fred Dean, and Minnesota/Denver tackle Gary Zimmerman were elected, and Kansas City cornerback Emmitt Thomas was elected as the senior committee choice.
1 comment:
Past due is exactly right.
Now that the HOF voters have apparently pulled their heads out of their asses they need to go ahead and stop passing over another consummate professional and solid human being; Dermontti Dawson.
Post a Comment