RenegadeTK Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 didn't see it posted yet.... http://www.nfl.com/ Hall recall: Hard-working Monk was a great catch for Redskins By Gil Brandt | NFL.com Quite a Class The Class of 2008 may be the most unique in the 45-year history of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Among the six players being enshrined, you will find: The 14th undrafted free agent to make it to the Hall (Emmitt Thomas)… a black belt in karate (Andre Tippett)… a Div. II player (Darrell Green)… a finalist in the Hall voting for seven consecutive years before finally getting in (Art Monk)… two players who almost never made it to the NFL (Fred Dean, Gary Zimmerman). One thing they all had in common: They were all scouted by yours truly coming out of college. Here are my observations and recollections of each: » Fred Dean » Darrell Green » Art Monk » Emmitt Thomas » Andre Tippett » Gary Zimmerman Art Monk was an outstanding wide receiver at White Plains (N.Y.) High School and then at Syracuse University. Still, I always thought he should be a running back. Goes to show you how much I know! Monk started for three years at Syracuse and played well. When you spoke to his college coaches, they would always talk about his great work ethic. And unlike most receivers, he would also take much pride in his role as a blocker in the running game. In Monk's last two seasons there, they had a pretty productive running back in Joe Morris, who went on to star with the New York Giants. Monk often helped pave the way for Morris. Monk never ran lights-out in shorts -- but, because of his strength, he was able to carry his uniform faster than most of the wideouts who may have had better 40 times leading up to the draft. In that respect, he reminds me of a player who came along a few years later and will soon join him in the Hall of Fame: Jerry Rice. Another thing Monk and Rice had in common is that both were drafted in the middle of the first round (Rice with the 16th pick in 1985; Monk with the 18th pick in 1980). But the big news wasn't that the Washington Redskins drafted Monk in the first round. The big news was that Washington used its first-round pick at all. The Redskins' "over-the-hill-gang" reputation under George Allen, when they often traded draft picks for veteran talent, was no exaggeration. Amazingly, the Redskins went 11 years (1969-79) without a single first-round pick. It's safe to say that when they finally used that 1980 first-round pick on Monk, they made it count. Al Messerschmidt / National Football LeagueIn 16 NFL seasons, Art Monk caught 940 passes for 12,721 yards and 68 TDs. His combination of size and speed made him a tough target to cover, as he specialized in catching the short-to-intermediate routes and used his strength to break tackles after catching the ball. And while it's true that the proliferation of the passing game the last 20 years has led to most of his records being broken, Monk put up numbers in his playing days that were unmatched. He became the first player in NFL history to top 100 receptions in a season when he caught 106 in 1984. In 1992, he surpassed Hall of Famer Steve Largent to become the NFL's all-time leader in receptions, an honor he held until Rice shattered the mark. Monk helped the Redskins win three Super Bowls. In Super Bowl XXVI -- at age 34 -- he had seven receptions for 113 yards in Washington's win over Buffalo. It's true that Monk benefited from the fact Washington had a number of talented receivers to keep defenses occupied. The biggest advantage was that teams often wanted to engage Monk at the line of scrimmage -- but when Ricky Sanders came along in 1986, Monk was put in motion a lot and that made it easier for him to get off the line. Monk was unstoppable running crossing routes in that capacity. Not to be overlooked, Monk remained a terrific blocker for Washington's always-powerful running game. The Redskins occasionally would line him up inside and use him as a blocking back. Maybe he could have been the running back I pictured him to be. It's clear he would have been a great fullback or tight end. As a wide receiver, meanwhile, he was a Hall of Famer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audible_Red40 Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 Another solid read. This is going to be a great weekend!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deedaw56 Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 didn't see it posted yet....http://www.nfl.com/ Interesting article and nice read. However, if I'm not mistaken, Joe Morris never played for the Redskins. It was actually his younger brother Jamie who played here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsGuy Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 Interesting article and nice read. However, if I'm not mistaken, Joe Morris never played for the Redskins. It was actually his younger brother Jamie who played here. I think they are talking about when Monk played at Syracuse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedskinNutt Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 Interesting article and nice read. However, if I'm not mistaken, Joe Morris never played for the Redskins. It was actually his younger brother Jamie who played here. The writer was referring to Art's college days, where he and Joe Morris played in the same backfield. Also, while Ricky's presence helped Art out, I think having a quality WR on the other side like Gary Clark really helped strain secondaries. Clark had some very good years on the other side of Art. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cphil006 Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 just awesome Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RenegadeTK Posted July 28, 2008 Author Share Posted July 28, 2008 The writer was referring to Art's college days, where he and Joe Morris played in the same backfield.Also, while Ricky's presence helped Art out, I think having a quality WR on the other side like Gary Clark really helped strain secondaries. Clark had some very good years on the other side of Art. agreed.... i definitely think Gary is an unsung hero. Monk-Clark-Sanders has to be one of the most solid and explosive trios at wideout ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRobi21 Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 God **** right he is!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Edds Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 Hail to Monk (and DG), this weekend has been long awaited. I expect our fellow skins faithful to show up in numbers not yet seen at any HOF induction ceremony. I hope the National media will better get a sense of just how much pride, knowledge and passion this fan base has. The media can say all they want about Snyder, Gibbs 2.0 ... but they can;t say a damn thing about the professionalism and class that Monk displayed during his entire career on and off the field, as well as his modesty and humbleness in his retirement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RenegadeTK Posted July 28, 2008 Author Share Posted July 28, 2008 The media can say all they want about Snyder, Gibbs 2.0 ... but they can;t say a damn thing about the professionalism and class that Monk displayed during his entire career on and off the field, as well as his modesty and humbleness in his retirement. especially how he handled the diappointment of the committee having their head up their ass for nearly a decade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MWCREDSKINS Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 It's starting to become reality and I'm stoked. 8 long years but the fact he's going in with Darrell may make all the media hated articles worth it and I'm going to be there :point2sky HAIL ROUTE 281:point2sky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.