Thursday, February 7, 2008
Finally, A Monk in the Shrine
Leave a Comment
Send to Friend
Print This Story
It is always good to see a wrong righted, no matter how late. At least Art Monk is still alive (although, for years, football fans and sportswriters have wondered if No. 81 would live to see his own bronze bust in Canton). The quiet, workmanlike receiver of the Gibbs Era I Washington teams has finally gotten his due — enshrinement among football's best in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Who knows what took the voters so long? Art Monk caught almost three times as many passes as Lynn Swann, and almost 200 more than Michael Irvin.
Like Irvin, Monk was one of the premier wide receivers of his day, one who played in multiple Super Bowls. Both were big physical receivers. But unlike Irvin, Monk went about his work quietly. At 6'3", 210 lbs, he was a solid blocker, a great pattern runner, and a key target on third-and-long.
Moreover, his numbers merit enshrinement. In the pre-Chris Carter/Jerry Rice 90 reception-a-year era, (when 45 catches in a 14-game season signified stardom), he hauled in 58 passes as a rookie in 1980 and 56 more for 894 yards in '81. The following year was shortened by strike. Monk went on to snare 47, 106, 91, and 73 footballs over the next four seasons. Not too shabby on a team with other offensive threats the likes of John Riggins, Joe Washington, Gary Clark, Ricky Sanders, and George Rogers, to name a few.
Monk played with all manner of QBs — Joe Theisman, Jay Schroeder, Mark Rypien, and Doug Williams. He totaled 1,372 receiving yards in 1984, 1,226 in '85, 1,068 in '86, 1,186 in 1989, and 1,048 and 8 TDs in Rice-era 1991, his 12th campaign. He even caught 46 passes for the 1994 Jets at age 37. He was a team leader, and one of few who spanned the entire (first) Joe Gibbs regime.
Consider Monk’s playoff heroics. Two touchdowns in a 51-7 rout of Eric Dickerson and Jackie Slater's 1983 Rams in a game I saw in person at RFK Stadium. Then 10 grabs for 122 yards in a loss to the '84 Bears, with their defensive backfield including Gary Fencik and Doug Plank. 8-for-126 vs. the '86 rival Giants. 10-for-163 and a score on the 1990 49ers secondary that featured multiple Pro Bowlers.
In all, Art Monk was a good citizen, a community treasure, a beloved teammate who caught a then-NFL record 940 passes. That's like retiring with the all-time mark for steals and not being voted in the Baseball Hall of Fame (pre-HGH). Why was this three-time Pro Bowler, not too shy of 1,000 receptions, perennially passed over for Canton? Lynn Swann is in, with a mere 336 catches, and an equal number of Pro Bowls. Irvin, with 750 receptions, and less TDs than Monk, was a considered a shoo-in.
Yet although it is the Hall of "Fame," and Monk drew no attention to himself, there was a time when Washington garnered as much football publicity and unit nicknames as the Steelers and Cowboys. "The Hogs." "The Fun Bunch." Riggins answered to "The Diesel." Dexter Manley was a character, too. It is not as if Monk labored in complete anonymity. Yet the Hall has passed him by for 14 years.
Typical of him, Monk said he generally lets this time of year (the voting) pass by without devoting too much thought to it, and that he is humbled by the honor. I like Michael Irvin, but wonder what he would have said had he been overlooked this long. Irvin, Randy Moss, and the archetype, Terrell Owens, fit the prima donna wide receiver mold. You know, Keyshawn "Throw Me the Damn Ball" Johnson. Or Chad "Ocho Cinco" Johnson.
Everything may happen for a reason, as Monk gets to enter the Hall with a longtime teammate, another quiet, exemplary leader, former Washington cornerback Darrell Green. The NFL's fastest player. The ultimate Gibbs player: devout and divinely talented. Perhaps the football gods, in the year of Coach Gibbs' second retirement (and in the aftermath of the tragic death of safety Sean Taylor) wanted fans of the burgundy-and-gold to have two reasons to drive to Canton. Monk certainly has more than 81 reasons to belong.