Commanders Post at The Warpath - View Single Post - Immortality on hold (warning, this will tick you off)

sportscurmudgeon · 08-09-2004, 01:24 PM

First of all, I believe Art Monk belongs in the HoF. If I had a vote, I would support him.

One thing working against him is that the voters seem to overvalue players who were on championship/playoff teams that had some "cachet". The Steelers' of the 70s were great teams but some of the players in the HoF from those teams do not measure up to the standards of players who have not been inducted. Now that Carl Eller is in the Hall, look for a big push to get Jim Marshall in there soon.

Monk's teams that appeared in 4 Super Bowls and won 3 of them had no national "presence". "The Hogs" were a local phenomenon; "The Diesel" didn't have a national following; "The Fun Bunch" was annoying back in its time even though it would hardly be considered "cutting edge" today. So Monk languishes...

Another thing working against him (and others mentioned in Ratto's column) is that the NFL HoF tries to limit the number of inductees each hear so that you rarely have an induction class of 8 or 10. The thinking is that by limiting numbers, you keep out the marginal selections. Oops, I guess that one did not work out quite right.

A third thing working against Monk is that he was never a "go to guy" for the writers/broadcasters. Monk was and is a quiet, introspective and reflective man; he had no bombast; he was not a journalist's dream. And who does the voting on HoF entry???

A fourth thing that is held against Monk is that he did not catch a lot of TD passes. Of course, those 950 or so catches did set up a lot of first downs that led to TDs scored by others, but I guess that's just a detail.

Cowboyhater, do not be surprised if Monk gets a big push the year Darrell Green is eligible. That is the kind of thing that can work with these voters because it gives them sone great storylines...

08-09-2004, 01:24 PM	#14
sportscurmudgeon Playmaker Join Date: Feb 2004 Posts: 3,159	First of all, I believe Art Monk belongs in the HoF. If I had a vote, I would support him. One thing working against him is that the voters seem to overvalue players who were on championship/playoff teams that had some "cachet". The Steelers' of the 70s were great teams but some of the players in the HoF from those teams do not measure up to the standards of players who have not been inducted. Now that Carl Eller is in the Hall, look for a big push to get Jim Marshall in there soon. Monk's teams that appeared in 4 Super Bowls and won 3 of them had no national "presence". "The Hogs" were a local phenomenon; "The Diesel" didn't have a national following; "The Fun Bunch" was annoying back in its time even though it would hardly be considered "cutting edge" today. So Monk languishes... Another thing working against him (and others mentioned in Ratto's column) is that the NFL HoF tries to limit the number of inductees each hear so that you rarely have an induction class of 8 or 10. The thinking is that by limiting numbers, you keep out the marginal selections. Oops, I guess that one did not work out quite right. A third thing working against Monk is that he was never a "go to guy" for the writers/broadcasters. Monk was and is a quiet, introspective and reflective man; he had no bombast; he was not a journalist's dream. And who does the voting on HoF entry??? A fourth thing that is held against Monk is that he did not catch a lot of TD passes. Of course, those 950 or so catches did set up a lot of first downs that led to TDs scored by others, but I guess that's just a detail. Cowboyhater, do not be surprised if Monk gets a big push the year Darrell Green is eligible. That is the kind of thing that can work with these voters because it gives them sone great storylines...