Art Monk Story Investors Business Daily Article

[Bill B]

Don't know if anyone already posted this, but there was a good article in Investors Business Daily about my favorite player Art Monk. I will go ahead and post a link and also paste it below (sometimes IBD charges for their articles) - enjoy!
Investor's Business Daily: When NFL's Art Monk Caught, People Looked
When NFL's Art Monk Caught, People Looked

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BY MICHAEL RICHMAN
FOR INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY
Posted 8/3/2007
He was a quiet leader who played games in total silence.
Trash talking and showboating were antithetical to his approach, for he embodied professionalism and carried himself with dignity on the field.
Art Monk's goal was simple: Let his achievements do the talking.
Did they ever.
Monk was one of the premier wide receivers in National Football League history. In 16 seasons, his first 14 with the Washington Redskins, he caught 940 passes for 12,721 yards and 68 touchdowns. His reception total was a record that fell to a host of receivers.
He set all-time NFL marks for most catches in a season (106) and most consecutive games with receptions (183), both of which have been broken, and owns many Redskins receiving records.
Monk, a key player on three Redskins NFL title teams, has been a finalist for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame seven times.
As Monk saw it, his silence was golden. "I've had guys say stuff to me and look me right in the eye and try to intimidate me," he said during his playing days. "But I just go back to the huddle and say, 'I'm going to catch this one, and after I catch it maybe I can run over him.' I found that I excel more in those situations than when someone doesn't say anything to me."
While making his mark on the NFL, Monk handled his work in yeoman fashion. There was nothing fancy about his pass-catching skills, for he was more substance than style. His trademark pass pattern was the dodge route, a short, precise pattern over the middle.
At 6 feet 3 inches, 210 pounds, Monk possessed the size, power and toughness to execute the pattern, maneuvering through traffic and fending off linebackers and other defenders. Many times he gained big yardage after the catch.
His timing on patterns was impeccable; he was often where the quarterback expected him to be. This statistic exemplifies his value: Of his 91 catches in 1985, 62 went for first downs. Of his 32 third-down catches, 31 went for first downs.
Monk, a consummate team player, did anything it took to win games. Late in a 56-17 rout of Atlanta in 1991, he caught a pass near the sideline for a first down. He could have stepped out of bounds, but plowed forward for a few extra yards.
The next day, Redskins special teams coach Wayne Sevier repeatedly showed a film of the play to his unit. "Here's a guy going to the Hall of Fame," Sevier told his players. "Watch what he does here."
Monk drove himself hard to improve his strength and conditioning through a rigorous workout plan. It consisted of weightlifting, wind sprints, distance running and racquetball. He often ran grueling sprints on a 45-degree, 15-yard hill, in one workout running 25 times uphill with straight leg pumps, then 25 times backward, then 25 times in a stutter step. He added six 220-meter sprints and six 110-meter sprints to his repertoire. He also ran with a weight belt.
Terry Metcalf, a Redskins running back in 1981, Monk's second year in the NFL, inspired him. "(Metcalf) was a fanatic with training and staying in shape," Monk said.
Monk's businesslike approach to football influenced other players.
"Monk was huge for a wide receiver. He could run, he had great hands, he was very physical, he had the talent, and he had the work ethic," former Redskins tight end Don Warren told IBD. "I kind of molded myself a little after him, just watching the way he worked out. We spent many summers running sprints on the track. He's one of the hardest workers."
Joe Theismann, who passed to Monk during Washington's NFL title run of 1982 — before injuries kept the receiver out of the Super Bowl — told IBD: "Art is as tough as any player I've ever played with and had every attribute you'd want to look for. If you were putting together a football team and fashioned it after a bunch of Art Monks, you'd win a lot of football games."
Similar to his game-time demeanor, Monk was reserved off the field and rarely spoke to teammates. When he did, everyone shut up in what coach Joe Gibbs described as an "E.F. Hutton moment."
Case in point: In 1990, the 6-5 Redskins appeared adrift, with playoff hopes flickering. Monk took it upon himself to call a players-only meeting in which he softly but succinctly explained that it was time for everyone to get serious about football and to raise their level of play a notch. One Redskin called it "a little bit of a butt-chewing in Art's way."
Monk's words reverberated. The Redskins won four of their last five games, made the playoffs and went on to win the next season's Super Bowl. Monk was credited with pointing the team in a direction that led to an NFL championship.
"That night Art decided to become a general," said Bobby Mitchell, the Redskins' assistant general manager at the time. "That was the greatest thing that ever happened to us. Man, we took off."
Monk's self-discipline and drive to succeed stemmed from his youth in White Plains, N.Y. His parents taught him the virtues of perseverance. "My parents always told us, 'Nothing in life is free,' " he said. "Whatever it is you want, you have to knuckle down and work for it."
Monk loved to play sports, and football interested him the most, in particular catching balls. He played in the streets, in the snow, in backyards, wherever there was a game. He came to admire such dominant pro receivers as Charley Taylor, Otis Taylor and Paul Warfield.
In addition to starring in football in high school, Monk excelled in track and improved his agility and speed. Such skills were valuable at Syracuse University, where he set school receiving records with 102 catches for 1,644 yards and rushed for more than 1,000 yards. He never missed a game or practice in four seasons with the Orange.
The Redskins drafted Monk in the first round in 1980 and positioned him as a receiver.
"He was a fabulous athlete, a very smart young guy," Bobby Beathard, the Redskins' general manager at the time, told IBD. "He was a good worker, he had speed, he was smooth, great hands, he was a guy who loved to play pro football. I don't think Art Monk was a really hard guy to figure out or scout."
From the start, Monk knew he wanted nothing less than to be the best. He caught a team-high 58 passes in 1980 and earned unanimous All-Rookie honors. At the same time, he was drawing comparisons to Charley Taylor, a big, physical Redskins receiver in the '60s and '70s who's now in the Hall of Fame.
"People talked a lot about me following in his footsteps when I got here, and that . . . was an honor," Monk told IBD. "But I didn't want to pattern myself after anybody. I had my own style and my own way of doing things. But he was an idol, and I looked up to him growing up."

[Skinsfanmania]

Great Read, thanks for posting.

[Bill B]

Originally Posted by Skinsfanmania

Great Read, thanks for posting.

Thanks - my favorite part of the Story:

As Monk saw it, his silence was golden. "I've had guys say stuff to me and look me right in the eye and try to intimidate me," he said during his playing days. "But I just go back to the huddle and say, 'I'm going to catch this one, and after I catch it maybe I can run over him.' I found that I excel more in those situations than when someone doesn't say anything to me."

You don't find many recievers that have this kind of mentality in today's NFL - it is just a pity that the NFL Hall of Fame selection committee can't see what an incredible player Art was.

[dmek25]

very good read. thanks

[Smooter]

I agree, thanks.

[ArtMonkDrillz]

Fantastic read. I think every Pop Warner coach should read this to their team at the start of every season. Hell, I think every coach and every teacher should read that to their kids!

Here's an awesome story that I've never told this site before. I wouldn't be surprised if people didn't believe me because it's so awesome but I swear on everything I hold dear this is all true. This is why I really think Art Monk is a true role model:
The summer after 4th grade, so it was 1992 which made it all that much cooler, I got to go to Art Monk Football Camp for the second year in a row (my username comes from the warm up that we had to do before every practice). That year I shared a room with my friend from school and next door were two other kids from our boys’ club team back home.
Early one night towards the end of camp, which was only a week long, we got a knock on our door from one of the counselors saying that he needed to talk to us about something. We were worried because it seemed like we were getting in trouble even though we couldn’t think of anything bad that we had done. The counselor said that someone needed to talk to us after he was done talking with the two kids next door. After about 5 nervous minutes the other kids’ door opened up and who should walk out but Mr. Art Monk and our floor’s counselor. Art smiled at us and told that we weren’t in trouble or anything but that he needed to talk to us for a minute.
Basically, one of the kids next door, Steve, started picking on his roommate, Ed: he’d lock him out of the room; he’d throw his clothes out the window; he’d hide his pads right before practice; he basically just made the other kid’s life miserable. Being that we were only about 8 or 9 years old Ed got really upset wanted to call his parents so they could come and pick him up. The counselors decided to bring up these problems to Monk himself and he decided that he’d like to have a word with both kids to see if he could work everything out between them. During their conversation Ed said that my roommate and I knew him from home and that we had been nice to him, so Art decided that he’d like to talk to us about their situation to see if we could help out a little bit. Art wanted to make sure that we tried to help Ed have fun at camp, especially since it was our second year there. He also wanted us to remind Steve that everyone was there for fun and that he needed to stop picking on his roommate and start showing him more respect.
It was so cool because here was our hero, sitting in our dorm room, trying to make sure that we were all learning football and having a great time. Can you imagine some of the prima donnas in the NFL now taking time out of their night, their only alone time the entire week, to make sure that one of their campers doesn’t feel like crap?!?! The man made it a point to come and talk to Ed and Steve, and then to me and my roommate and teach us to treat one another with respect. I bet he did this sort of thing the entire week because he really did seem to care about everyone at the camp. I swear that to this day that night was one of the highlights of my entire life.

Maybe I should send this story to Dr. Z, because I’m sure that in Michael Irvin’s playing days he wouldn’t have put down the pipe long enough to teach some little kids about respect.

[skinsfan_nn]

Very Nice, Thanks!

[Lady Brave]

Originally Posted by ArtMonkDrillz

Here's an awesome story that I've never told this site before. I wouldn't be surprised if people didn't believe me because it's so awesome but I swear on everything I hold dear this is all true. This is why I really think Art Monk is a true role model...

I love hearing stories like this. Experiences like those don't happen to everyone, so you can certainly count yourself as a very fortunate person.

I bet you couldn't wipe the grin off your face for weeks after that!

[ArtMonkDrillz]

Originally Posted by Lady Brave

I love hearing stories like this. Experiences like those don't happen to everyone, so you can certainly count yourself as a very fortunate person.

I bet you couldn't wipe the grin off your face for weeks after that!

You're right about that. In fact, this was the second time I told that story in as many days and it happened 15 years ago.

[Lady Brave]

Originally Posted by ArtMonkDrillz

You're right about that. In fact, this was the second time I told that story in as many days and it happened 15 years ago.

Well my Joe Gibbs story isn't quite as cool as your Monk story. It went something like this...

"OMG... I'm not worthy! (some hyperventilating) Then some random words came flying out. I do remember me telling him how long I'd been a fan or something and he told me I was making him feel old. Yea! I made Coach feel old. That's exactly the reaction I was going for. lol

I actually did get to spend a bit of time with him and it was a great experience. Definately one I'll never forget.

[Bill B]

Originally Posted by ArtMonkDrillz

Fantastic read. I think every Pop Warner coach should read this to their team at the start of every season. Hell, I think every coach and every teacher should read that to their kids!

Here's an awesome story that I've never told this site before. I wouldn't be surprised if people didn't believe me because it's so awesome but I swear on everything I hold dear this is all true. This is why I really think Art Monk is a true role model:
The summer after 4th grade, so it was 1992 which made it all that much cooler, I got to go to Art Monk Football Camp for the second year in a row (my username comes from the warm up that we had to do before every practice). That year I shared a room with my friend from school and next door were two other kids from our boys’ club team back home.
Early one night towards the end of camp, which was only a week long, we got a knock on our door from one of the counselors saying that he needed to talk to us about something. We were worried because it seemed like we were getting in trouble even though we couldn’t think of anything bad that we had done. The counselor said that someone needed to talk to us after he was done talking with the two kids next door. After about 5 nervous minutes the other kids’ door opened up and who should walk out but Mr. Art Monk and our floor’s counselor. Art smiled at us and told that we weren’t in trouble or anything but that he needed to talk to us for a minute.
Basically, one of the kids next door, Steve, started picking on his roommate, Ed: he’d lock him out of the room; he’d throw his clothes out the window; he’d hide his pads right before practice; he basically just made the other kid’s life miserable. Being that we were only about 8 or 9 years old Ed got really upset wanted to call his parents so they could come and pick him up. The counselors decided to bring up these problems to Monk himself and he decided that he’d like to have a word with both kids to see if he could work everything out between them. During their conversation Ed said that my roommate and I knew him from home and that we had been nice to him, so Art decided that he’d like to talk to us about their situation to see if we could help out a little bit. Art wanted to make sure that we tried to help Ed have fun at camp, especially since it was our second year there. He also wanted us to remind Steve that everyone was there for fun and that he needed to stop picking on his roommate and start showing him more respect.
It was so cool because here was our hero, sitting in our dorm room, trying to make sure that we were all learning football and having a great time. Can you imagine some of the prima donnas in the NFL now taking time out of their night, their only alone time the entire week, to make sure that one of their campers doesn’t feel like crap?!?! The man made it a point to come and talk to Ed and Steve, and then to me and my roommate and teach us to treat one another with respect. I bet he did this sort of thing the entire week because he really did seem to care about everyone at the camp. I swear that to this day that night was one of the highlights of my entire life.

Maybe I should send this story to Dr. Z, because I’m sure that in Michael Irvin’s playing days he wouldn’t have put down the pipe long enough to teach some little kids about respect.

Good story - not many guys in the NFL care too much like Art did.

[mike340]

The thing that kills me is that so many idiots commenting over at FoxSports about the induction of Irvin to the HOF say that off-field actions shouldn't impact someone's acceptance into the HOF. Yet the reason Irvin is in and Monk is not is because of off-field actions.

Monk didn't talk much (including to the press) so they didn't pay much attention to him (and didn't like him too much either, I guess.) And, as a half on-field, half off-field item, he didn't nag about not getting the ball. As a result he got less passes thrown his way after we got the rest of the Posse. (How long was it before someone matched the 106 passes he caught in one season before the Posse got there?)

On the other hand, Irvin was loud, always saying (like my 5-year-old) "look at me, look at me!" Then he topped it off by becoming a member of the "press" himself. He set himself up perfectly.

So the bottom line is what you do off the field impacts heavily if you get into the HOF or not. It's just not the desired impact. Very sad.

[Bill B]

Originally Posted by mike340

The thing that kills me is that so many idiots commenting over at FoxSports about the induction of Irvin to the HOF say that off-field actions shouldn't impact someone's acceptance into the HOF. Yet the reason Irvin is in and Monk is not is because of off-field actions.

Monk didn't talk much (including to the press) so they didn't pay much attention to him (and didn't like him too much either, I guess.) And, as a half on-field, half off-field item, he didn't nag about not getting the ball. As a result he got less passes thrown his way after we got the rest of the Posse. (How long was it before someone matched the 106 passes he caught in one season before the Posse got there?)

On the other hand, Irvin was loud, always saying (like my 5-year-old) "look at me, look at me!" Then he topped it off by becoming a member of the "press" himself. He set himself up perfectly.

So the bottom line is what you do off the field impacts heavily if you get into the HOF or not. It's just not the desired impact. Very sad.

I know what you are saying. Until the NFL Hall of Fame inducts Monk I, like many fans of the game (not just Skins fans) won't take it seriously. In fact when I was flipping the channels the night of the Hall induction this past week I couldn't watch it as Irvin was being introduced by Jerry Jones - Monk has been waiting like 7-8 years? Injustice if you ask me.

[REDSKIN2]

I think the thing that says the most about Art Monk is that he doesn't really give a damn what Peter the Pig King or Dr. Z or any of those HOF voting clowns think of him and really isn't bothered by not being in yet.

He isn't desperate to be liked or noticed like Michael Irvin and isn't so pathetic that he needs to set up lobbying efforts to get himself in.

I trully think that the tide is turning though and more and more former players and coaches and media outlets outside of the Redskin fan base are beginning to see how outrageous this is.

I just don't want Dan Snyder to take a page out of the Jerry Jones book and lobby it to death. What Jones did was sickening, cheap and obnoxious to watch and it looked corrupt. Art Monk is to good for that.

Besides King and Z are so phoney and pathetic that as soon as the majority want Monk in they will flip flop like all of the other phoney HOF voters and he'll get in.