Art Monk Denied Admission to the HoF

[Beemnseven]

Originally Posted by AlvinWalton'sNeckBrace

My brother composed this:

Single-Season Reception Leaders in the 1980's:

1980: Winslow, 89, TE
1981: Winslow, 88, TE
1982: D. Clark, 60, TE
1983: Christensen, 92, TE
1984: Monk, 106, WR
1985: Craig, 92, RB
1986: Christensen, 95, TE
1987: Smith, 91, WR
1988: Toon, 93, WR
1989: Sharpe, 90, WR

Largent (HOF) doesn't appear on this list.

Lofton (HOF) doesn't appear on this list.

Rice (HOF) doesn't appear on this list.

Since 1990, only one non-WR (Gonzalez in 2004) has led the NFL in receptions. That's ONE compared to SIX from 1980-1989—SIX in a span of TEN years.

Folks, if that doesn't indicate a shift from a run-oriented league to a pass-oriented league, then I don't know what else to say.

Also, if you look at the receptions leaderboard, you will notice a definite trend after 1990 of rising catches. In fact, only once since 1990 has the number dipped below 100. Um, only ONCE in the 80’s did the number exceed 100.

Is this a coincidence, or a sign that the league has evolved into a more pass happy league?:

More to chew on...

# of 1,000 seasons

1) Lofton: 5

2) Largent: 4

2) Monk: 4

2) Rice: 4

# of receptions (first number starting with 1980, OR player's first year in the 80's;last number ending with 1989 OR player's last year in the 80's):


1) Rice: 86, 65, 64, 82 / average=74.25

2) Monk: 56, 35, 47, 106, 91, 73, 38, 72, 86 / average=67

3) Largent: 66, 75, 34, 72, 74, 79, 70, 58, 39, 28 / average=59.50

4) Lofton: 71, 71, 35, 58, 62, 69, 64, 41, 28 / average=55.44

# of TD's (first number starting with 1980, OR player's first year in the 80's;last number ending with 1989 OR player's last year in the 80's):

1) Rice: 3, 5, 22, 19, 17, 13 / average=13.16 (note: insane TD production by Rice, who--IMO--along with Jim Brown, is the greatest football player EVER. Just absurd)

2) Largent: 6, 9, 3, 11, 12, 6, 9, 8, 2, 3 / average=6.9

3) Lofton: 4, 8, 4, 8, 7, 4, 4, 5, 0, 3 / average=4.7

3) Monk: 3, 6, 1, 5, 7, 2, 4, 6, 5, 8 / average: 4.7

Average YPC's in 80's:

1) Lofton: 19.15

2) Rice: 17.88

3) Largent: 15.57

4) Monk: 13.9

There is no doubt that Monk was a possession WR, just like there is no doubt from looking at these stats that James Lofton was a deep threat, that Largent was the most “all-around,” and that Rice was the best of the bunch and the best ever.

More importantly, what all of these stats indicate, aside from Rice's insane TD production, is how different the WR position is today than it was in the 1980's.

Stats are relative and should not be analyzed in a vacuum. To quote Brad Oremland, “Monk's 106 catches were in 1984 what Harrison's 143 were last season [2002]” (Buzzle Web Portal: Intelligent Life on the Web)

Therefore, it is absolute insanity to compare Monk's stats “directly” to players like Chris Carter and Tim Brown.

All stats taken from Pro Football Reference:

pro-football-reference.com - football stats and history

Wow, that's quite a compilation. Hats off to your bro for that. Hard to believe that TEs were the leaders in receptions during the 80s more than WR. That speaks volumes.

Tim Brown I think is similar to Monk in terms of overall numbers and longetivity. Brown was also Mr. 'Dependable', but he wasn't really the knockout punch -- ditto for Monk -- Gary Clark was the speedster, the deep touchdown threat.

Sad truth: If it's Chris Carter vs. Monk, the winner will be Carter. Tim Brown is on equal footing with Monk. So that's more of a toss-up. But again, the HOF voters don't have that long a memory. Advantage: Brown.

[AlvinWalton'sNeckBrace]

Originally Posted by Beemnseven

Wow, that's quite a compilation. Hats off to your bro for that. Hard to believe that TEs were the leaders in receptions during the 80s more than WR. That speaks volumes.

Tim Brown I think is similar to Monk in terms of overall numbers and longetivity. Brown was also Mr. 'Dependable', but he wasn't really the knockout punch -- ditto for Monk -- Gary Clark was the speedster, the deep touchdown threat.

Sad truth: If it's Chris Carter vs. Monk, the winner will be Carter. Tim Brown is on equal footing with Monk. So that's more of a toss-up. But again, the HOF voters don't have that long a memory. Advantage: Brown.

Whats sad is that a guy with a full time job can come up with these numbers...but guys who's sole purpose is to elect people to the hall of fame can't.

[Bill B]

Here is the most recent commentary from Peter King on Art Monk:

Late in the afternoon, we visited the physical therapy center and chatted with soldiers getting used to their new prostheses. Just before we were going to leave, one soldier called me over.
"You're Peter King, right?'' he said.
"Yes,'' I said.
"You guys ever going to put Art Monk in the Hall of Fame?''
"We're trying,'' I said.

SI.com - Writers - Monday Morning QB (cont.) - Monday February 12, 2007 10:58AM

Hopefully the wait won't be too much longer!

[Bill B]

Not sure if someone already posted this but if so I apologize - here is the latest article on Monk from the WP:


washingtonpost.com