Monk deserves Hall of Fame honor

Art Monk will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame today.

 

That’s a good choice.

 

Monk was not a flashy guy on the field or off, but he was amazingly consistent during his career with the Washington Redskins, with whom he won two Super Bowls. He caught 940 passes in his 16-season career, including a final two years with the Jets and Eagles. He averaged a modest 13.5 yards a catch – those are tight end type numbers – four touchdowns per season. He wasn’t going to scare you to death deep, but he moved the chains, and that is far more important than some fans realize.

 

Monk was very consistent during his four-year career at Syracuse, too. He was the team’s top receiver his last three seasons, in 1977, 1978 and 1979, when he teamed up with the Orange’s two other big guns of the time, Billy Hurley and Joe Morris, and he still holds SU’s record for catches in a game with 14 in a 45-34 win over Navy in 1977.

 

Monk was consistent, hard-nosed, reliable for a long, long time, and he won two titles. He deserves to be in there.