The Redskin Report

There are three wide receivers among the finalists for this year’s Pro Football Hall of Fame voting. Cris Carter is in his 1st year of eligibility while ex-Redskins Art Monk and Andre Reed (many have forgotten that Reed played for Washington late in his career) have been on the ballot for years. The Monk/Reed debate has raged on over the years (both probably should be in the Hall), but this year both have been shunted aside for the newcomer.

Cris Carter is seen by many as a shoe-in for the Hall, so I figured it would be interesting to pull out my old adjusted numbers spreadsheets and compare him with Monk to see if there is any reason for Carter to be considered an easy choice while Monk continues to be shunned.

Before we take a look at the adjusted numbers, here are the actual statistics for each player:

The actual numbers present a clear advantage to Carter. He has more catches, more yards and a lot more touchdowns. He had two years with 122 receptions which dwarves Monk’s record setting 106 catch season. In 1995, Carter peaked with 122 catches for 1371 yards and 17 touchdowns. Monk never hit double digits in TDs in any season in his career.

One interesting thing to note is that Monk’s yard per catch average is almost a full yard ahead of Carter’s. Monk averaged 13.5 ypc, while Carter had only 12.6 ypc. Monk’s 1984 yardage total of 1372 bests any total that Carter put up (granted by only one yard over Carter’s 1995 stats). All the complaints about Monk’s possession receiver status can be applied more so to Carter

However as we know, receiving stats exploding in the mid-90’s. Carter’s career peaked during a period where lesser receivers were putting up huge numbers. So using the same formulas as before, let’s adjust the stats and see what we come up with:

As we’ve seen previously, Monk’s numbers explode by adjusting. Carter’s stats actually improve as well. He spent the early portion of his career playing in the “pro-run” era of the late 80’s and early 90’s. But the adjustment still favors Monk.

He surpasses Carter is career receptions and yardage. In an average season (I excluded both of their final seasons where they collapsed), Monk had 8 additional catches and about 90 more yards. Carter still dominates the touchdown category, with an average of 3 more per season.

The touchdowns are obviously a huge consideration. Carter was one of the leagues best at catching TDs. But a lot of the difference can be attributed to differences in the teams’ philosophies. The Redskins were a running team in Monk’s era and when they got down to the goal-line, they were determined to punch it in with power. The Vikings were much more likely to pass for TDs than the Redskins. A simple comparison of each team’s rushing totals of each player’s peak shows a major discrepancy:

Over the eight years used here (93-00 for the Vikings and 84-91 for the Redskins), the Redskins averaged nearly 6 additional rushing touchdowns per year than the Vikings. It isn’t like the Vikings offense was garbage for these years and the Redskins just played scored more often. If you recall, the Vikings were a very high scoring team for most of the 90s, peaking with the 1998 team which finished with a 15-1 record.

There are other factors that come into play when the Hall of Fame voters get together. Carter played during an era with more coverage, so he tends to be remembered more (who can forget the ole “Cris Carter – All he does is catch touchdowns” every week on ESPN Primetime). Carter has also stayed in the limelight post career, with hosting duties on HBO’s “Inside the NFL”. If we are to consider off the field actions, Carter was released from the Eagles early in his career due to troubles with drugs and alcohol; Monk, on the other hand, was never in trouble. To Carter’s credit, he cleaned himself up after joining the Vikings and turned himself into a fine citizen. Monk also won three Super Bowls while Carter was shutout.

In the end, they rank out pretty similarly. Carter was a touchdown machine over his career and a deserving Hall of Famer. If I had a vote, I put him in. But the issue isn’t whether or not Carter deserves in; it’s why Monk does not? If Carter gets in, then Monk should be in. There isn’t enough between the two receivers to have one in, while the other gets shunned year after year. Its time the NFL Hall of Fame voters get it right; its time to put Monk where he belongs.

For further information on the Monk campaign and an explaination of the adjust statistics used. See The Case For Art Monk - Part One, Part Two, Part Three and Part Four