Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, November 23, 1993 TAG: 9311230181
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Jim Ducibella
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Monk has never waited for JIM the first question, let alone the next one. If he was as elusive to defensive backs as he has been with the media, Monk would have about 900 touchdowns, one for each career catch.
Throughout 14 seasons, he has been a monument to restraint, a symbol of quiet determination.
Yet, Sunday, in the darkest hour of a pitch-black campaign, he was the last player on the bus, prodded there by a PR man who tapped his shoulder and whispered, "Art, it's time to leave."
He called this his most emotionally sapping season, "high school, college or pros."
He knows the Redskins no longer value him and haven't since last season. No one told him Desmond Howard would start for him against the Rams until the offense took the field.
What he said holds no particular surprise. That he chose to say it shows his total frustration.
Monk argued "it's no use to keep going over it. What's done is done."
Except that the Redskins keep doing it, whether it be this crusade against him, which started when Howard was handed a job he couldn't keep, or yanking running back Brian Mitchell for Reggie Brooks two weeks after a 100-yard game against Dallas.
Cynics and snipers are playing "Ring Around The Richie" in light of some of Petitbon's personnel decisions and their apparent illogic.
Take Sunday's other switcheroo - Rich Gannon for quarterback Mark Rypien.
After the game, asked if he might switch back to Rypien, the coach said probably not because, "quarterback's not the problem."
Then why did he make the change in the first place?
"We need mobility," the coach replied.
Then why did he play someone with a stress fracture in his right foot? Someone who hasn't run in six weeks. Someone who admits his conditioning "isn't what it should be." Someone who says his foot hampered him enough that "linemen were catching me."
Bizarre as it sounds, if they wanted mobility, they had the ideal quarterback in the game, briefly.
Mitchell.
Who's more mobile with the football in his hands than a running back? Mitchell took two snaps from center and ran up the gut each time.
Talk about stunningly predictable. You want to show them something? Have Mitchell pass the ball. He did it a few years ago against Philadelphia, with success.
Run him in and out of the huddle. Have him play on alternate series. Use him more than two plays. Whatever seed the Redskins tried to plant Sunday never took hold because they never allowed it to grow.
The bottom line is the Rams were the ideal team for Rypien to regain some touch and some confidence against. They are among the worst defenses in the league. Had he failed, who could argue benching him for the rest of the season?
Instead, he never got the chance. Neither, really, did Monk.
Howard caught two passes for 25 yards. He was open deep once, but the ball was so poorly thrown by Gannon he had no chance to catch it. He was no factor.
After the game - and how about this for delicious irony - Howard wouldn't speak to the media, though you can't blame him. The only real question is why he isn't better. Young players are rarely so introspective.
Nearby, Monk concluded his surprising dialogue with one last whisper.
"No one can ever take away what I've done, or the feeling of confidence I have in myself," he said, his voice drowning in resignation. "Obviously, a person wants every season to wind up on a positive note. Hopefully, my career will end up that same way."
He didn't sound optimistic. No one could blame him.
Jim Ducibella covers the Redskins for The Virginian-Pilot and Ledger-Star.
Keywords:
FOOTBALL
by CNB