Pick-6

Ray Lewis is a certain, first-ballot Hall of Famer. Whether you like him or not, as a middle linebacker, Lewis has the credentials and respect around the league that allows for his name to be mentioned along with Dick Butkus, Mike Singletary, Ray Nitschke and Jack Lambert.

Yet, there’s another Raven who you might as well prepare for enshrinement when he hangs up the cleats.

Now, you might be saying to yourself that he has only been in the NFL for seven years. You might say that if it weren’t for the guys in front of him, such as Lewis, Terrell Suggs and Bart Scott or former Ravens like Peter Boulware, Adalius Thomas and Tony Siragusa (who, believe it or not, was actually a pretty solid nose tackle).

Even more, if you’ve listened to, watched and read the pigskin pundits over the last three or four years, you’d have a general idea of who are the most popular, if not best safeties in the NFL; Pittsburgh’s Troy Polamalu and Indianapolis’ Bob Sanders. While Polamalu can hit as hard as his hair is long and Sanders gives the Colts a jolt as a run-stopper at the position, Ed Reed is the complete package.

In what is arguably the best season of his career, the last two months should have re-introduced Reed in the conversation of best players in the league.

Since November 23rd in the game that broadcasters continually remind you about (Donovan McNabb's infamous, yet 'revitalizing' benching), Reed caught eight of his nine regular season interceptions. He returned those picks for 232 yards and a touchdown; numbers that are staggering considering not only how hard it is for defensive backs to gain an edge over offensive players. He has caught 43 picks in his career, including five returned for scores. Sprinkle a few fumble recoveries and you have the one player in the NFL who truly lives to his reputation as a ballhawk.

Yet, just as some of the league's all-time great defensive backs such as Ronnie Lott, Deion Sanders, Rod Woodson, Lester Hayes, Dick 'Night Train' Lane and others were known for interceptions and/or hard hits, the most underrated part of the game was their ability to deflect passes. Reed's 65 pass deflections aren't bad for someone who is playing 15 yards away from the line of scrimmage.

Those numbers are just the rewards of his near-quarterback vision at his position. He's known as a player who studies just about as much film as his coaches. There is probably no defender that opposing QBs fear more as this description of one of his interceptions from Sports Illustrated... well, illustrates:

With the game tied at 3-3, Pennington threw a pass that appeared to sail over the secondary's head. Dolphins receiver Ted Ginn Jr. fell down. But Reed, in full stride and with his back to the ball, reached out and snagged the catch, Willie Mays-style. All by itself the play was remarkable, but Reed wasn't done.

He darted to his left, hurdled a tackle by fullback Patrick Cobbs, switched the ball from his left hand to his right and cut back to the right. With some timely blocks, Reed kept his legs churning and didn't stop until the end zone. Sixty-four yards. Stadium quiet. Pennington never looked the same.

"Counting the zigzags it felt like 200 yards," Reed said of his long dash. "I don't think I caught my breath until the third quarter."

If Reed had a more showy personality, he might grace highway billboards and cereal boxes. Instead, he simply punches the clock and breaks quarterbacks hearts.

Now, going back to the enshrinement in Canton, you may still think it's premature based on a few stats and glowing descriptions. Yet, when LaDanian Tomlinson was breaking all sorts of records as a running back in his first six seasons, most of the media was ready to place in him the same hallowed halls as Jim Brown, Barry Sanders, Emmitt Smith and a certain unmentionable. For the apparent drop-off from the face of the earth he had for three seasons, Kurt Warner's rags-to-riches story, two MVP awards, and passing records have put him in some discussions as well. Those two have earned the praise, for sure, but as all awards and media hype goes, the sporting public in general has an obession with offensive players and their numbers.

Yet, when a defensive player amasses career numbers beyond the realm anyone expected for a defensive player, let alone a free safety, we need to start talking this guy up. Like yesterday.

Say What?!?!: Does anyone miss the NFL playoff commercials featuring Don Cheadle as much as I do. Here's someone who does.

Photo Credit to Sports Illustrated

Overlooked

Ron Jaworski raised an interesting point on last night's Monday Night Football game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans.

Shortly after tailback Fred Taylor tied the Jaguars' franchise touchdown record with Jimmy Smith (a truly unheralded wide receiver), a question from Tony Kornheiser was raised about his credentials as he moves up in the NFL career rushing yards tally. Jaworski believes that Taylor's total body of work should place him in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

For the few fortunate souls who were still watching the game, that may have been a head-scratching moment for sure.

Kornheiser immediately asked if the fact that Taylor did not play in major NFL markets such as Dallas or New York (which, in reality, just became a big deal nationally in the last two seasons) actually hurts him.

It was a fair conversation on both sides as not only did they have to try to keep the dwindling audience from turning off their TV sets, but they've seen enough football to know who has really got the goods. Yet, it begs the question: is a player who has the numbers, the longevity and the franchise legacy, punished or praised more because of where (s)he plays?

Most people who may have heard this discourse were probably in disagreement with Jaworski because Taylor wasn't a speed demon (though his was underrated) or because he struggled with injuries early on in his career. They'll point to his lone Pro Bowl appearance, despite the fact that Pro Bowl voting is like that for Prom Queen (I don't know this one and I don't like that one, but this is the only person I recognize on the whole list). Yet, considering that Jacksonville is a relatively unknown city beyond the Jaguars and college football history, the players, even one of his ilk, aren't exactly brand names.

This story plays out in every sport as there are players who defined lesser-known franchises without as much as a sniff of post-career credit. So, which athletes in this category do you feel should receive Hall consideration and why, regardless of sport?

Inclusive

When sports fans hear the words “Hall of Fame”, immediate reactions are to talk about baseball and football. Though every sport has its hallowed halls and record books, there is such public and media gravitas involved with Major League Baseball and the National Football League that you’d almost forget than any other sport or league has a Hall associated to their craft.

Baseball’s history and its controversies throughout the years – eventual integration, gambling, performance-enhancing use, the good-ol’-boys network enshrining not-so-great talents – keep Cooperstown in the conscious of nearly every fan. While football shares some similar issues, its position as America’s passion and its impact on television have given Canton, Ohio a national

Well, what about Springfield, Massachusetts?

Friday brought us the induction of some of the best and brightest to ever be involved in the game of basketball as its Hall of Fame welcomes seven new members. While there’s nothing ‘sexy’ about this group, it’s an impressive roll call of names: Hakeem Olajuwon, Patrick Ewing, Pat Riley, Adrian Dantley, Dick Vitale, Cathy Rush (pioneer women's basketball head coach) and William Davidson (Detroit Pistons owner). Why this group does not inspire more than basketball-media chatter is still somewhat astounding.

What separates the Basketball Hall of Fame from Pro Football or Baseball (and Hockey, for those who wonder) is that it honors excellence at all levels of play. Whether it’s college, the NBA or international pro leagues, Springfield prefers to tell the stories of the game under one house, even as individual states and franchises choose to honor their own greats separately. The voters are relatively unknown and the process is not up for as much public discourse as in the other Halls.

For the apparent lack of exclusivity, the Basketball Hall does not lend itself to the rampant promotion, major cable network coverage – ESPN Classic doesn’t have near the reach of siblings ESPN or ABC – and debate within the fan base. The NFL is the undisputed king of American sports and save the Pro Bowl and the Quarterback Challenge, there isn’t an NFL property that does not whip the media into frenzy. Baseball is a sport that is buoyed by major markets, deep pockets and over a century of records to compare. The NBA, as the banner brand of basketball, finds itself continually crafting its image after any media or public slight.

So for the sports nation, it might be more fun to break down the credentials of Todd Helton or Fred Taylor than Chris Webber. This may just be an inconvenient truth for basketball as a whole, but it could be a great opportunity to ask what can the trustees of the sport do to raise the Hall’s profile?

Is a change in order for the selection process, or at least the voters themselves?

Does the Hall move the induction ceremony into or closer to the season instead of the current early September date?

Or do they take the league’s approach of the last decade: wait for Michael Jordan to save us all?

The eligibility of His Airness begins in 2009.

Faith

One of the longest running battles between sports media and sports participants has been waged over religion and spirituality or at least the reverence towards something ‘above us’. Often, a player will praise God in a post-game interview after his or her team walked away with a win. Yet, it’s the scribe that frustratingly or sardonically asks why the player can’t give equal praise in defeat. It’s an understandable qualm being that ideally, sports is the equalizer of all who play, whether one is a devout Jehovah’s Witness, a non-practicing Jew or a respectful, but skeptical atheist.

When Art Monk, the last of the 2008 inductees to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, spoke about his long, long, long overdue honor, he spoke to a heavy Washington Redskins crowd that probably swore something fierce in celebration of the wide receiver’s moment. Where most of us fans and media who revere the game wanted to slap the proverbial face of the PFHoF for taking seven years to elect him, Monk reflected on the peace he made with the long wait by claiming that “as great as this honor is, it’s not what defines who I am or what I have been able to accomplish in my life”

Instead, he discussed where he’d like his identity to show the strongest; through his faith.

“That's right. And even now as a Hall of Famer, the one thing I want to make very clear is that my identity and my security is found in the Lord. And what defines me and my validation comes in having accepted his son Jesus Christ as my personal savior. And what defines me is the word of God and it's the word of God that will continue to shape and mold me into the person that I know he's called me to be.”

As you can tell from the rest of the clip and transcript, Monk was hoping to relay to the crowd that something beyond him allowed for him to have this moment.

The cynical sports writer would have found a way to lampoon Monk for bringing faith into what was supposed to be a celebration for the sport. Yet, maybe because this was one of the most respected wide receivers the game has ever known, there wasn’t a loud cry about his choice of words. In a volatile media market that is analyzing and criticizing the John McCain ad implying that Barack Obama believes himself to be a messiah, you would think that someone on sports talk radio would have gone on a tangent about it all. And maybe someone has.

However, Monk has probably shown us that any problem with sports and faith isn’t always about faith itself, but the person and the timing.

Say What?!?!: Speaking of Monk, an interesting fan question coming out of Jacksonville. Found this on the Jaguars’ website:
Tommy from Atlantic Beach, FL
What effect, if any, does Art Monk finally making it into the Hall of Fame have on Jimmy Smith's chances of making it in?
Vic: Their numbers are comparable. Monk has 78 more catches and 434 more yards, but Jimmy Smith is right with the best of them when it comes to stats. Jimmy’s problem, and it’s the same for all wide receivers, is that the Hall of Fame is starting to become the Hall of Fame of Wide Receivers, and Monk just added another name to the list. I think you’re going to see the Hall of Fame committee turn away from wide receivers for awhile. I think you’re going to see the committee begin turning toward the defensive side of the ball, which does not have enough representation, especially at linebacker.

Besides

So besides the Beijing Olympics, what else is there to keep up with in August?

Here's something to start with this weekend:

Tomorrow: Pro Football Hall of Fame

Could you be a Hall-of-Famer and underrated at the same time? Or overlooked? If you take a look at this year's class, you could make the case for all of these players.

• Fred Dean made his name known to the masses as a San Francisco 49er, but it was in the shadow of San Diego's highly potent aerial attack led by Dan Fouts that he emerged as one of the most feared pass rushers in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
• Before offensive linemen grew in profile (mainly because of criticism of those who underperformed), Gary Zimmerman was a dominant offensive lineman whose lone champion for a long time was famed analyst John Madden (only because of how much the former Raiders coach loves his OLs).
• Emmitt Thomas was a top-flight cornerback for Kansas City whose 58 interceptions are fourth all-time among pure corners (his passes defensed must be pretty impressive if that statistic was kept in the sixties and early seventies).
• Most people forgot there was a football team in New England until the Patriots won Super Bowl XXXVI, but Andre Tippett was a beast at outside linebacker on a team that other than a SB appearance in '86 ('85 season), was just awful. Playing in the same era as Lawrence Taylor didn't help his profile over the years, but any quarterback who felt his wrath could tell you of his ferocity.
• Twenty seasons in the NFL, let alone twenty seasons as a cornerback for one team is an accomplishment in itself. Yet, Darrell Green was one of the best in the business with wide receiver-like speed and free safety vision for the ball. Oh, wasn't too shabby returning the ball, either.
• Jerry Rice will officially be enshrined into the Hall in 2011; one of the few guarantees in life, let alone sports. Art Monk's addition to the Hall in some ways is still a surprise considering how long he had to wait to get the call. The prototype to today's big wideouts, Monk utilized his speed and quickness on any and every route. How three Super Bowl titles and career records (many broken by Rice) were not enough for media members who love to talk about numbers and major markets as HOF qualifiers is still beyond me.

All week: Same faces, new places
Yes, Manny Ramirez is a Dodger, Mark Texieira is an Angel, Ken Griffey, Jr. is a White Sock (Sox is still plural, right?), Jason Bay is a Rod Sock, Ivan Rodriguez is a Yankee and I'm headed to the Brewers... However, to get a better sense of how your favorite team will adjust with new players, you have to look beyond the first weekend series after the trading deadline and keep at least the first week in focus. Each team will have at least one home series and one road series to give their new managers an idea of how their newest ballplayers are going to either adjust to unfamiliar teams and parks (or reaquaint themselves). As August rolls along, you may see some adjustments (especially in the case of Boston and Los Angeles, who need Bay and Ramirez to learn new leagues) to the lineups.
Or maybe all of the GMs were playing MLB '08 on XBox/PS3 and won't save the rosters to memory after it's all over.