After an impressive 17-year* *career, Raiders legend Tim Brown will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame Saturday in Canton, Ohio.
The Raiders career leader in receptions (1,070), receiving yards (14,474) and receiving touchdowns (99), made an impact both on and off the field, and prior to his induction, several current Raiders chimed in and wished their congratulations to the man affectionately known as Mr. Raider.
Fullback Marcel Reece:
"He was the epitome of a true football player, and even bigger than that, he was the epitome of a Raider. He was hard nosed. He was tough. He was explosive. They never marked him as the fastest guy. They never marked him as [having] the greatest hands. They never marked him as the greatest route runner or the greatest blocker, but they marked him as one of the greatest, because no matter what, he always found a way to get the job done and get it done in the right way, and at the highest level of anyone. When you think about something like that, you just can't deny it. You can't deny him anything. You can't deny him as Mr. Raider. You can't deny him as a Hall of Famer. He's just a great person, and a great player and a great Raider."
Defensive End Justin Tuck:
"Me and Tim had the opportunity to attend the best university in the world in Notre Dame, so we've had a lot of little encounters here and there. Obviously, watching him from afar, knowing that he was a Golden Domer, as soon as I got to Notre Dame I started looking at him and watching his progression in the league. Obviously, like you said, Mr. Raider, Touchdown Timmy, whatever you want to call him, he's so deserving of this honor, and we just continue to say thank you for what you've done for this league, what you've done for the Raiders, what you are continuously doing, and if there's one person that I know that is always doing the right things, and just being a great example for the younger guys coming up and how to play this game on and off the field, it's Tim. Congratulations, Tim, and obviously you definitely deserve this honor."
Safety Charles Woodson:
"He was a pro. That's what it was, man. He was a seasoned vet, like you said, by the time I came in. He had played the game for a while. He knew what it was about. He had already established himself as a player. He had gone through the time period of being a young guy coming into the league to being a veteran, so he knew what it was all about to be a pro. That was him every day. You could look at Tim Brown when you walk in the locker room and you were going to get consistency with him as a person and as a player. It's always great for a young guy to have those examples, even though you may not follow them right away. But it's great to have those guys in the locker room that you can look up to and see the right way to go about your business.
"He was one of those crafty guys, too. He just knew how to work your leverage, knew how to work you as a defender and get separation. They liked to move him around a lot in the slot, and when he came off the ball he didn't always come off fast, but he'd kind of put you to sleep and then take off and he'd find himself getting where he needed to be and catching the ball and either turning it up or making it a touchdown or whatever it was. He was crafty in that regard. He knew how to work you, knew how to work the defense and make a lot of catches. He made a lot of catches over his career. Touchdown Timmy was special, man, and big congratulations to him on making it to the Hall of Fame."
