Tag: Mark Rypien

Washington holds a new record after Lions’ NFL playoff win

Another ugly record for Washington.

With the Detroit Lions’ win on Sunday, the Washington franchise was again in the news, but not for good reasons.

On Sunday, in the NFC Divisional playoff round, the Detroit Lions defeated the Tampa Bay Bucs 31-23, advancing to next Sunday’s NFC Championship game. It is the first time the Lions have earned a trip to the game in 32 seasons.

It now means the Cowboys have the second-longest drought of 28 seasons, and unfortunately, yes, Washington now has the NFL’s longest drought of 32 seasons since playing in a conference championship game.

It was the magical 1991 season when the Lions defeated the Cowboys in Detroit of the Divisional round earning a trip to face the Redskins at RFK, who had defeated the Falcons 24-7 in the mud during the seat-cushion game.

In that NFC Championship game, the Lions had future Hall of Fame running back Barry Sanders, but Washington had their own Hall of Famers (Art Monk, Darrell Green, and Russ Grimm, who was injured) and several big-time players making big-time plays like Wilber Marshall with his three sacks.

Charles Mann’s sack and forced fumble on the Lions’ initial series was recovered by Fred Stokes, setting the tone for the day. Mark Rypien completed 12 of 17 passes for 228 yards, two touchdowns and a 152.2 passer rating.

Washington held Sanders to 44 yards in his 11 carries, and Monk and Gary Clark both had second-half touchdown receptions from Rypien, while Green’s interception return for a 32-yard touchdown raised the final score to 41-10.

So now, it is Washington who has the longest streak in the NFL of not playing in a conference championship game since 1991 (32 seasons). It is no coincidence that the former owner began his era in 1999, and it ended as recently as this past July.

Now we hope the new Josh Harris ownership group, general manager Adam Peters, and the next head coach will be the ones to end this three-decades-long drought.

Commanders must get 3 positions right this offseason

Washington must get three positions right this offseason.

It is no secret the Washington Commanders are going for a complete renovation this offseason.

There will be many players released and not invited back for 2024. There will be a new draft class and several new free agents signed to join the Commanders.

Josh Harris is going to hire the franchise’s next general manager any day now. Whomever he is, he will become the first Washington general manager to possess authentic general manager power since Charley Casserly was Washington’s general manager (1989-99).

Then Harris and the new general manager will embark on hiring the team’s next head coach. He will follow Ron Rivera, who failed to achieve a single winning season in his four seasons as Commanders’ head coach.

Quick question: which is most important, your general manager, your head coach, or your starting quarterback? Before you reply, consider the answer might just be “yes.” As important as a general manager and head coach are, today’s NFL might also require you to have a winning quarterback as well.

Which makes the accomplishment of Joe Jackson Gibbs even more significant. Gibbs won three Super Bowl championships for the Burgundy and Gold, and his quarterbacks for those championship seasons were Joe Theismann, Doug Williams and Mark Rypien. Three guys who will never be in the Hall of Fame, and only one was an NFL-leading quarterback (Theismann in 1983), and that team did not win a Super Bowl, though they did play in Super Bowl XVIII, falling to the Raiders.

An NFL team’s starting quarterback can mean so much to your franchise. For instance, the last time Washington had a winning season, Kirk Cousins was the starter. Washington’s last two winning seasons 2015 (9-7) and 2016 (8-7-1), it was Cousins leading the team.

Cousins was criticized heavily by much of the fan base in those days. Yet, how many winning seasons has Washington achieved since Cousins’ departure? Not a single one.

The Commanders will need to land a quality quarterback this offseason as well.

Washington Super Bowl Coach stands alone

As Sean McVay and Zac Taylor look to win their first Super Bowl Sunday, we shall never forget Joe Gibbs won three Super Bowls with three different quarterbacks.

How is it that one coach stands out in contrast to all Super Bowl champion coaches?

Vince Lombardi won the first two Super Bowls with Bart Starr as the Green Bay Packers starting quarterback. Don Shula and Miami won two with Bob Griese. Tom Landry steered Dallas to two Super Bowl trophies with Roger Staubach at the helm. Chuck Noll and the Pittsburgh Steelers won four Super Bowls in the 1970s with Terry Bradshaw behind center.

Tom Flores and the Raiders won two with Jim Plunkett as the leader of the offense. Bill Walsh was the head coach with Joe Montana the field general for three Super Bowl crowns for the 49ers. The 49ers won two more with head coach George Seifert coaching and Montana and Steve Young as signal-callers.

Jimmy Johnson and Barry Switzer both coached the Cowboys to Super Bowl rings with Troy Aikman taking the snaps from center. Denver’s Mike Shanahan as head coach and John Elway in the pocket for the Broncos won it all twice.

Tom Coughlin’s NY Giants took the crown twice with Eli Manning the on-field general. Last but certainly not least, New England’s Bill Belichick won six rings with Tom Brady as the quarterback.

Seifert is the only one above to win a second Super Bowl with a second quarterback (Montana and Young).

There is also Marv Levy and the Bills who went to multiple Super Bowls with Jim Kelly under center — and lost. Likewise, Dan Reeves led Elway and the Broncos to three Super Bowl appearances — they also lost all three.

Yet, there is one other coach to win more than multiple Super Bowls with more than one quarterback, Joe Gibbs of the Washington Redskins. Gibbs not only won more than one Super Bowl with more than one quarterback, he accomplished the feat three times!

Gibbs led Washington to Super Bowl trophies with Joe Theismann, Doug Williams and Mark Rypien winning Super Bowls XVII, XXII and XXVI.

Starr, Griese, Staubach, Bradshaw, Montana, Young, Aikman and Elway are already in the Hall of Fame. Without question Brady will be in the HOF and Eli Manning a 2-time SB MVP is likely to be elected to the HOF. Only Jim Plunkett is likely to not make the HOF.

By contrast, Theismann was only an All-Pro once (1983), and Williams and Rypien were never All-Pro. Rypien had a great year only in 1991. Williams though never even a pro-bowler, was a veteran leader and had huge moments like the playoff win at Chicago (1987) and a nearly perfect 2nd quarter in Super Bowl XXII, earning the MVP.

Joe Gibbs is distinctive among Super Bowl coaches with multiple wins, doing so with three non-Hall of Fame quarterbacks.  Hats off to Coach Joe, who is remarkably now age 81. The Washington franchise and fans were certainly blessed to have enjoyed Joe Jackson Gibbs as head coach.

Charley Casserly remembers the 1991 Washington Super Bowl champions

Charley Casserly and Al Galdi look back at Washington’s magical 1991 season.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbykgy681k112p8 player_id=none image=https://washingtonfootballwire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Former Washington General Manager Charley Casserly was a guest on “The Al Galdi Podcast” Wednesday, celebrating the 30-Year Anniversary of Washington’s last NFL championship.

Washington fans ages 30 and younger simply have difficulty realizing just how strong this Washington Football Team franchise was in the Joe Gibbs era (1981-1992). They were the Washington Redskins in those days. 10 of those years Washington won at least 10 games. eight of those years Washington was in the playoffs. Washington played in five NFC Championship games.

Is this sinking in for you, yet? There were four NFC Championships and thus four Super Bowl games and three Super Bowl Championships. Yes, I am actually describing the same NFL franchise.

Al Galdi celebrated the 30-year anniversary of the last Washington Super Bowl championship (Super Bowl XXVI)  over the Buffalo Bills.

Galdi and Casserly provided numerous nuggets of fascinating info/data of that dominant Washington team. Space only permits I mention a few. Galdi did a splendid job giving tribute to the 1991 Redskins.

“It was a dominant team. We had three shutouts, said Casserly. “When USA TODAY ranked the 49 Super Bowl champs a few years ago, we were ranked number 1.”

“Mark Rypien threw 421 passes and he was sacked seven times. That is one sack for every 60 passes for a non-mobile quarterback,” emphasized Casserly.

“The last preseason game that year we played Buffalo and we stunk. It was tense on the plane ride home. There was an uncertainty of where we were at that time.”

“There was a famous article in the Washingtonian saying that perhaps we had gotten too soft as a team. Perhaps we had too many Christians on the team. Which was absurd and certainly proven that way.”

Once the season started “it kept getting better and better. It just flowed then through the whole year. You get on a roll, and everything is going right, and that is what happened.”

Galdi interjected, “It was incredible. The 1991 team had a regular-season point differential of +261, which is just absurd.”

Joe Gibbs talks Washington’s new name on the anniversary of team’s last Super Bowl win

Joe Gibbs spoke on Wednesday, talking about the 1991 Super Bowl champions, Ron Rivera and the pending name change.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbykgy681k112p8 player_id=none image=https://washingtonfootballwire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Joe Gibbs is the greatest coach in Washington history. Joe Gibbs is the most successful individual in Washington’s franchise history. And Joe Gibbs is the most beloved person in Washington history.

On the 30th anniversary of Washington’s last Super Bowl win, the legendary head coach joined “BMitch & Finlay” on 106.7 The Fan in Washington, D.C., and looked back at Washington’s 1991 team.

There were plenty of good stories from Gibbs. He joked with BMitch (Brian Mitchell), then a second-year running back and return man. He told stories on some of Washington’s greatest characters. And, in typical Gibbs fashion, he mentioned the words “super smart” and “guts” on more than one occasion.

He joked about the Detroit Lions — a 12-4 team in 1991— that Washington beat by a combined 86-10 score in the team’s two games, including the NFC championship. Detroit’s coach at the time, Wayne Fontes, was a good friend of Gibbs, and Gibbs would apologize to him when the two talked, telling him, “you guys bring out the best in us.”

While Gibbs was his usual happy self, he also made sure everyone knew that team was much more than him or Washington’s high-powered offense. Gibbs praised the players, defensive coordinator Richie Petitbon, special teams and the fans.

And, before Gibbs finished his interview, Finlay asked him if the upcoming name change was bittersweet. Gibbs offered a thoughtful and, as expected, positive response.

I think it’s two things: Will it be a little bit, bittersweet? Yes. Because everything I had, I grew up in North Carolina, and the only football team we could get on TV was the Redskins. I grew up kind of never thinking I’d ever have a chance to coach them. Everything in my house is Redskins. And I think everybody there that is a fan, that’s part of our history. But also, I think for our fans and all of us that love the Redskins, and I feel like I am the biggest Redskins’ fan in the world. Whatever that name is, we are Washington football fans, and we are going to get behind it.

Gibbs also discussed head coach Ron Rivera:

And I think right now with Ron being there, I really feel like Ron is the coach that can get us going. We just need to get the things around him that help him. Think about all the things they’ve went through the last two years.

Finally, Gibbs spoke on his love for the franchise, where between two stints, he spent 16 years as the head coach.

We’re gonna rally, all of us, whatever the name is, we’re gonna rally behind that name. We are Washington football fans. I think it’s the greatest sports franchise in the world. I believe that. I think it’s got a solid base of fans that love that team. It’s the only thing that unites that city. It’s the greatest city in the world to be a part of. I love that. 

This almost 30-minute interview was a welcomed trip down memory lane for longtime Washington fans. The past 30 years have caused much pain and anguish, leaving many to abandon the franchise they once loved. But the one thing any current or lapsed Washington fan can agree on is their love and respect for Gibbs.

“We’re all excited about the new name,” Gibbs said. “Let’s go.”

We agree, Coach. Let’s go.

1991: The greatest season in Washington Football history, Week 9

We could use some good news. Ivan has the latest in his series, looking back at Week 9 of the 1991 season — the greatest season in Washington’s franchise history.

This 2021 NFL season reminds us that 30 years ago Washington assembled its greatest team in franchise history, going 14-2 and racing through the playoffs to the Super Bowl XXVI championship and Vince Lombardi Trophy.

Week 9—Washington 17, NY Giants 13— October 27, 1991

Washington overcame a 13-point halftime deficit, coming back to defeat the NY Giants 17-13, before a Sunday night national TV audience and a sold-out Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Coming into the game undefeated (7-0) Washington was dominated in the first half by the Giants, who limited the Redskins to 26 passing yards and 9 rushing yards in only 16 offensive snaps. On the other hand, the Giants in 36 offensive snaps, had gained 119 passing yards and 88 rushing.

Adding salt to the wound was Gary Clark dropping what should have been a touchdown pass from QB Mark Rypien, permitting the Giants to keep their 13-0 lead at the half.

Rypien came back to Clark on a quick in-pattern, from seven yards out in the third quarter, reducing the Giants’ lead to 13-7.

The duo connected again in the final quarter, Rypien rolling out to his left, then looking across the field to his right and throwing deep, to Clark who had gotten behind the defense for a 54-yard touchdown pass, providing Washington their first lead 14-13.

Chip Lohmiller added a 35-yard field goal, and the Washington defense shut out the Giants in the second half, pushing Washington’s record to 8-0.

Rypien finished his night completing 12 of 25 passes for 159 yards and two touchdowns. Earnest Byner limited, playing through an injury gained only 11 yards in 10 carries. However, Ricky Ervins’ 82 rushing yards on 20 carries led Washington.

“The Posse” of Art Monk, Gary Clark and Ricky Sanders each collected three receptions on the night. Clark led in receiving yardage with 70 yards, Monk supplied 42 yards and Sanders 33.

Rodney Hampton led the Giants’ rushing attack with 83 yards in his 21 rushing attempts. Hampton enjoyed a very busy night, also leading Giant receivers with six receptions (39 yards), while Stephen Baker’s three receptions produced 77 yards.

Wilber Marshall intercepted a Jeff Hostetler pass, as the defending Super Bowl champion Giants fell to 4-4 for 1991.

Here is the second half of that game.

 

1991: The greatest season in Washington Football history, Week 6

Ivan focuses on Washington’s Week 6 win over the Bears in that magical 1991 season.

https://embed.sendtonews.com/oembed/?SC=zuNpGystHk-1650457-7498&format=json&offsetx=0&offsety=0&floatwidth=400&floatposition=bottom-right&float=on

This 2021 NFL season reminds us that 30 years ago Washington assembled its greatest team in franchise history, going 14-2 and racing through the playoffs to the Super Bowl XXVI championship and Vince Lombardi Trophy.

Week 6—Washington 20, Chicago 7— October 6, 1991

Mark Rypien and Art Monk connected for two touchdown passes, as Washington won their fifth straight game, defeating the Chicago Bears 20-7 at Soldier Field in Chicago.

Leading 3-0, Rypien found Monk for a 26-yard TD, enlarging the Washington lead to 10-0 at the half. Rypien and Monk teamed up again in the final quarter from five yards out, providing Washington with a 17-7 lead.

Washington kicker Chip Lohmiller was successful on two field goal attempts from 47 yards (first quarter) and 23 yards (fourth quarter).

The Bears actually moved the chains 19 times to Washington’s 12, as Chicago out-gained Washington on the ground (120-75) and passing (199-168).

Yet the Washington defense created big plays, forcing three Bears turnovers. Wilber Marshall, Kurt Gouveia and Fred Stokes all intercepted Bears’ QB Jim Harbaugh. And Washington linebacker Andre Collins also recorded the lone QB sack of the game.

Rypien concluded his day completing 18-31 for 168 yards, two touchdowns and 1 interception. Monk led Washington receivers with six receptions for 69 yards and his two TDs, while Gary Clark and Ricky Sanders contributed five receptions for 44 yards and four receptions for 38 yards.

Neal Anderson led the Bears with 73 yards on his 18 carries including his one-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. Harbaugh struggled at times completing only 17 of his 41 attempts for 206 yards and his three interceptions, for a paltry QB rating of 27.1.

The win elevated Washington’s record to 5-0, while the Bears fell to 4-2.

 

ESPN recently ranked every Washington quarterback between Mark Rypien and Ryan Fitzpatrick

ESPN Analytics ranked the top 30 quarterbacks since Mark Rypien’s last start in 1993. Who do you have at No. 1?

It’s been a rough 30 years for the Washington Football Team. Washington, which last won the Super Bowl in the 1991-92 season, has started 31 different quarterbacks since Mark Rypien started his final game for Washington in 1993.

Washington has tried everything when it comes to finding a franchise passer. It began in 1994 when it spent a top-five pick on Heath Shuler. In the last 27 years, Washington has spent first-round picks on multiple quarterbacks: Shuler, Patrick Ramsey, Jason Campbell, Robert Griffin III and Dwayne Haskins.

Washington has traded for big-name veterans like Brad Johnson, Mark Brunell, Donovan McNabb and Alex Smith. Johnson was outstanding during his short stint, and Smith’s time was marred by a devastating injury, despite an 11-5 record as WFT’s starting quarterback.

The team also drafted quarterbacks in lower rounds like Gus Frerotte and Kirk Cousins. Coincidentally enough, Washington took Frerotte and Cousins in the same drafts as first-round picks Shuler and Griffin, respectively. And, the less-heralded quarterback ended up being the better quarterback in both cases.

ESPN Analytics recently ranked every quarterback since Rypien last started a game for Washington in 1993 to each passer who started a game before Ryan Fitzpatrick started Week 1 in 2021.

John Keim, the dean of Washington beat reporters, commented on each of ESPN’s rankings.

Who do you think made the top five?

Per ESPN Analytics:

  1. Kirk Cousins
  2. Brad Johnson
  3. Robert Griffin III
  4. Gus Frerotte
  5. Jason Campbell

And Keim’s top five:

  1. Brad Johnson
  2. Kirk Cousins
  3. Robert Griffin III
  4. Alex Smith
  5. Trent Green

Keim didn’t exactly say who he had at No. 4 and No. 5 but did say Smith would be in his top five and Green, who was ranked No. 10, should be five spots higher.

I agree with Keim here. You can’t understate how magical Griffin’s 2012 rookie season was. Yes, he couldn’t follow up on it, but he was arguably one of the best players in the NFL that season.

We all know the Smith story and what happened.

The careers of Johnson, Cousins and Green followed similar patterns. The front office botched the situations of all three players in different ways. Owner Dan Snyder got involved when Johnson was in Washington, preferring the strong-armed Jeff George over the much better quarterback in Johnson. And, this was one year after Johnson led Washington to an NFC East title.

Johnson won a Super Bowl with Tampa Bay shortly thereafter.

Everyone knows the story of Cousins. He was never re-signing in Washington.

Green is a player who had a breakout season in 1998 and it appeared Washington had its future quarterback. Again, the franchise botched the contract negotiations because it was for sale. Once they received permission to make an offer, Green had already agreed to terms with the Rams.

This is certainly an interesting list where I side more with Keim than analytics.

Ultimately, this list proves Washington is still searching for that guy.

Tress Way’s 4th Player of the Week award puts him in elite Washington company

Tress Way is well on his way to another Pro Bowl nomination, and his 4th Player of the Week award puts him in a tier with Washington greats.

Early on Wednesday morning, the NFL announced that Washington’s Pro-Bowl punter Tress Way was being honored with the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week award after his performance against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday. It is the second time that Way has earned the award this season, and the second straight week that a Washington player has held onto the honor, with K Dustin Hopkins being named the POW a week ago.

With 8 total punts traveling an average of 48 yards downfield, Way absolutely is deserving of the award, as he singlehandedly played a huge part in the defense’s success by flipping the field constantly after the offense struggled through the day. Now, with his 4th career POW award, Way has entered some absolute elite company in Washington history.

Art Monk, Darrell Green, Mark Rypien, Kirk Cousins, and now Tress Way. People don’t often think of a punter as being that important to a team’s success, but anyone who knows Washington football will tell you that Way is easily one of the team’s best players, even if he doesn’t get the credit that he deserves for it. According to coach Ron Rivera, his value to the team is immeasurable, and he should be well on his way to another Pro Bowl nomination.

If Way continues to put on performances like he did this past week, then his nomination shouldn’t even be a question.

[vertical-gallery id=45088]

Carson Wentz’s historically bad 2020 season puts the Eagles in an impossible bind

Carson Wentz’s regression is one for the ages, and the Eagles have no choice but to ride it out.

We at Touchdown Wire are not exactly breaking news when we tell you that Carson Wentz is having a season for the ages — and not at all in a good way. On Monday night in a 23-17 loss to the Seahawks, Wentz completed 25 of 45 passes for 215 yards, one touchdown, one interception, six sacks, and one pass over 20 air yards completed in six attempts. That was the 33-yard Hail Mary to tight end Richard Rodgers with 12 seconds left in the game — a play that made a lot of gamblers very unhappy, and saved Wentz from further statistical humiliation.

Had Wentz not completed this late-game arm punt, he would have finished his day with 24 of 45 completions for 182 yards and no touchdowns. That, folks, would have given Wentz a yards per attempt total of 4.0. Even with the Hail Mary, we’re talking about a YPA of 4.8. That’s exactly two yards per attempt lower than his career total of 6.8, and it’s just one indication of exactly how severe Wentz’s 2020 decline has been.

Want more? Well, there’s a lot more.

Wentz’s decline isn’t just bad — it’s historically bad, and the other quarterbacks throughout NFL history who have experienced similar declines in their careers were almost always those who hung on a bit too long and felt the effects in a negative way.

Yeah, not good. Per NFL Research, Wentz’s drop in passer rating from 98.3 in 2017-2019 to 73.4 this season makes him the sixth quarterback to have a plummet of more than 24 points in one season. Wentz is the only quarterback under 30 to have this happen to him, and four of the other five quarterbacks on the list (Y.A. Tittle in 1964, Joe Theismann in 1985, Brett Favre in 2010, and Peyton Manning in 2015) retired after those seasons. The only other quarterback on the list is Mark Rypien in 1993. That was Rypien’s last season in Washington — he never threw more than 217 passes in a season after that, though he played for the Browns, Eagles, and Rams from 1994 through 1997, and for the Colts in a 2001 return to the game after retiring from 1998 through 2000.

Not that Wentz is retiring; he’s 27 years old and in the second year of a four-year, $128 million contract extension that has him in the books for $18,656,536 in salary cap for 2020, $34,673,536 in 2021, and $31,274,536 in 2022. If the Eagles wanted to cut bait, it would be massively impractical to do so before 2022. Per OverTheCap.com, the dead cap in 2020 would be $77,877,144, and $59,220,608 in 2021. It’s not until 2022 that a release would be fiscally reasonable; then, the dead cap is just $24,547,072, with a cap savings of $6,727,464.

So, if you’re wondering why head coach Doug Pederson is sticking with Wentz despite his historically bad regression, the simple reason is this: The Eagles can’t really afford to do anything else.