The rap on Mark Rypien had nothing to do with arm strength, because the man throws farther than you travel on vacation. No, the question was whether he had enough on the ball to go deep into January.
A little jittery in traffic.
Occasionally loses the handle on more than his emotions.
Not necessarily a great leader in a precinct that demands confidence under pressure, Washington.
Those were the whispers, and then came the real body blow from Jack Kent Cooke, who has a way with words. ”A bloody idiot,” the owner of the Redskins labeled Rypien when the gunslinger refrained from joining training camp for fiscal reasons.
But peace has been restored to our nation`s capital. The Redskins beat the Buffalo Bills 37-24 in Super Bowl XXVI at the Metrodome Sunday evening, and if Cooke appeared slightly pale and reserved at yet another trophy ceremony, it might have something to do with the price he`ll pay for Rypien`s pride. The quarterback was selected most valuable performer of this rout, and now it`s Cooke who must scramble about the pocket. Rypien`s contract is up, as is his stock.
Mind you, there are worse ways to make a living than by tossing spirals to Gary Clark and Art Monk. Also, Cooke might remind that the Redskins have snared three NFL championships now with three different quarterbacks. But Joe Theismann and Doug Williams had nothing on Rypien, who sloughed off rug burns, sore ribs and blitzes to complete 18 of 33 for two touchdowns and 292 yards.
True, Rypien arrived late to the scene in July, but such tardiness is dwarfed by Thurman Thomas. All week, he whines about lack of recognition, yet Sunday he forgets his helmet and the head that belongs within.
Buffalo Broncos? Has a nice sound to it, but hold on a minute. Rypien rolled the dice in the summer, and he got it done all winter. To a sixth-round draft choice out of Washington State goes the ring with Washington. They said it couldn`t happen, and they were wrong. If coach Joe Gibbs` system makes a quarterback, without one there is no system.
”If there`s a bigger game than this,” Rypien said calmly afterward,
”come up and tell me about it.”
How completely did Washington own and operate this game? Late in the first half, with Buffalo attempting to take more than its water bucket to the locker room, Jim Kelly threw to Andre Reed, who was all but handcuffed and fingerprinted by Brad Edwards. The mugging went undetected by officials, an oversight Reed couldn`t fathom. So he fired his helmet with greater authority than Kelly was firing most of his passes.
Ed Merrifield, the field judge, tried to miss this heinous act, too. But Wilber Marshall, the Washington linebacker bought from Chicago, pointed to this stray headgear on the carpet-as if to say, how did that get there? The official dropped his flag for an unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty that took Buffalo out of field-goal range, and coach Marv Levy yelled at the zebra all the way to the tunnel. Presumably, Levy still had a few words left for his counterfeit Bills in private.
Buffalo, bidding to become the Denvers of the `90s, attempted to inject some drama by drawing to within 24-10 in the third quarter. But we`ll never know whether the Redskins defense that bent slightly was vulnerable to breaking. Rypien went right back to work, ate up 79 yards in 4 1/2 minutes and drilled another long ball to Clark for the touchdown. The Bills knew at that juncture that they wouldn`t lose this Super Bowl because of a field goal drifting wide in the closing seconds.
”There are 45 other guys who could win this MVP,” Rypien went on.
”That`s why you go to Carlisle, Pa., and practice in 100-degree heat. I`m just happy to be part of all this. We ended a very good season on a very good note.”
Rypien twisted his ankle earlier in the week, and the Redskins held their breath. He was hit early and often Sunday, and the Redskins wondered what he`d be like when he peeled himself off the fake surface. That was the Bills` plan. Bang Rypien`s drum slowly, rough him up after that windup of his, get in his face. Rypien answered the best way possible. When he found Clark for a large gainer in the second quarter one snap after being flattened, Buffalo read the cue cards. Try again next year.
”A busy week,” Rypien admitted. ”So much to do, and I just wanted to cover everything.”
He covered, and so did the Redskins. Rypien was reliable in the end, and now he gets rich, too.
