Mark Rypien

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Mark Rypien
Date of birth	October 2, 1962
Place of birth	Calgary, Alberta
Position(s)	Quarterback
College	Washington State
NFL Draft	1986 / Round 6 / 146th Overall
Pro Bowls	2
Awards	1992 Super Bowl MVP XXVI
Honors	70 Greatest Redskins
Statistics	Pro Football Reference CBS.com DatabaseFootball
Team(s)
1988-1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 2001	Washington Redskins Cleveland Browns St. Louis Rams Philadelphia Eagles St. Louis Rams Indianapolis Colts

Mark Robert Rypien (born October 2, 1962 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada) was an American football player. He was the quarterback at Washington State University, then left college early and turned pro in 1986. He would spend the next 2 years on the Redskins injured reserved list. He watched form the sidelines as the Redskins won their second Super Bowl under coach Joe Gibbs in January 1988. With Doug Williams aging and the trading of Jay Schroeder to the Los Angeles Raiders, Rypien emerged. In his first full year as a starter, he posted 3,768 yards with 22 touchdowns. He also gained his first Pro Bowl birth, as an injury replacement.

His best season came in 1991, throwing for 3,564 yards and 28 touchdowns, with just 11 interceptions, and leading the Redskins to Super Bowl XXVI after recording a 14-2 regular season record. In a dominant performance, he was named the MVP (Most Valuable Player) of the game, after passing for 292 yards and 2 touchdowns, and leading his team to a 37-24 win over the Buffalo Bills. Rypien was named to the Pro Bowl in both 1989 and 1991.

Following the Redskins championship season, Rypien was one of several players to benefit from the team's success, signing a 3-year $9 million deal entering the 1992 season. However, the team battled age and injuries and finished the regular season with a 9-7 record, barely making the playoffs. His passing yardage was a respectable 3,282 yards, but his passer rating fell from 97.9 in 1991 to 71.7 in 1992 and his interceptions outnumbered his touchdowns 17 to 13. Although a dominant team performance in the playoffs brought victory over the Minnesota Vikings in an NFC Wild Card away game, the Redskins eventually lost on a rainy, muddy field in a bruising game vs. the San Francisco 49ers, and the Rypien era was essentially over.

Under new Head Coach Richie Petitbon, Rypien would arguably have his best training camp in 1993 and expectations were high following a Monday Night win over the defending Super Bowl Champion Dallas Cowboys. However, Rypien would injure his knee in Week 2 against the Phoenix Cardinals and the team would begin a precipitous slide toward a 4-12 season finish. When he was healthy enough to return, Rypien performed spot duty, sharing time with the newly acquired Rich Gannon.

The Redskins would hire Norv Turner as their head coach in 1994. Rypien partcipated in off season workouts, but the team quickly decided to release him from his contract and draft Heath Shuler in the first round. Shuler would turn out to be one of the biggest draft busts in team history and the Redskins would struggle through the remainder of the 1990's, battling the salary cap and overall lack of talent.

Rypien would go on to become a journeyman backup, serving with the Cleveland Browns in 1994, the St. Louis Rams in 1995 and 1997, and the Philadelphia Eagles in 1996.

His last touchdown pass came in relief of Eagles quarterback Ty Detmer. It was an 8-yarder to Irving Fryar with five seconds remaining in a 37-10 rout by the Indianapolis Colts.

Rypien would spend three years out of football, before returning as a third-stringer for the Colts in 2001.

[edit] Trivia/Stats

Rypien is one of five players to throw for at least 300 yards in his first NFL game and also has the distinction of becoming the first Canadian-born player to receive the Super Bowl MVP in the Washington Redskins Super Bowl XXVI victory.

In his 11 NFL seasons, Rypien completed 1,466 of 2,613 passes for 18,473 yards and 115 touchdowns, with 88 interceptions. He also rushed 127 times for 166 yards and 8 touchdowns.

Rypien recently debuted with the Rochester Raiders, an Arena football team that plays in the Great Lakes Indoor Football League.

2 of his cousins are NHL players Rick Rypien and Shane Churla.

Mark had a brief stint in the NASCAR Busch Series as a team owner.