Rypien Faces Opportunity Shadle, WSU Grad Starts After Head Injury Fells Miller

A lot of folks always thought that Mark Rypien had a head for the game of football.

That was because of his ability to think through situations on the field.

But as it turns out, of equal importance has been that head’s ability to take punishment.

“I’m so hard-headed, those (defenders) probably have a better chance of getting a concussion from me rather than me getting one from them,” Rypien said from his St. Louis home Thursday evening.

The Washington State and Shadle Park High graduate will start at quarterback for the St. Louis Rams on Sunday against the Buffalo Bills.

He’ll take the place of Chris Miller, who last week suffered his fifth concussion in the last 14 months.

Rypien, MVP of Super Bowl XXVI with the Washington Redskins, signed a free-agent contract with the Rams as valuable insurance against injury to the oft-injured Miller.

His 47-28 record (62.7 percent) as a starter is sixth-best among active NFL quarterbacks, and last week in relief of Miller, he topped the 17,000-yard career passing mark.

After having played sparingly as a reserve at Cleveland last season, Rypien sees this as an opportunity.

“This is it again,” the 33-year-old two-time Pro Bowl selection said. “I had an opportunity about seven years ago in Phoenix, Arizona, (with the Redskins) and I did well enough to get to this point in my career.

“It’d be nice to run the table (win the final three games) and see where it takes us,” he said. “Maybe we end up here in St. Louis another four or five years and put a nice end on a career that’s already been tremendous for me.”

It is a bittersweet opportunity, though, as Rypien and Miller have grown into close friends this season.

In fact, Rypien and Miller talked about the dangers of repeated concussions while at a restaurant last week. The conversation was triggered when an ESPN special on boxer Jerry Quarry aired, displaying his severe brain damage caused by hits to the head.

The look on his friend’s face after Sunday’s game told Rypien that Miller has absorbed more than just the typical NFL bell-ringings.

“I saw him after the game and he was in a different world,” Rypien said. “Here’s a guy with the kind of personality that lights up a room, and to see him like that, very subdued and drained, you know there’s something probably more serious than meets the eye.”

Rypien recalls having suffered one concussion, during the spring game his sophomore year at WSU when his head bounced off the turf after a hard hit at the end of the first half.

“The second half started and I was walking around the third floor of Bohler Gym,” Rypien said. “That was definitely an interesting scenario.”

Rypien absorbed a particularly vicious hit last week when former WSU teammate Erik Howard nailed him with his helmet.

As a result, Howard was fined $12,000 by the league Thursday.

Many have suggested that Miller not risk brain damage by coming back to the game. It’s a sensitive issue that Rypien has discussed with his wife Annette.

“The female side of it is different from the so-called masculine side because as a football player and a competitor, when there’s that question of do you come back or not, 99 percent of the time you come back,” Rypien said. “I don’t know what it is about this game, but you put yourself in those shoes and you probably come back. Fortunately, I haven’t had any real misfortunes like that.”

Rypien, who has reached the pinnacle of his profession by being durable and able to deliver a devastating long-ball, was abruptly tossed into action when Miller went down in the first half on Sunday.

His first pass bounced off the hands of a Rams receiver and was returned for a touchdown by the Jets. He was victimized by another interception when receiver Isaac Bruce fell down while making a cut.

But his two touchdown passes in the second half gave the Rams a 23-20 win, snapped a five-game losing streak, and kept the 7-6 Rams in the playoff race.

“Even though we struggled in the first half, we kind of all knew in our minds that we could come back and rally,” Rypien said. “That’s a good sign for a team as young as we are (youngest in the NFL with an average age of 24.5).”

The city of St. Louis has readily adopted its new team, as up to 5,000 fans showed up to practices during training camp, Rypien said.

He’s seen dedicated fans, though, in his seven seasons in Washington and last year in Cleveland.

In fact, he was alarmed by the Browns’ announced move to Baltimore.

“That’s a tragedy for football; it’s unfortunate for those fans,” he said. “Here’s guys who work in factories who put their paychecks together to get season tickets. You take that away from them and it’s a very serious divorce.”

It is perhaps with a bit of irony that Rypien will get this fresh start against the Bills, the team against which he was magnificent in the Redskins’ Super Bowl win after the 1991 season.

This Bills team features one of the most dangerous sack tandems in the NFL with defensive end Bruce Smith and linebacker Bryce Paup, who “are enough to strike fear in any quarterback,” Rypien said.

Maybe not fear in Rypien’s case, but at least concern.

Because, after all, he has a head for the game.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo