Veteran Backup Qbs Invaluable
He has traveled, it seems, from greatness to ghost.
Through the veil of streamers and confetti heaped upon the St. Louis Rams these days, you spot this stoic figure on the sideline and you think, “Is that really …?”
Mark Rypien?
“Sometimes I wonder that myself,” said Rypien, Super Bowl most valuable player for the Washington Redskins only four seasons ago, who played high school football at Shadle Park and college ball at Washington State.
“Earlier this year, I was warming up in Green Bay when Chris Miller went down, and some fans near the bench shouted, ‘Fat chance!”’
But is Rypien any less important than when he threw 28 touchdown passes for the Redskins in 1991?
Fat chance.
The irony of this NFL season is that as younger players are hogging more of the spotlight, older players are carrying more of the load. Nowhere is this more evident than at quarterback, where teams with wise, veteran backups are putting up smart numbers.
Bernie Kosar a ghost?
After spending the first few weeks reading defenses for Dan Marino on the sideline, his presence has allowed Marino to undergo knee surgery that perhaps would have been postponed. Kosar will start the next two games for the Miami Dolphins.
Gale Gilbert a ghost? The San Diego Chargers went to the Super Bowl in his first year as backup and sounding board for Stan Humphries. Gilbert may start Sunday against Dallas.
Rodney Peete has a chance to save Philadelphia’s season. Perhaps Jim Harbaugh already has saved the season in Indianapolis.
Then there is Rypien, whose knowledge of the game has helped turn Miller, always a great natural talent, into a competent reader of defenses. Rypien had the same effect last season on Vinny Testaverde and the Cleveland Browns.
Since becoming a backup, Rypien has 17 victories in 24 games. He could be one of the Rams’ most valuable players without taking another snap.
“Younger quarterbacks don’t understand exactly how coverages work,” DeBerg added. Or how the backup role works. It is a complicated job with a description that goes like this:’I know what to say,” Rypien said, “and when to say it.”
Humphries still shaky
San Diego’s Humphries tested his bruised right shoulder Friday for the first time this week, but it’s still unlikely he will start Sunday against the visiting Dallas Cowboys.
During Friday’s practice, Humphries was in for eight plays - four of which called for passes. None of his attempts went over 8 yards.
“It hurt a little bit throwing,” Humphries said. “I didn’t even try to throw it full speed or real hard. I just kind of went through the motion. I don’t think I have the strength yet to throw with thrust behind it.”
A decision on whether Humphries will play Sunday has not yet been made.
Rocket temporarily grounded
Oakland wide receiver Rocket Ismail was held out of practice with a minor leg injury, but it wasn’t serious enough to land him on the Raiders’ injured list.
As the Raiders prepared for their Monday night game against the Broncos at Denver, Ismail ran on the side and also lifted weights.
Coach Mike White said holding him out of regular practice was a precaution.
“You know these sprinters, whenever they feel a twinge in their legs, it’s a concern,” White said. “But he’ll be all right.”
Williams will dress
Dallas wide receiver Kevin Williams is expected to suit up Sunday against San Diego despite still being bothered by a bruised left knee.
Williams was injured Oct. 8 against Green Bay, but practiced Friday. Coach Barry Switzer said he believes Williams, who has 12 catches for 155 yards this season, will play against the Chargers.
“I think he’ll go out and suck it up,” Switzer said. “It’s just sore right now and he’s got fluid on it.”
Seals’ cousin dies
Pittsburgh police chased and handcuffed a cousin of Pittsburgh Steelers defensive lineman Ray Seals, and the man collapsed and died while being handcuffed after a scuffle, authorities said.
Police in the suburb of Brentwood said John Gammage, 31, refused to stop for officers, who saw him driving erratically at 1:50 a.m. Thursday on state Route 51. The officers followed the car, owned by Seals, and stopped it in Pittsburgh.