America's Game: The 1991 Washington Redskins | Super Bowl XXVI

[Music] [Music] success is often described as a journey a humble beginning with an improbable ending on November 12th 1990 the Washington Redskins began their journey but their start was not humble it was horrifying a coach always has a dreaded fear and the dreaded fear for me was that game [Music] boy what an unfortunate night for the Redskins who have been battered tonight helpless Redskins are helpless Joe Gibbs watched in disbelief as nine of his players went down with injury five of the wounded were either carried or carted off the field they beat our eyes out then you I mean literally that's the nightmare for me and coach as the casualties mountain Eagles players taunted the their words became this games enduring identity the body bag game while we were sustained always one game I don't know I don't have the answer for it because I think it was Washington's most disheartening defeat in a decade under Joe Gibbs the Redskins rain of the 80s appeared to be over but Washington's players would not let the bodybag game become their burial instead they made it their revival as the Redskins pushed aside their pain and focused on regaining their pride it was it was embarrassing it was embarrassing as a player to here you know this body bag game you know the Redskins were the doormats and we got handled that day so we just filed it away and said hey we'll get another shot at these guys they've never beaten us for anything significant and if anybody comes out the NFC East it's not gonna be those doggone Eagles [Music] two months later Charles Mann and the Redskins got what they wanted [Music] our guys had tremendous pride we went back up there and I think is one of the best efforts I've ever had out of a football team we're playing to Philadelphia Eagles they handled us in the game prior and now we get a shot back in there [Music] [Applause] play-action fake again by rib the good protection lobs it in the end zone I think every one of us kind of felt that or something more than just a playoff game we responded very well and very professionally and went out there did our job [Music] Wynwood hey where was style man where was now great job the Redskins are in their revenge against the Eagles and with it a trip to San Francisco but amid the celebration Washington's players knew that the Eagles were not the 49ers and Mark Ripon was no Joe Montana a sixth-round pick in 1986 rippen's first five years in Washington were marred by injury inaccuracy and erratic play his mistakes were a constant source of scrutiny in a town accustomed to winning let's face it he's gonna be judged here with the Redskins if he can win a Super Bowl because that's what other quarterbacks here are done and so he's gonna be judged on that but by the time the Redskins arrived in San Francisco repens teammates had already reached their decision we knew we weren't gonna win it we knew we weren't good enough and number one guy is Mark Griffin the Redskins were not alone in their assessment of Brooklyn even their opponents could sense a quarterback in doubt his eyes weren't telling me that he was believing in himself he came up the line of scrimmage and in the middle of the first quarter I came to the Cylons at this game this game is gonna be one this guy doesn't believe he can do it back is Ripper to pass and then they had two opportunities down [Music] you knew it's gonna take a great quarterback with great leadership skills that is super confident to help you win and he didn't have it [Music] as a quarterback in Washington DC nothing less than winning the Superbowl is acceptable and if you didn't lead him there and your days are gonna be numbered [Music] Washington Redskins owner Jack Kent Cooke was a billionaire businessman who set the highest standards when Joe Gibbs arrived in 1981 he immediately lived up to them over the next six years the Redskins made the playoffs five times 1 3 NFC championships and captured two Super Bowl titles unfortunately Gibbs run of success spoiled his owner cook now expected every season in Washington to be a Super Bowl season I am in a state of ecstasy never mind that nonsense about euphoria and so on it is sheer unadulterated uncompromising ecstasy but for three straight years the Redskins fell short of their owners expectations by the time training camp opened in 1991 cooks patience had worn thin and DeMar Crippen's foldout was not helping marks deal was up he went a new deal and set out for a little bit there in camp and I think obviously mr. cook be an owner you know why ain't he here you know at me and all those kinds of things irritated by rippen's absence cook lashed out the bloody idiot received the message loud and clear mr. Cook came to practice and I went over and said hi to him and he said mark what kind of a year are we gonna have he says well we're gonna try to take it all the way this year god bless you then mark go out and do it this looks like something I do he gives the mighty blockhead War II and the preseason Mark Griffin was still the same quarterback surrounded by the same questions after the Redskins stumbled to a one-in-three preseason record Cooke decided he had seen enough be pointing that little finger at me like he would do and he goes you have messed this thing up he goes like that and I kind of mistake him back I says and what way is that he goes I'll tell you one thing you've kept too many guys on this team that are old okay and then it goes now you take Jimmie Johnson down there he's doing it the right way okay and he stuck that finger at me again you know well now I get you know I get the veins kind of popped in my neck and it goes I just got bought out of this company and I got 18 million dollars and I got to figure out what to do with it on taxes he says I'm gonna go try and make some money and so you guys can throw it away and then of course in his usual way he went like this he goes I'm not gonna mess you up you got to do what you think but I'm telling you this is what I think you know and I mean he gave me that with the finger and I said yes sir mr. cook I got it every year I start off Super Bowl and now on Sundays when I go in there it should be the happiest day of so a lot of people's lives you know the fans are out there throwing frisbees they're eating hotdogs and stuff and I feel like I'm gonna throw up by the start of the 1991 season jack kent cooke had openly challenged both his coach and his quarterback and week one Joe Gibbs and mark Ripon responded with a performance guaranteed to please even the most demanding home Griffin's got a man wide open [Applause] Griffin led Washington to nearly 400 yards of offense in a dominating effort [Music] [Applause] preparation was very good they against his feet fence and he's been burdock he goes avoids the pass rush going [Applause] the 45 point win was the most one-sided victory in Redskins history and it made mark Griffin look like one of the best investments Jack can't cook that ever made [Music] before the start of the 1991 season Redskins owner jack kent cooke head upset his head coach by praising Jimmy Johnson and the youth movement in Dallas in week 2 Joe Gibbs set out to prove to his owner that younger was not always better for a second straight week Gib successfully orchestrated his office but when it came to his defense Gibbs Jones to delegate Joe was the offensive guru and he oversaw the offense and that's where he needed to stay and Richie paddleball was a defensive guru and and handled the defense and that's where he needed to stay I always with rich in those guys I'd always walk down there know if it ever says please stop them Richie Pettibone being as smart as he was he had a scheme for everything and you just watching these guys come in and out we had the nickel defense the dime defense the penny defense as they were switching players in and out I was one - never left the field and so I started depending on myself that I needed to be the leader that these guys expect me to be in the Battle of youth versus experience Charles Mann won the fight and the Redskins won the game Washington erased an 11-point deficit and captured their second win but the following week the nine year veteran who never missed a play almost missed the game and hopefully we can come out on the winning into the stick that night you know I went to the Dulles Airport Marriott where we stayed the night before the games and at 12:00 midnight my phone rings and I just naturally reached over and grabbed the phone it was Joe Gibbs and he says Charles I said yeah he said I got a call from your wife and I said yeah he says she's in labour pain I hung up the phone and was gone and Cameron Wesley man was born at six forty two seven pounds two ounces I hadn't had very much sleep not other than nodding off and on every now and then and I was so excited about the fact that I just had a son baby Cameron you know I got two kids man delivered turning in his finest performance of the season after three games Washington was in possession of an unbeaten record while man embraced a few memories of his own I had two sacks a forced fumble a recovered fumble and you know we clobbered the team so you know it was all in around a great day and I raced back to the hospital afterwards and I mean it just you couldn't wrote a script any better than that Charles Mann's perfect script is part of a perfect season as the Redskins remained undefeated after four weeks of play against Philadelphia the Redskins second all-time sack leader added to his tally by overpowering the Eagles in a two sack performance the Redskins had many gifted players but none was as gifted in as many ways as Charles Mann I always have a saying say wise you can't get in all the lines in heaven you get in the front of the smart line and you get behind in the physical line and all these Charles somehow gotten almost ever lying you know in the front this guy this is 64 he's got a 28 inch waist and can run like mad I used to kid him I said I come I don't like that way I suit with his lethal combination of size strength and speed man led the Redskins in sacks for a third time in 1991 and in Week five he led Washington to its third straight home shutout we can stay injury free and keep playing the kind of excited motivated football that we played today [Music] all NFL coaches work hard but none worked harder than Joe Gibbs he labored day and night to ensure that his team would be more prepared than the opposition his life is football and that's it he slept on a cot you know for years at risk in Park so if Joe was making that kind of a commitment how in the world could you cut corners how could you not give your all his spirit that he brought made other guys feel that gosh this is a guy that really cares about who we are and what we're doing they talked about this being her Super Bowl Hey expect that kind of effort expect a great effort from them and every single swinging guy starts with teams let's hit it rolling now it's earn this thing today nothing gets away from us to Sonic today okay it's our turn right here let's get this thing our Father who art in heaven I'll be that I mean you just respect somebody like that and it's great to be able to respect your employer when I think back to that team they were highly motivated and all you had to do is kind of you know pouring them in the right direction give them a good game plan they're ready to go preparation was the cornerstone of Gibbs coaching success but he never set out alone good staff was the largest and brightest in the league he had five former or future NFL coaches working alongside we can't say enough about our coaching staff and every single game we went into play we're prepared you know we're prepared mentally to challenge any team we had and you really you really have to take your hats off to all those guys and for what they meant for our football team the meeting of great coaching Minds was a nightly ritual at Redskins Park the entire staff would descend to a room they nicknamed the submarine to begin devising their weekly game plan it's kind of like you know we're getting ready to submerge we're going down and we need coming back up until the game plan is done for that night we knew to shut it down for the night when the we had a trash truck it used to come at 3 o'clock in the morning remember this and it'd be dumping the trash outside and I go okay it's about 3:00 man we need to wrap this up Richie Peck and I am it and torquey all four of those guys working together as a group I think Gibbs made sure everyone knew coaching the Redskins was a team effort even when it came to their biggest play of the 1991 season so when I came coach Gibbs mention it write down how it happened to be sitting in that you know and I mean he's obviously be a very important part of it and he came up with this idea we need to sprint out try and get the safeties to slide a little bit and let from the back side over here like Gary Clark just slide right down the boundary hopefully get the safety to move and turn and throw all the way back across the field sprint bomb and so [Music] sound smart I am I was sitting there going cheesy I don't know about that right do you mean in week 9 the Redskins were facing the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants having lost six straight games to their NFC East rival Gibbs favored a conservative game plan [Applause] but after a horrible start by the Redskins often gibbs knew his gameplay had to change yeah he was always so good at coming in there during halftime and figuring out a way we can adjust and make adjustments to try something and see if we can you know get her you know get out of our adult drums and maybe get something going [Music] there were a couple of things that we kind of started hitting on one of us we call it gut seal you seal the backside by the trap and then you block and so on up front and what Ricky was doing a great job of in that game and kind of got going the second half because we'd have Donny warrant come across and cut and he started hitting gut we started getting something going running and then we hit a couple of big plays and one of them was sprint [Music] to the nearside is ripping instead for Clark and [Music] he just aired it dead solid perfect cut the been better if one play epitomized the Redskins success in 1991 sprint ball was that play the coaching staff had the brains to conceive it Joe Gibbs had the guts to call it and Mark Griffin had the arm to throw it was a perfect opportunity sprint bomb and and once I threw it I said it's all over with this is this is it [Music] Griffin 54 yard touchdown pass preserve Washington's perfect record the Redskins had won eight straight games and Mark Griffin had won over his team mark at that point for all of us the team everybody else I think we believe and you know he kind of earned his way in our heart and I think he'd proven it he's a quarterback it could take you all the way [Music] [Applause] are you doing other kids give me a kiss for me will ya love you I always felt like with mark people could easily miss what made mark a heck of a quarterback yeah he'd throwing out many times the ball might wobble and stuff may not look that good he was not a runner not athletic didn't run around back there and so he was kind of clumsy looking at times but what he never missed was the deep ball man I'll tell you that deep thing there he could hit it [Music] I think we're ghosts have been 75 80 percent on capitalizing on big place that says a lot 1 receivers got to have our ability to get open you know get a get separation from a defensive back protection has to be good the throw has to be good we are on candy with 30 plays were 40 yards that year was unbelievable he had he had the perfect football night he was set on that front row that that meeting room if I asked anybody in there question he was so in tune with what was going on he had answered we had all sorts of packages you know that was a uniqueness what we're doing we went to three wives who went to two wives and two tights went to two wides two running backs in one tight end we had a lot of different variations in an offense it was very multi-dimensional the Redskins diverse offense benefited from a trio of talented receivers art monk ricky sanders and gary clark known as the posse the three men formed a devastating receiving core marriage [Music] [Applause] in week 11 the posse soared past the Atlanta Falcons while their quarterback enjoyed the greatest game of his career mark Griffin threw for 442 yards and six touchdowns it was only one touchdown shy the NFL's all-time mark and his coach knew it and he came over to me and say hey you wanna you want to go for the record and I says you know I'm really not a record guy I'm not not into those things I said besides coach we might play these guys again Griffin had turned in the league's best passing performance of 1991 but his decision to turn down a shot at history was not surprising repins humility mirrored the overall character of his team the Redskins were understated but overwhelming 12 months after being left for dead in the body bag game ma Crippen and the Washington Redskins were alive and well at 11 and all but we still were under the radar people aren't really taking notice of us yet heck you know HBO inside the NFL didn't come in to week 12 the thing that everybody's talking about is can this team go undefeated you're on that undefeated team is this when the pressure really starts to build does they look at their schedule they will honestly say there isn't a team on that schedule that they should lose to yes once they got there I think we started you know letting ourselves dream a little bit are you thinking about the undefeated season you know we look at them one game at a time sure you know at home sitting around with your wife and you know you're saying hey wouldn't that be great it would be a nice thing but if we don't went home that night and I remember talking to my wife and I said gosh you know we're gonna need a lot of tickets Dan you guys go undefeated that's a tough question that's one of the toughest things to do in sports these days I know next I think every team that gets to that point would kind of have that you know across their mind but as happens in sports the knuckle sandwich was right around the corner [Applause] the thing that I believe Joe thought what happened to us that he thought human nature people are starting to talk about how great you are that stuff I mean it came tumbling in on us that was kind of like a wake-up call it said all right let's back to what we're doing and get back on track because you can have a great as year as you have and and do all these wonderful things but if you don't win now they're not gonna remember you for anything others you didn't get it done [Music] by the end of the 1991 season mark Griffin had found the light at the end of a very long tunnel a quarterback who had once been considered mediocre he had suddenly become spectacular ripping through for more than 3500 yards and led the NFC with 28 touchdowns the Redskins won the NFC East for the 14 and 2 record and clinched home-field advantage throughout the playoffs [Music] [Applause] good afternoon from a windy rainy Washington DC where the Redskins who have viewed from the top all year long have suddenly realized how far they could possibly fall rippen had had a career day in Atlanta's regular season visit to RFK Stadium but the falcons were flying high from an upset win the previous week and their newfound celebrity and attracted an entourage MC Hammer on their sidelines they were making a music video I mean come on don't disrespect us like that why would you even do that I mean y'all so y'all know you know that you haven't won here you're trying to get trying to get under our skin it doesn't bothers one bit but rap artists and heavyweight champions were just circus sideshows in comparison to Atlanta's ringmaster Jerry Glanville what do you think Mike were they doing throwing spirals introduced by Rio now I'm thinking of myself it was so far out of context like for me I'm down there paralyzed you know I'm ready to throw up and here's Jerry dan honest to Pete he was kind of yeah he's doing a little dance and stuff thanks for coming really we thought we were gonna leave your ass at the airport you know I can't remember I'm going are you scared I'm afraid they just totally disrespected us and we wanted to beat them so bad [Music] it was really a kind of shut your mouth kind of a statement that we made to to MC Hammer and the Atlanta Falcons the Redskins forced Atlanta into six turnovers ending the day for the Falcons and their sideline entertainment despite the weather mark Griffin moved the offense with ease and Washington's running game ensured the victory the rain-soaked rfk fan celebrated with a unique showering of affection one guy threw one of those things and everybody went hey Mineola seat cushions were flying I think it's a great memory for us and it was a great day and I think the weather kind of fit us everything did it kinda all went our way the following week things continued to go the Redskins way thanks to a late change in the Lions liner I could not believe they had a guy named Conover a rookie starting at right tackle so I mean I'm just going nuts the first play is gonna light into him with all my might wake this rookie up let him know he's gonna be an all day fight and he has no chance of winning I remember getting into his chest before he could get out of his stance Hartley and I was able to reach up and knock the ball out of the quarterbacks hand fumble Fred Stokes picks it up first down for the Redskins one like the 8 yard line and we go in to score and you know the rest was history [Music] where is that the left side petka at the 33 yard line here comes a return my hero down won't even let me in the NFC Championship game the Redskins flexed their defensive muscle while they showed off the league's most prolific offense [Music] Washington strolled to the NFC Championship outscoring their two playoff opponents by a combined total of 48 points their domination was more than impressive it was historic the 1991 Redskins posted the largest average margin of victory among all Super Bowl champions with the win mark Ripon rewarded his coaches faith by finally becoming a championship quarterback while Joe Gibbs rewarded his owners loyalty by delivering Washington's fourth Super Bowl berth in ten years Super Bowl 26 the big game became the Big Chill instead of warm Miami or sunny San Diego the league took its championship to frigid Minneapolis Minnesota the only thing colder than the weather in the Twin Cities was the reception Joe Gibbs gave to the media as his team prepared to face the AFC champion Buffalo Bills our week up here we're gonna try and keep as much as we can a regular work week and try and enjoy everything as we go and like I said we're excited about being here Joe had a uncanny knack of brainwashing people he said the same stuff over and over and over again outside he's a good he's a good receiver and you're talking about a great quarterback so on offense what you got is a problem they got some tough suckers on that team you know they're great you tell them at the most valuable player in the league at running back yada yada yada yada yada and then the camera will be in front of us and we would say they got their some tough suckers those guys are great players big stronger fast they got a great team they have some grace be like wait a minute that's not my words that's Joe's words they're athletes and their team defensive leaders is as good as there is in the league so I mean this is this is like a convention of morticians I mean this is this is not a fun group of but I'll tell you you know and but compared compared to Joe Gibbs a lot of them do go through life with a lampshade but one guy said that we are a perfect reflection of our coach I don't picture myself that way but then again I guess you always look at yourself a little better than what other people do and so I think people look at that and they say well this guy man he has no sense here look at him he's milk tell him hey I think the difference between teams is a very small difference because of under Joe Gibbs system there's no real superstar but it's a super team you know if we weren't sexy enough for the media that fact was made abundantly clear when USA Today ran an article criticizing of all things mark Griffin's hairstyle oh yeah my haircut yeah he's kind of blase you know what I don't I'm not there for those people the people are right and it didn't like us for some reason it's just kind of like well gosh these guys aren't flamboyant it's jeez something's wrong with these guys Thurman Thomas was getting all the press and Bruce Smith and you know and Cornelius Bennett and and you know they're the guys and so they were you know so preoccupied with stuff that Thurman Thomas obviously didn't have his helmet when the start of the game happened Kenneth Davis's hit it running back not Thurman Thomas let's see Kelly goes back wanted to hand the ball off was left with nowhere to go gets pounded as a 45 46 yard line Kenneth Davis was supposed to run the ball which makes us ask what's wrong with Thurman Thomas you know I mean it's the biggest game of your career you don't have your helmet when the game starts Thomas eventually tracked down his helmet he would need it the Redskins smothered the Bills running attack holding the NFL's most valuable player 213 yards on 10 carries once their ground threat was taken away the Bills offense collapsed Jim Kelly was sacked five times and the Buffalo players began losing their helmets for a whole new reason the Redskins defense had silenced the bills explosive attack but Gibbs and his staff were far from finished they had all the defense come together and said we got a play Kurt Gouveia I want you to sit on H back and this guy you do this and Wilber you do that and Jim Kelly is gonna throw the ball right here now Kurt you should make the play [Music] intercepted the 25 to the 20 almost to the end zone [Music] seconds into the third quarter Jim Kelly and the bills were ambushed by the brains of the Redskins coaches and the Brawn of their players the interception led to another Redskins touchdown Washington was comfortably ahead and mock riffin was about to showcase his signature talent on football's biggest stage [Music] babies good [Music] with his bad hair and bizarre celebration microp improved that style punks were of no value in the Super Bowl and I watch that and slow-motion I go oh my goodness what is he doing but that's just the emotions caught me at that time you know this is a Super Bowl and we are handed it till and I came over his sidelines and and one of the guys from from Disney came over and tapped me on the shoulder and said by the way you're the MVP and that's kind of when I started practicing my lines you know I'm going to Disney World I'm going to Disneyland ah Crippen's fairytale ending was so fitting a questionmark quarterback when his story began rippen silenced his critics as he delivered one truly magical season this ring right here doesn't mean gosh I was great I had to play great share these are memories these are guys that you know they were a huge part of what we did stood behind their their group and just raised to an unbelievable level a level that I think his greatest team ever played in a Super Bowl Griffins tribute to his teammates was returned by the same man who one year earlier had been his harshest critic it reminds me of the success that I had in my career it also reminds me of the quarterback so I've put on the ring and I think of mark ripping [Music] while Joe Gibbs had guided his quarterbacks path to his place as a champion mark Griffin had helped his coaches journey reach legendary status gibbs was now the only head coach in NFL history to win three Super Bowl titles with three different quarterbacks I was standing out in the field waiting to do a interview with Charles Mann and he said something that really struck me I'll always remember him say gosh we just won the Super Bowl [Music] but really it was a getting there that really was what made it so special it's the struggle and getting there it's not as much having got it but it's all that gone through and all the obstacles you've had to overcome to get something that hard [Music] okay so now here you our picture this you go through this whole year you win a Super Bowl you just let out a big sigh of relief I go out grab path give her a hug and a kiss we get in the car okay and just before the limo pulls off this fan grabs the door it churched the door open this limo and you were in there and he goes hey we gotta get them next year you give me 30 minutes I thought to myself here we go again I think that's probably part of a football coach's life [Music] [Music] [Music]

Channel: NFL Fanzone

Views: 131,652

Rating: 4.8670144 out of 5

Keywords: NFLFanzone, NFL, Mark Rypien, Washington Redskins, Joe Gibbs, Gary Clark, Art Monk, Ricky Sanders, Charles Mann, Earnest Byner, Ricky Ervins, Gerald Riggs, Brian Mitchell, Chip Lohmiller, Andre Collins, Wilber Marshall, Martin Mayhew, Monte Coleman, Tim Johnson, Darrell Green, Kurt Gouveia, Alvoid Mays, Jumpy Geathers, Jeff Bostic, Joe Jacoby, Jim Lachey, Raleigh McKenzie, Mark Schlereth, Don Warren, Matt Millen, Ravin Caldwell, Russ Grimm, Super Bowl XXVI

Id: pk8uSoYkCfg

Length: 44min 18sec (2658 seconds)

Published: Wed May 13 2020