The last time that the Redskins had an actual franchise QB was Joe Theismann. I was only two when he broke his leg.
Man. I remember seeing that break on his leg. Was watching the game. So terrible.
Ouch! 2? I still get sympathy pains shooting through my shin bone whenever I think about that play. But leading up to that, it was frustrating to watch Theismann play. He was constantly missing receivers on short passes and was getting his fair share of boos.
As far as other QBs since, though Rypien put up some awesome stats, he was fortunate enough to have one of the best offensive lines ever to play. The proof behind that is that he was one of the least mobile QBs yet he was only sacked a handful of times and led the league in passing. But after that, when the line started breaking down, he didn’t stand a chance.
A friend of mine thought Rypien was a lock for the Hall of Fame but I argued that Stan Humphries, who held the clipboard at the time, was a better quality QB. He laughed. That is, until the Redskins dealt Humphries to San Diego and Humphries turned around and took the Chargers to the Super Bowl without the benefit of the Hogs.
Also, Doug Williams did have a beautiful arm... well, for a season at least. :-) But, you’re right, neither Rypien, Humphries nor Williams would have been considered franchise QBs.