Robert Kraft and the Patriots Foundation to raffle off a Super Bowl LI Championship ring
"Everybody on the team is just trying to keep the dream alive. It'd be nice to finish undefeated," wide receiver Gary Clark said yesterday after the Redskins moved one step closer to the second perfect season in NFL history.
With Mark Rypien throwing for 442 yards and tying Sammy Baugh's team record with six touchdown passes three to Gary Clark the Redskins burned Atlanta's gambling defense and routed the Falcons, 56 17, to boost their record to 10 0.
"Ten and 0, you can't ask for much more. Just a little sunshine, and I think we'll get wholesale nfl jerseys the rainbow anyhow," Clark said.
The only cloud on the horizon is that the Redskins keep suffering injuries in wholesale jerseys China bunches.
Five players running back Earnest Byner (knee), tight end Ron Middleton (ankle), offensive lineman Russ Grimm (ankle), defensive wholesale jerseys lineman Charles Mann (knee) and defensive lineman Tim Johnson (shoulder) went out yesterday.
Middleton, who wholesale nfl jerseys left the locker room on crutches, and Byner appeared to be the most seriously injured, and the Redskins will get an update today on their status.
But the Redskins seem to have the depth to overcome injuries, which is why this is fast becoming a season for the history books.
They are the 14th team in NFL history to start 10 0. If they win two more, they'd be one of four teams to start 12 0.
Only one team in NFL history the 1972 Miami Dolphins posted a perfect season, including playoffs, although the Cleveland Browns were perfect in 1948 in the All America Football Conference.
Things are going so well for the Redskins that they never seem to face an opponent at its best.
The Falcons came in without quarterback Chris Miller, pTC cornerback Deion Sanders and offensive left tackle Mike Kenn.
The loss of Sanders made it difficult for the Falcons to play their normal, pressing defense with the corners one on one against the Redskins' Posse of Clark, Art Monk and Ricky Sanders.
"They lived by the blitz, and they died by the blitz," said Redskins middle linebacker Matt Millen. "It wasn't very scientific. They brought a lot of people, and Ryp had some nice reads."
The problem is that the Falcons didn't once get to Rypien, who's been sacked only four times all season. That gave him the time to wait until his receivers got deep against man to man coverage and then unload.
Offensive guard Mark Schlereth said, "It was unbelieveable that they would come [blitz] that much."
Clark said, "It puts a lot of pressure on your defensive backs."
The result was that Rypien hit Clark on touchdown passes of 61, 19 and 82 yards and also threw a 9 yard touchdown pass to Terry Orr and touchdown passes of 19 and 64 yards to Monk.
"That's their style of football," Clark said. "They play rough and tough, and they say they're going to come at you with all they've got. It's worked for them against other teams."
Clark, though, said that not many teams try to play the Redskins that way these days.
"We used to get a lot of one on one in the old days. Since 1987 or 1988, we haven't gotten much one on one," Clark said.
Most teams figure it's too dangerous to play the Redskins' receivers that way.
"That's what we're paid to do [get open]," Clark said. "If we don't get open against man on man, we're not earning our money."
They earned it yesterday. Clark caught four passes for 203 yards, Monk seven for 164 and Sanders three for 29.
Linebacker Jessie Tuggle and defensive backs Tim McKyer, Elbert Shelley and Brian Mitchell (twice) were the victims on the touchdown catches. On Clark's second touchdown catch, he was alone because the Falcons tried a zone. That didn't work, either.
"We couldn't play man [without Deion Sanders], and we couldn't play zone without a mental breakdown," Atlanta coach Jerry Glanville said.