A running joke among sportswriters in Washington was that Rypien could only throw "ducks" in a ten-yard game of catch going during warmups, but threw such a beautiful, accurate deep ball that from 60 yards away, he could play catch with someone sitting down. According to former head coach Joe Gibbs, "Rypien's sideline throws would wobble and didn't look all that pretty. But that man could seriously throw the deep stuff." A 1992 "Sport Magazine" article touted him as one of the best deep passers ever.