For today's Throwback Thursday moment presented by
SUBWAY*® restaurants, Redskins.com looks back at Greg Manusky's rookie season in Washington one year after the Redskins won a Super Bowl.
Shortly after signing as a free agent with the Redskins in 1988, Greg Manusky found himself in a championship atmosphere. After all, the Redskins were coming off a 42-10 rout of the Broncos in Super Bowl XXII, their second Super Bowl win of the Joe Gibbs-1 era.
The rookie linebacker was in awe.
"I remember the first time I practiced with the team I'm like, These guys just won the Super Bowl last year,' " Manusky said. "Geepers, this is unbelievable. The people that I'm playing with, Wilber Marshall, Monte Coleman, Mark Rypien, Doug Williams, Dave Butz. I got Timmy Smith, I got the Hogs.' "
He added: "It was kind of a little surreal because I was like, `I don't even know what I'm doing here.' It was just weird, but the best thing about it was it was a team aspect. That's what Joe brought to the whole team is that team approach across the whole board. That's what I loved about the Redskins."
Manusky had an impressive career at Colgate, earning the distinction of Colonial League Defensive Player of the Year in his senior season, 1987. But he needed a push from another person who had played at Colgate and later started at safety for the Redskins from 1977 to 1984 – Mark Murphy – to get a shot at the NFL.
Murphy spoke to Redskins general manager Bobby Beathard on Manusky's behalf, helping him get his foot in the door at Redskin Park.
"I had just watched these guys in college the previous year," Manusky recalled. "I'm like, `Geez, I'm playing with these guys.' And it was just surreal at the time that I was actually there. Then when you get into it, you go from there."
Manusky played three years for the Redskins, before advancing to stints with the Vikings and Chiefs. In his 12-year career, he played in 113 straight games during one stretch and earned All-Madden Team honors in 1991 for his hard-nosed play. He's currently in his first season as the Redskins' defensive coordinator.
While in Washington, Manusky enjoyed being on the same roster with the Hogs, the Redskins' dominant offensive line. That unit was a major reason the Redskins went 27-21, plus 1-1 in the playoffs, during Manusky's three years in D.C.
"They were playing at a great level at the time," Manusky said. "It's a great thing as a defensive player to know that the offense has your back. Overall, they were so productive as an offensive line. We just kept on running and running the ball behind them. Our offense was consistent in tying up the clock and scoring points. It was so good for the defense because we didn't have to be on the field the whole time."
