4B THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SPORTS
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2005
Old-time quarterback joins the Jets
Ed Betz/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BY JIM LITKE
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
New York Jets quarterback Vinny Testaverde puts on his helmet as he arrives on the field at the Jets practice facility in Uniondale, N.Y. Wednesday. Testaverde will be the fourth-oldest quarterback to start a game in the Super bowl now.
One picture of an old quarterback is worth a thousand words of warning.
The iconic image for today's NFL fans might well be T.O. with his mouth in gear, but to an earlier generation, a single black-and-white photo fixed what the game was about: Y.A. Tittle on his knees in the shadow of the goalposts, his blue New York Giants helmet lying on the ground a few feet away, a trickle of blood creasing his bald pate.
When that image was captured in September of 1964, Tittle was a month shy of his 38th birthday and beginning his 17th year in pro football.
He had no way of knowing it at that moment, but his time had already run out. Ahead lay a season so brutal and bad that he'd quit the game as soon as it was over.
Vinny Testaverde will be almost four years older than that when he settles in over center Sunday at the Meadowlands. He'll be a Jet again, which is only fitting, because that's how his most ardent supporters and detractors will remember him, anyway.
At the moment, though, it's an even-money bet which side will be happier when this experiment ends.
"Everything is old," Testaverde chuckled Thursday, "not just my arm."
His teammates claim they got the opposite impression — if you heard the phrase, 'same old Vinny' in the Jets locker room once, you heard it a dozen times
— but what did anyone really expect them to say?
With a 1-3 record, they haven't blocked well enough to unclob the running game, and they couldn't prevent the first two quarterbacks on their chart, Chad Pennington and Jay Fiedler, from
getting knocked all the way to the sideline.
Maybe that's why coach Herm Edwards warned his squad to worry less about posing for alumni photos with Testaverde and concentrate more on protecting him.
"It's going to take everyone around Vinny to be successful." Edwards said Thursday, "not just him."
If that sounds as if the coach is already laying off some responsibility for bringing Testaverde back, there's a reason.
Edwards said he knew something drastic had to change after watching third-stringer Brett Bollinger run for his life last week against the Baltimore Ravens.
But he didn't rush right out and call Vinny. Screwing up the courage to do that, to switch to Plan D in yet another desperate bid to revive the Jets' season, took the better part of two days.
Testaverde would have been happy to save Edwards the time and trouble. Turns out he watched Bollinger get chewed up too, and even from the safety of his couch, figured he could do better.
But Testaverde didn't rush out and call Edwards, either.
He left the organization after playing in fewer than half the games in the 2003 season, convinced he'd slid too far down the depth chart to make it worth his while. Instead, Testaverde hooked up with his old Jets coach, Bill Parcells, in Dallas and had another productive if unsatisfying season.
It's anyone's guess whether Testaverde would have been moved to re-enlist anywhere else but New York, but at least there he got some encouragement.
Jets receiver Wayne Chrebet and he still get their families together for dinners, and that's
where the reunion tour idea picked up steam.
"I was thinking how the offense was going," Chrebet recalled. "I said, 'Vinny, this is perfect for you. You just drop back there and throw it to the open guy. Just like we played it back in the day."
But Testaverde can take some comfort knowing the Jets can't do much worse with him than without him. Pressure is a word that won't enter his vocabulary this week.
"At that point we were just hoping," he added. "Then it became a reality."
Edwards finally got around to calling Tuesday morning, and 15 minutes later, Testaerde reported for his physical.
By kickoff, he may not know the offense, or that he's only the second-oldest QB in the league behind Doug Flutie, soon to turn 45.
"You just want to go out and react," he said.
He may not know he's the fourth-oldest quarterback to
start a game in the Super Bowl era, or even the sad endings that Tittle, and Johnny Unitas, wrote for their careers.
'Hawks CONTINUED FROM 18
Colleen Quinn. Nichols has recorded 38 saves in her 12 starts to tally a .57 GAA.
The challenge both teams will bring to the Jayhawk Soccer Complex tonight and Sunday provides the ideal setting for Kansas' road to improvement.
"This is a great weekend to turn things around," Braman said. She was the only Jayhawk to score last weekend against Nebraska and Iowa State. "Winning results would obviously be great."
Kansas leads the overall series against Oklahoma State 6-2-2. But this year, the Cowgirls have knocked in more than double the number of goals as Kansas.
The Jahawks have scored 18 times, while allowing opponents to stay close behind with 16. This number does not stand up well to the fact that the Oklahoma tandem holds the first and second points per match spots in the Big 12.
Despite setbacks, such as the sidelining of junior midfielder Nicole Cauzillo, the co-captain has not played in the Pepperdine match on Sept. 11. Francis and his team are convinced they are moving forward.
"I think the team's played well," Francis said. "We've had injuries that have affected us and just some bad luck. Right now we're third from the bottom of the conference. Does that mean we're not a good team? No it doesn't."
Senior forward Caroline Smith continues to lead the team with five goals and three assists for 13 points. One more assist will put Smith atop the all-time Kansas assist leader board. Quinn will likely step in as keeper despite increasing her GAA to 1.17.
In their favor, the Jayhawks feel that returning home will be the best environment for a turning point in their season.
"Traveling takes its toll," Braham said. "It's definitely an advantage for the home team. With the home crowd and no strict schedule in between games, this is obviously the better place to be."
- Edited by Jayme Wiley