Jets Sing Praises Of Golden Oldie Vinny Testaverde might be 41 and recently removed from his couch but he doesn't show his age. By Marc Topkin St. Petersburg Times 10/10/05 EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Before he ran on the field to a roaring ovation, before he completed 13 passes and led the Jets to two touchdowns, before he walked off the field with a win over the Bucs, and before he gave 41-year-old couch potatoes everywhere reason to think they too still have it, Vinny Testaverde apparently knew Sunday was going to be a good day. "He was out there smirking at me in warmups," Jets receiver Wayne Chrebet said. "It's like he knew something we didn't know. I guess he knew it was going to be a special day." For Testaverde, the day couldn't have gone much better. Getting up from his couch two weeks ago to sign with the Jets, moving into the starting lineup this week against the undefeated Bucs and their tormenting defense, the 41-year-old quarterback delivered against his old team. "For a guy coming off the street, who was sitting home eating potato chips, man, I think he played a pretty good game," Bucs cornerback Ronde Barber said. "I'm just as surprised as you are." "It was a pretty good script," Jets tight end Doug Jolley said. Testaverde completed 13 of 19 passes for 163 yards, including a clutch third-down pass with 2:31 remaining. He led a key third-quarter scoring drive that put the Jets ahead to stay. He minimized his mistakes, moved the offense and raised the hopes of the 2-3 Jets, who had seen their top two quarterbacks sustain injuries and benched their third. "It was a great homecoming," Testaverde said. "I couldn't ask for it to go any better than it did." The Jets saw enough in Testaverde's first week of practice to know he still has his fastball. But the complexity of the offense, the speed of the game and his potential lack of mobility were concerns. Once they decided to start him, the Jets coaches stripped down their playbook to play to Testaverde's strengths. "That wasn't even our offense," coach Herman Edwards said. "It's just an offense we kind of put together for Vinny, things he could do well and our players could do well." Testaverde got a standing ovation from the Giants Stadium crowd when he ran to the huddle for the first time midway through the opening quarter and connected on his first pass, but there wasn't much he could do as the Bucs controlled the ball most of the half, running 45 plays to the Jets' 15. As it turned out, that might have been the best thing that could have happened since it left him fresh for the second half. "He was crisp," Jolley said. "It didn't seem like their was any rustiness. That impressed me. I knew he was in shape. I knew his arm was in shape. I knew he was a competitor and he wanted to go out and win. But I was surprised how sharp he was." Testaverde said what was most important to him was showing his teammates that he was worthy of their faith and confidence to turn around their season. He took a big hit on his left arm and will probably be a little sore overall this morning, but the smile on his face after the game made it clear how good he felt. Does, he was asked, it ever get old? "Just me," he said.