Goose Bumps Welcome Ol' Sweet 16 By Vic Ziegel New York Daily News 10/10/05 The Jets' first play, Vinny Testaverde's first pass since coming off the couch, found the right pair of hands, and was wiped out by a penalty. A big so-what, nothing to get excited about. But don't try telling that to the old-man quarterback. When he finally trotted on the field, eight minutes into the game, the Jets already three points behind, he was greeted with a standing ovation. "It sent chills through me." Gave him "goose bumps," the 41-year-old said. Goose Bumps, it's what they could call the movie if the Jets' 14-12 win yesterday becomes the beginning of something, you know, super. The season was only four weeks old and the Jets were playing quarterback roulette with cold dice. One more loss, one more quarterback, this time a 41-year-old who might act his age, and the Jets might have been in one those holes that takes another season to crawl out of. Testaverde has been around forever, and a few years more than that. He threw seven passes in the first half and completed three, a modest 43 yards. Those aren't the kind of numbers that take you to Canton. Or keep the home crowd clapping. So his answer to the obvious question - "When did you know you were on?" - produced this surprising answer: "The first pass," he said. "I had the zip. I saw things well. I put the ball where I wanted to." Tampa Bay, with the best defense in the league, came to town undefeated. The kind of team that knows how to punish rusty, musty quarterbacks. But the impressive people on the field yesterday were wearing green - the defense, the offense (finally), and the quarterback who is being asked to make it happen without a minute of training camp. He was home, Oyster Bay, in front of his TV, watching Chad Pennington and Jay Fiedler disappear. Two days later, the phone rang at 7 a.m., and Herman Edwards was on the line. When can you come in, the coach wanted to know. Another half-hour and the quarterback called his mother, Josie. He said, "Hi, mom," and that's all she had to hear. "You're going to the Jets," she said. "How did you know?" "Mothers know everything," she revealed. But how could she have known that her only son would be a hero one more time? Maybe yesterday was the last time, maybe this particular piece of magic runs out after one Sunday. Or maybe Goose Bumps is a script that started writing itself at the start of the third quarter. The first-half stats were one-sided enough to think about invoking the Little League's mercy rule. The time of possession was 22:50 to 7:10, Bucs; 13 first downs to 3, 48 plays to 15, 154 yards to 59. All the Jets were leading in was goose bumps. Tampa Bay was on top, but only by two points, and Vinny was ready to shake off the rust. The Jets opened the next half with a 59-yard touchdown drive, and Testaverde behind the wheel. A five-yarder to Laveranues Coles, 16 yards to Doug Jolley, and 11 yards to Chris Baker that put the Jets 23 yards away. A nine-yard penalty and four grinding runs by Curtis Martin and the Jets were in the end zone, their first offensive touchdown in 22 possessions. Tampa Bay scored the next three points, but those were the last points of the afternoon. "If we can just get better from here on offense we can win a lot of games," Vinny said. "I wish we could have scored more points but we scored. Enough." Brooks (One Game) Bollinger was sacked five times last week. Vinny, who isn't known for his mobility, was sacked twice. Both came in the fourth quarter and didn't hurt. Didn't hurt the Jets, at least. Vinny's one interception, picked off at the Tampa Bay 14 in the last quarter, was more or less a punt. All the Bucs could do with their last serious chance was take almost five minutes to score those last three points. The Jets were left with a two-point lead and four minutes to make sure the points held up. Vinny made sure, all right. Third-and-4, at the Jets' 31, when he rifled the ball to Coles, 17 yards away, covered by a pair of Bucs. The last piece of rust fell off with that pass. Coles pulled it in and the Jets were home. Goose bumps for everybody.