Vin, Jets Soar In 2nd Takeoff Testaverde returns to stop Bucs By Rich Cimini New York Daily News Sports Writer 10/10/05 Vinny Testaverde's storybook day began with a goose-bump moment. When he trotted onto the field to face the Bucs yesterday, the recently unemployed, 41-year-old quarterback was greeted with a standing ovation. It sounded like 1998. Four hours later, after sparking a 14-12 victory and restoring hope into a seemingly lost Jets season, Vinny from Elmont ended his afternoon in a way that probably seemed too farfetched to imagine when he was sitting on his couch two weeks ago. Surrounded by family and adoring fans, he walked out of the stadium carrying his 3-year-old daughter, Madeline, who was dressed in a Jets cheerleader outfit. It almost seemed to schmaltzy to be real. "This is big," said Testaverde, who turned Giants Stadium into Memory Lane, only two weeks after it was the Nightmare on Elm Street. "Just coming home, running on the field and everybody giving me an ovation, it's one of those things you never forget. You remember that for the rest of your life. It sends chills through my body." Testaverde, the fourth-oldest quarterback in history to start a game, didn't fix the Jets' many ills. But by steadying an offense in turmoil and doing just enough to complement a ferocious defensive effort, Testaverde gave the Jets (2-3) a reason to believe. "He was out there, smirking at me in the pregame warmups, like he knew something we didn't know," Wayne Chrebet said of his old friend. "I guess he knew it was going to be a special day." "He was remarkable," Pete Kendall said. The weather was gray, and that was fitting because the Jets were Gang Gray. Testaverde (13-for-19, 163 yards) orchestrated the first two touchdown drives since Chad Pennington's season-ending shoulder injury, both of which ended with Curtis Martin, the oldest starting back in the NFL, plowing into the end zone. They had gone 21 straight possessions without a touchdown. Martin, 32, scored on 2- and 1-yard runs (his first two TDs of the season). The Jets limited the Bucs, playing without injured running back Cadillac Williams, to four field goals. The Jets have allowed only one touchdown in the last two games. Hold the party, though. They still can't run the ball, as Martin was held to 59 yards on 23 attempts. The defending NFL rushing champ has only 285 yards in five games. And they're making too many big mistakes. Jerricho Cotchery lost a fumble on a punt return, rookie Mike Nugent missed two field goals and two interceptions were negated by penalties. The Jets were limited to 59 total yards in the first half. In an unintended way, it might have helped, allowing Testaverde to save his legs for crunch time. Testaverde, who hadn't taken a snap in nine months, perked up in the second half, going 10-for-12 for 120 yards. He was sacked twice, hit only three times. There was one glitch, an interception under pressure, but he hit two huge third-down passes - to Doug Jolley for 16 yards and to Laveranues Coles for 17 on a third-and-4 to ice the game. "My realistic expectation was to come in and get the guys to believe in me, and to get the season turned around," said Testaverde, who started for an ineffective Brooks Bollinger. "I think their confidence was wavering after Chad and Jay went down and, coming in the locker room after the game, this restored their confidence and they believed in me." Mike Heimerdinger made adjustments to suit Testaverde, who has had only six practices since re-signing. The Jets spread the field more than usual, using three and four-receiver formations. They made Coles (six catches for 89 yards) the focal point. In the second half, they kept the Bucs off-balance by mixing three-step drops with maximum-protection blocking schemes. Testaverde's experience came into play on his biggest throw, the 17-yarder to Coles that kept alive a clock-milking drive. It was the same play as the interception, except this time the receiver ran an "in" cut instead of a post. Testaverde made the adjustment based on the coverage. "You're talking about a guy who was sitting at home, and he came in and got us off the carpet," said Herm Edwards, who took a fourth-down gamble that resulted in Martin's second TD. Another time, Testaverde botched a call in the huddle. It was greeted by quizzical looks. So he improvised. "Everybody looked at me like, 'What are you trying to call?' Testaverde said. "I told them, 'You run a hook, you run a seam.' Just like doing it in the dirt." Just like when he was a kid on the Long Island playground. Yesterday, he was a 41-year-old kid.