A Different Read The Cowboys' offensive plays won't change, but Testaverde will give them another twist By Jennifer Floyd Engel Star-Telegram Staff Writer 8/6/04 OXNARD, Calif. - "You want the good news or do you want the bad news?" Cowboys coach Bill Parcells asked. "Give me the bad news," Vinny Testaverde responded. "Well, the gig is up on you." "You giving me the boxing gloves back?" "You want them?" "That's what I came here for." And with that conversation Wednesday morning, the Cowboys' starting quarterback job switched hands from Quincy Carter to Testaverde. But to assume the offense is handcuffed by the switch is naive. Just as there is stuff the Cowboys cannot do with Testaverde that they could with Carter -- for example, do not expect a lot of naked bootlegs this season -- portions of the playbook were off-limits to the Cowboys with Carter last season. As good as Carter was in 2003, and he deserves plenty of credit for a 10-6 season and a playoff berth, he was running a dumbed-down version of the offense. The Cowboys were almost singularly a play-action passing team in 2003, a necessity because it solidified shaky protection and required that Carter only read half of the field. And it worked, especially early in the season. The problems came when the Cowboys fell behind in games and later in the season when opponents had plenty of film on Dallas. Play-action did not work as well, and the Cowboys were revealed as a not-very-good drop-back passing team. Testaverde is going to be able to drop back and read the entire field. "Vinny has got very good anticipation," quarterbacks coach Sean Payton said. "He has great vision, understanding with each route of where he wants to go by coverage. He's an anticipatory thrower. He's accurate and he's got good arm strength. And really the most important thing for our position aside from decision-making is accuracy." Accuracy was not one of Carter's strengths. Neither was decision-making. One of the Cowboys' biggest frustrations with Carter was, although he was a good scrambler, most of his interceptions came when he was out of the pocket and on the run. Testaverde throws better on the run. "We still have the same plays we had for Quincy," offensive coordinator Maurice Carthon said. "We run those same plays. Vinny is good at rolling out and throwing the ball. He did that when we were in New York. We got those same things here. Quite naturally, Quincy did those things well. I don't see those things changing." Testaverde does not buy into the theory that a quarterback has to be a Michael Vick-like scrambler to be successful in the NFL. "I've played 18 years and I've never been considered a scrambler and I've survived a pretty long time, so much for the myth," Testaverde said. "Just because I'm not a great scrambler down the field, it doesn't mean I don't have the quick feet to move around in the pocket to avoid the rush, to get rid of the ball quick, not to get sacks, to give the team the best chance to convert on first down." When Testaverde signed, one of the Jets' coaches called Cowboys offensive line coach George Warhop and told him not to worry because Testaverde was sacked only three times (actually six) in his seven starts last season. Which is not to say the Cowboys' offense does not lose something by losing Carter. Testaverde is not as mobile as Carter. Testaverde will not be as good on those rollout passes to tight end James Witten that were a huge part of the Cowboys' offense last season. Nor will Testaverde be able to cover up for frequent breakdowns by the offensive line like Carter did. "We've got to block for him," Parcells said. "Quincy could improvise a little more than Vinny can. That's certainly the case. I think these young kids will be able to improvise a little more than Vinny. The thing you're going to notice about Vinny, if you watch him for any time, Vinny is pretty hard to sack, because even when you try to tackle him, he's so strong sometimes you can't get him down." It is not a change of offense or the playbook. It simply requires the coaches to emphasize different aspects of it. Parcells said only 20 percent of the offense changes based on the quarterback. Which isn't to say just because something isn't emphasized for Testaverde it won't be used. The Cowboys will roll him out from time to time to keep defenses from just running to a spot in the backfield. They might even send him on a naked bootleg if warranted. "I'm not going to say he's the most elusive, agility kind of guy any more, but don't underestimate his power," Parcells said. "He's a physical phenom. Now that doesn't mean you are going to stay healthy in the NFL, but I will put him up against most 40-year-olds I know." What about most 28-year-old quarterbacks he knows? "Yeah, I think I would," Parcells said, "and a couple of 20-year-olds."