Testaverde Is Raring To Play Like It's 1998 Todd Archer The Dallas Morning News 8/1/04 OXNARD, Calif. Ð The off-season can be a lonely time for an NFL player who knows he's going to be out of a job. Vinny Testaverde knew the New York Jets did not want him anymore. They told him to stay away from the practice facility. The easy thing would have been to relax, play golf and enjoy the spoils of a 17-year NFL career with his wife and children. Testaverde didn't do the easy thing. Every morning, he went to the gym in his basement and lifted weights for two hours. After breakfast, he would go to a field near his home in New York to throw passes and run. He did all this by himself. Each day. "Sometimes it's hard because you don't have those guys pushing you out there," Testaverde said. "You just have to fight through it every day when you don't feel like doing it." Cowboys coach Bill Parcells does not know if Testaverde can be a 16-game starter at age 40. He just knows he has the chance to do so. In baseball, fortysomething pitchers Roger Clemens and Randy Johnson can start the All-Star Game or throw a perfect game, but fortysomething quarterbacks generally do not succeed. At age 40, Seattle's Warren Moon was named to the 1997 Pro Bowl after throwing for 3,677 yards and 25 touchdowns with 16 interceptions. On the other hand, John Unitas looked older than 40 when he played seven games for San Diego in 1973. But Parcells calls Testaverde a "physical phenomenon." "Vinny didn't just survive because he was a talented guy," Parcells said. "He's got a tremendous work ethic." At 6-5, 235 pounds, Testaverde is among the biggest quarterbacks in the league. And pound for pound, Testaverde is one of the strongest players on the team. While with the New York Jets, wide receiver Dedric Ward saw Testaverde squat about 600 pounds. Most quarterbacks are in the 300-pound range. "I never put more than three plates [on each side] on there," Ward said. "Then I see Vinny with six plates. I hurt my back just watching him." Testaverde's strength complements his natural ability to throw, something Parcells said the quarterback will be able to do "the day before he dies." Passes short or long slide off his fingers with ease. He knows how to put receivers in position to run after a catch or protect them from an oncoming hit. When Parcells and Testaverde joined forces in 1998 with the Jets, they got within a game of the Super Bowl. Testaverde finished that season with 29 touchdown passes, seven interceptions and a 12-1 record. He found a system and a coach that best blended his talents. But Parcells left the Jets after 1999, and Testaverde has as many or more interceptions than touchdown passes in three of the last four seasons. "A lot of what we're running here is what we ran in '98," Testaverde said. "That was a pretty successful year there." After leading the Cowboys to a 10-6 record and a playoff berth, Quincy Carter has pronounced himself the starter even though Parcells has said he does not believe in incumbents. Before signing with the Cowboys in June, Testaverde was promised a chance. "Who he names is not in my control," Testaverde said. "All I can control is how I compete every day."