Testaverde's Not Ready To Ride Into Sunset Yet By Shannon Ryan Philadelphia Inquirer Staff Writer 11/14/04 The rookie's name has arisen. Never a good sign. But Dallas Cowboys quarterback Vinny Testaverde, an 18-year NFL veteran, is not taking calls to play rookie Drew Henson - either from the media or the fans - as a direct hit on him. Coach Bill Parcells has stood behind the 41-year-old quarterback, who will guide the 3-5 Cowboys into a Monday night encounter against the Eagles (7-1). "When I hear it," Testaverde said, "they're saying, 'Hey, let's get the young guy in there.' They're not saying, 'Hey, Vinny's causing us to lose games here.' I'm a competitive guy. I want to be in there playing. I want to be helping my team win football games." So far this season, Testaverde has had mixed success with the Dallas offense. He is on pace to throw for 4,102 yards in the Cowboys' pass-heavy offense, which would be a career-high and the most in club history. He has thrown for 2,051 yards so far, completing 164 of 263 attempts (a 62.4 completion percentage). But there has been a downside for Testaverde - and it has been steep. He has thrown 10 interceptions and just nine touchdown passes. In a 26-3 blowout loss to the Cincinnati Bengals last week, he had three interceptions and fumbled once. His quarterback rating against the Bengals was a dismal 41.2. Testaverde has been intercepted three times in three different games this season. Parcells said he had no plans to pull Testaverde, especially if the playoffs remain a possibility. So when is the right time to try someone new in this sputtering offense, which has scored just 141 points (17.6 points per game)? "That's pretty simple," Parcells said. "Until I was convinced we were mathematically eliminated, I was not thinking about next year at all. "I'd like to play Henson when he had a real good chance to succeed. And right now, the way we are in our circumstances, I think that would probably be prohibitive for him on an extended basis." With the exception of Keyshawn Johnson, Testaverde seems to have a different group of receivers every week. Overall, Testaverde has had eight receivers running in and out because of injuries and trades. Terry Glenn was placed on injured reserve with a foot sprain on Oct. 30. Antonio Bryant was traded to Cleveland for Quincy Morgan, who was injured in his first game. With those players hurt, Testaverde has had to look to unproven young players Randal Williams, Patrick Crayton and Terrance Copper. Williams was moved into the starting lineup; Morgan, listed as a starter on the Cowboys' depth chart, is listed as questionable for tomorrow's game. "The receiving corps has been hit with injuries, but you stick the next guy in there and he knows the offense," Testaverde said. "Hopefully things will work out with practice and repetition. "I think last week I probably pressed a little bit, trying to abort some of the reads and going to Keyshawn. But anytime you try to press, bad things continue to happen. I know as a veteran player, I cannot do that." The Eagles think that there is still plenty of zing left in Testaverde, who won the Heisman Trophy at the University of Miami in 1986. "The one thing that Vinny has always been able to do is throw the ball and put it where it needs to be," Eagles safety Brian Dawkins said. "He still has not just a live arm but a strong arm." Parcells said Testaverde has had more ups than downs in what he calls the Cowboys' roller-coaster season. Last year, the Cowboys passed for just 3,347 yards with Quincy Carter at quarterback. "The week before, there were three interceptions, but two of them weren't his fault," Parcells said. "I think he's done a pretty good job. We certainly are passing the ball better than we did last year." Testaverde knows the game against the Eagles is an important one for the Cowboys. He is more concerned with that than he is his own job security. "I don't really think it would matter to us who we were playing this week," he said. "It'd be a big game because we put ourselves in that position of having to win a football game. We're going to come out and hopefully take our best swing at it."