Testaverde exits couch to help Jets

Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2005 | 9:31 a.m.

SUN WIRE SERVICES

The middle-aged man was lodged on a couch in his Long Island home on another lazy Sunday afternoon watching his favorite childhood team, the New York Jets, play the Jacksonville Jaguars.

When he saw quarterbacks Chad Pennington and Jay Fiedler go down with shoulder injuries seven plays apart, he had the same reaction that no doubt countless Jets fans across the New York metropolitan area had.

"God, I wish I could do something," Vinny Testaverde recalled thinking.

Testaverde, of course, was not just another armchair quarterback. He had Jets coach Herman Edwards on his speed dial, for one thing. And 18 seasons of NFL experience, for another.

On Monday night, after hearing reports that Pennington was likely to be out for the season with a torn right rotator cuff and that Fiedler would also be sidelined indefinitely, Testaverde phoned Edwards. He played under Edwards with the Jets from 2001 to 2003 before finishing his NFL career -- or so he thought -- with the Dallas Cowboys last season.

"Herm," Testaverde said he told Edwards, "I'm here for you if you need me in whatever capacity."

That phone call led to Tuesday's signing of Testaverde to be the backup to Brooks Bollinger, who will be making his first NFL start Sunday in Baltimore. Edwards said he was inclined to sign Testaverde on Monday night but slept on the decision. When he woke up still believing it was the right thing to do, he said, he called Testaverde and told him, "Get over here right away."

Fifteen minutes later, Testaverde was at the practice facility. A minute after that, he was in the weight room.

Fiedler and Pennington, meanwhile, took the same flight to Alabama on Tuesday to be examined by Dr. James Andrews, the noted orthopedic surgeon.

The appeal of Testaverde, who turns 42 on Nov. 13, was summed up this way by Edwards: "I think it is a good fit for us."

Mauck, available to any team wanting to sign him to their roster, had been at the airport Monday preparing to fly to New York where the Jets were scrounging for healthy quarterbacks after losing both Chad Pennington and Jay Fiedler for the season.