Testaverde

SAN DIEGO -- As much as each of the Ravens' players would benefit from the distinction that comes with a winning season, one has more to gain than the rest.For Vinny Testaverde, it's a personal matter.That doesn't mean the Ravens' quarterback wants to win any more than the rest of his teammates; they'll all feel more than enough motivation against the Chargers at Qualcomm Stadium today when they try to continue their surprising run of success.But Testaverde is fighting another battle with implications could resonate for years, long after he has taken his last snap.

Colleges Ex-Raven Testaverde chosen for football HOF The National Football Foundation announced that former Ravens quarterback Vinny Testaverde will be a member of the 2013 College Football Hall of Fame Class. Testaverde starred at Miami from 1982 to 1986. The entire class will be unveiled today during a news conference at the NASDAQ OMX MarketSite in New York's Times Square at 11:30 a.m. The Football Bowl Subdivision Class will be inducted at the NFF awards dinner Dec. 10 at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York.

HOUSTON -- He was rolling along after the game, taking the blame and explaining his many interceptions, when it came tumbling out of his mouth."I'm going to guarantee the city of Baltimore and my teammates that I won't have any more days like I had today," Vinny Testaverde said.Whoa. A guarantee.OK, maybe it wasn't quite as dramatic as Joe Namath's guarantee of victory before Super Bowl III.Joe was promising to play well.Vinny was promising to play a little less poorly.Talk about declining standards.

The Ravens have had a tremendous amount of offense this season compared with the past nine years, but let's not be foolish enough to think this group rates with the Ravens' offenses that were here when the team first moved to Baltimore. The present group doesn't have a veteran quarterback or receivers who can constantly get down field. In the mid-1990s, the offenses were loaded. The Ravens had great receivers in Michael Jackson and Derrick Alexander. The team also had strong-armed Vinny Testaverde.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Former Ravens quarterback Vinny Testaverde started the game for the New York Jets, but neither he nor replacement Glenn Foley had much success against Testaverde's former team in the 33-0 preseason loss. Testaverde was 6-for-10 for 54 yards and Foley was only 5-for-15 for 37 yards.Testaverde said the Ravens blitzes confused his young line."I don't know what their game plan was or if that made them play any better," Testaverde said. "Every team goes through a game like this and we're fortunate that this happened now. Hopefully, this opens a lot of eyes to what we have to do."

He was at the peak of his career last summer, coming off a Pro Bowl season with a new contract extension in his pocket.A year later, Vinny Testaverde is out of a job. Cut by the Ravens earlier this month, he is still unsigned, with NFL training camps set to open in mid-July.Did the Ravens mistreat him? That's a question still lingering in the air at the team's training facility, even though Testaverde is gone.As usual with the Ravens, even the simplest-sounding question has a complicated answer.

Who looks the worst in the wake of Vinny Testaverde's astounding resurgence? Call it a draw between the team that released him, the columnist who blamed him for all the Ravens' problems other than their high ticket prices (blush) and the fans who scorned him.We're all in the lead in Vinny's Last Laugh Derby.When you finish wiping the egg off your face, pass that towel over here, please.As the same, old Ravens stumble along at 2-5 with an offense deader than the NBA season, Testaverde is 4-0 as a starter for the Jets and first in the AFC in passing with 11 touchdowns and one interception.

EAST RUTHERFORD -- The Ravens had Vinny Testaverde right where they wanted him yesterday -- on the opposing team.In a move that appeared to be a vote of no confidence in Glenn Foley, who's supposed to be the Jets' starting quarterback this year, coach Bill Parcells decided to start Testaverde against the Ravens. It wasn't exactly a stroke of genius.Testaverde, who was cut by the Ravens on June 2, and will cost them against the salary cap both this year and next year, was, well, Testaverde.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jeff Carlson will make his first NFL start today against the Chicago Bears, replacing the injured Vinny Testaverde.Coach Richard Williamson said yesterday that Testaverde, who strained lower back muscles this week and did not practice, isn't ready to play against the Bears.Carlson, a second-year pro, has played in two games this season. He has completed 23 of 47 passes for 328 yards and one touchdown. He's also thrown three interceptions and been sacked seven times.

It was one of the most touching scenes of the Ravens' inaugural season, the ovation Vinny Testaverde received after practice Thursday for making the Pro Bowl.But it wasn't just his teammates and coaches cheering.Anyone who knows Testaverde -- knows of the dignity he maintained through a decade of unabated criticism -- rejoiced at the news."I couldn't have been happier for him," said Sam Wyche, Testaverde's former coach in Tampa Bay. "You're talking about one of my favorite people in the business."

With their loss to the New York Giants on Sunday, the New England Patriots officially fell out of the "best team of all time" debate. Instead, fans are wondering where the Giants' win ranks among the greatest upsets in sports history. These shocking results are remembered as much for the great teams that couldn't win as for the upstarts. Tom Brady and Bill Belichick still have three Super Bowl victories under their belts and could add a fourth next year. But the Patriots will never be revered as they would have if they had completed a perfect season with a win over the Giants.

Where the Ravens fall in the latest power rankings: ESPN.com No. 24: Brian Billick prepares his team for the inevitable pitfalls of a season - injuries, streaky play, lineup changes. But a reversal like Sunday's wacky Immaculate Deflection? "That's not one scenario I've covered," Billick said. CBSSports.com No. 25: Doesn't 13-3 seem like years ago? In the summer, some thought this was the best team in football. Now they're near the bottom of their division. Foxsports.com No. 25: It took three quarters to get going, but Kyle Boller looked good in the game's final moments.

Not only is Vinny Testaverde back in the NFL, but there's also a chance he'll start Sunday for Carolina against Arizona. And there's a further chance that before Sunday is over, we'll have Testaverde, 43, dueling Tim Rattay - two guys who were no closer to the NFL than their big-screen TVs four days ago. So this is how it goes for teams that don't have Brett Favre, Payton Manning or Tom Brady on their rosters. The Panthers' first-string quarterbacks, Jake Delhomme, faces season-ending elbow surgery, and Carolina backup David Carr came away from the last game with a back injury and didn't practice yesterday.

As the Ravens continue to celebrate their first 10 years of football, it seems fitting that a big piece of the first two will make his return to the city. New York Jets quarterback Vinny Testaverde will back up newly minted starter Brooks Bollinger Sunday, marking the second straight year Testaverde will return to M&T Bank Stadium to face the franchise he led during its inaugural season. Although Testaverde will not start, Jets coach Herman Edwards has not ruled out using the 18-year veteran at some point.

Even as one of Dan Marino's passing records is about to fall, John Unitas has withstood yet another threat to his NFL record of 47 consecutive games with a touchdown pass. Green Bay quarterback Brett Favre had reached 36 straight games with at least one touchdown pass until the Packers were pummeled by the Philadelphia Eagles last week, 47-17. Favre didn't seem overly upset, but Packers quarterback coach Darrell Bevell was. "With a different offense, maybe [it wouldn't bother him]," Bevell said.

Chad Williams gave a clear view of his mind-set when he answered a question about his increased playing time yesterday. Williams played primarily as the nickel (fifth) defensive back in the Ravens' 30-10 win over the Dallas Cowboys, replacing an injured Deion Sanders and moving up a notch from his normal role as the dime (sixth) back. Instead of relishing a day on which he returned an interception 44 yards for a touchdown, Williams looked at the future. "Now when I switch back to dime, I'll have an advantage because I'll be that much quicker on the tight end," Williams said.

CLEVELAND -- Leaving the field, the "other quarterback" signed autographs. He posed for pictures. He did television interviews.And finally, only seconds before he entered the tunnel to leave Cleveland Stadium, Vinny Testaverde looked up from under his baseball cap and smiled at the crowd, many of them pumping their fists in triumph.This was the day Testaverde finally got the Dawgs off his back.Testaverde, in his first playoff game, shed his reputation of not being able to win big games by completing 20 of 30 passes for 268 yards and a touchdown, as the Cleveland Browns defeated the New England Patriots, 20-13, in an AFC wild-card game before a crowd of 77,452.

The Big Tuna may become the latest NFL coach to get tangled in the Vinny Testaverde net.Bill Parcells, the New York Jets coach, who is usually referred to simply as "Tuna" on the back pages of the New York tabloids, signed Testaverde to be his backup last week after Neil O'Donnell refused to take a pay cut and was released.If Testaverde remains the backup to Glenn Foley -- Parcells said Foley gets the "benefit of the doubt" in the duel -- there shouldn't be a problem.But if Foley, who has been injury-prone, gets hurt or is ineffective and Testaverde winds up starting, it's hard to imagine a worse fit for the former Ravens quarterback.

Dallas quarterback Vinny Testaverde relished the chance to stop the Cowboys' two-game losing streak, while doing it against one of his former teams. But yesterday at M&T Bank Stadium, Testaverde looked much like the passer who wore out his welcome here during the Ravens' first two seasons. Quarterback Kyle Boller took another step forward in his development by leading the Ravens to a 30-10 victory with a fine second half. But Testaverde's fingerprints were all over the proceedings. When his disastrous day was done, Testaverde had thrown two second-half interceptions at a huge cost.

As the downtrodden Dallas Cowboys lumber into M&T Bank Stadium today, this potential lopsided matchup provides another distinct contrast: past and present Ravens quarterbacks transitioning into different eras of their careers. At 41, Vinny Testaverde, the first quarterback in Ravens history, is nearing the end of his run as an NFL starter for the Cowboys (3-6). At 23, Kyle Boller, the youngest quarterback in club history, is just beginning to legitimize himself as an NFL starter for the Ravens (6-3)