He's Baaaaack! Vinny Testaverde & The Jets

I guess Joe Namath's line was busy.

The New York Jets, faced with their top two quarterbacks out of commission, today signed Vinny Testaverde, who will be 42 in two months.

The knee-jerk response is to snicker, or in my case, laugh out loud, uproariously. But desperate times call for desperate measures, and Testaverde was in the NFL last season, at least. So he's 41, but a recently fresh 41 -- sort of like day-old doughnuts.

Actually, I think it's great that a guy like Vinny can keep himself in shape and be ready to step in at a moment's notice. This is quarterback in the NFL, after all -- not an accounting job. It's not like all Vinny had to do was keep his pencil sharp.

Chad Pennington, the Jets' starter, is out for the season, according to reports, with a bum shoulder. Pennington's backup, Jay Fiedler, also hurt his shoulder and is out, though not as long as Pennington. That left third-stringer Brooks Bollinger as the only healthy QB. Bollinger is a household name -- in his own household. Maybe. Regardless, the Jets were justifiably feeling queasy about such a scenario, so hence the call to Testaverde, who led the Jets to the 1998 AFC Championship Game.

But it might as well be the 1988 AFC Championship Game, for as old as Testaverde is. And just for the record, Testaverde was an active QB in '88, too. How active he'll be today, approaching 42, is certainly up to conjecture.

So welcome back, Vinny – the league hasn’t been without you in almost 20 years. We missed ya.