Vinny Testaverde
Vincent Frank Testaverde Sr. is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League for 21 seasons. He played college football for the Miami Hurricanes, earning consensus All-American honors and winning the Heisman Trophy in 1986.
Testaverde was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the first overall pick of the 1987 NFL draft. After leaving as a free agent, he signed with the Cleveland Browns and was among the people taken away to play for the new Baltimore Ravens during the team's controversial move. He then joined the New York Jets, where he achieved his greatest success. In the last four seasons of his career, he played for the Dallas Cowboys, the Jets for a second time, New England Patriots, and Carolina Panthers for one year each.
Testaverde's professional career is principally noted for its duration: 21 seasons with seven teams. He finished in the top 10 in most career passing statistics: 6th in career passing yardage, 7th in career touchdown passes, 6th in career completions. But he holds the NFL records for losses as a starting quarterback and lowest career regular-season winning percentage for any quarterback with at least 70 wins. He started five postseason games in his NFL career with a record of 2–3. Testaverde was known for his strong arm and high volume, but was also known for his frequent interceptions. Testaverde threw more than 20 interceptions in four of his 21 seasons; during his second season with the Buccaneers, he threw 35 interceptions.
Early life
Testaverde was born in Brooklyn, New York City. While living in Elmont, New York, on Long Island, Testaverde attended Sewanhaka High School in Floral Park, and graduated in 1981. He then attended Fork Union Military Academy in Fork Union, Virginia for a post-graduate year of college preparatory work. Growing up, he was a fan of the New York Jets.College career
Testaverde accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Miami, where he played for the Miami Hurricanes football team from 1982 to 1986. He redshirted as a freshman, backed up Bernie Kosar for the next two seasons, and became the starter in 1985. As a senior in 1986, he was a Unanimous First-team All-American and won the Heisman Trophy, on his way to becoming the Hurricanes' all-time leader in career touchdown passes with 48. In addition to the Heisman Trophy, he also won the Davey O'Brien Award, the Maxwell Award, the Sammy Baugh Trophy, and the Walter Camp Player of the Year Award. His 26 touchdown passes and passer rating of 165.8 in the 1986 season led major college football. He played in the 1987 Fiesta Bowl against Penn State for the 1986 national championship, a game in which the Miami Hurricanes were heavily favored but lost 14–10 in a game in which Testaverde threw five interceptions.Testaverde played an important part in the University of Miami's history as one of the top college football programs of the 1980s and 1990s. Along with Jim Kelly, Mark Richt, Bernie Kosar, Steve Walsh, Gino Torretta, Craig Erickson, and Ken Dorsey, Testaverde is considered part of the University of Miami's quarterback dynasty, and was inducted into the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame in 1998. On May 7, 2013, he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
College statistics
Professional career
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Testaverde was selected as the first overall draft pick by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 1987 NFL draft. He made his NFL debut in Week 2, throwing four passes in a 20–3 loss to the Chicago Bears. He made his first start in a Week 13 loss to the Saints. He scored his first NFL touchdown on a one-yard rush and he threw his first passing touchdown on a 37-yard pass to Mark Carrier. In his second season, Testaverde struggled heavily with a 47.6% completion rate for 3,240 yards, 13 touchdowns, and 35 interceptions. His 35 interceptions were the second most of any quarterback in a single season in NFL history. During his tenure in Tampa, Testaverde received taunts from fans and radio personalities about his color blindness. In 1988, a radio station in Tampa rented a billboard that had Testaverde standing in front of a blue background. The billboard read: "Vinny thinks this is orange!" The high number of errors caused his intelligence to be called into question. National Football League Players Association president Gene Upshaw, unaware that his comments could be heard by anyone viewing through a direct satellite uplink, once commented during an NFL Live! commercial break that Testaverde was so dumb that he would drag the electric cord through his swimming pool while trimming the hedges, and claimed himself to be a better quarterback than Testaverde.In the 1989 season, Testaverde started all 14 games and passed for over 3,000 yards and 20 touchdowns. While Testaverde significantly reduced his interception total in 1989, he again led the league with 22. His numbers continued to improve, and in the 1992 season, his last with Tampa Bay, he threw for a 57.5% completion rate for 2,554 yards, 14 touchdowns, and 16 interceptions.
Cleveland Browns
Testaverde signed as an unrestricted free agent with the Cleveland Browns in 1993. After spending half a season as a backup to his former Hurricanes teammate Bernie Kosar, he became the starter after Kosar's release by then Browns head coach Bill Belichick. Testaverde spent three seasons in Cleveland, and in 1994 led the team to an 11–5 record and a playoff appearance, where they won the AFC Wild Card Round game against New England before being defeated by Pittsburgh in the Divisional Round. Testaverde started on and off for the Browns during the 1995 season, where the team dropped to a 5–11 record and missed the playoffs. Testaverde was part of controversial Cleveland Browns move to Baltimore.Baltimore Ravens
In 1996, most of the players and personnel that made up the Cleveland Browns organization moved to Baltimore, establishing the Baltimore Ravens. Testaverde played two seasons with the newly formed team. He scored the first touchdown in the history of the Ravens on a nine-yard run and ended the season with over 4,000 passing yards, 33 passing touchdowns, and 19 interceptions. Testaverde made his first Pro Bowl appearance in 1996, with the Ravens.Said football statistics site Football Outsiders of Testaverde's unlikely 1996 season, "The real reason the Ravens ranked first in rushing was, believe it or not, Vinny Testaverde, who was out of his gourd as a scrambler that season. Ignore the official stats and take out the kneels, and Testaverde had 197 yards on just 23 carries, 8.6 yards per carry. He scrambled seven times on third down with 5–10 yards to go and converted six of those. He scrambled six times on a 1st-and-10 and gained a new first down five times. Testaverde had not rushed for 100 yards since 1992."
Testaverde signed a restructured four-year contract with the Ravens ahead of the 1997 season. Ravens owner Art Modell complimented Testaverde on his loyalty to the team and his acceptance of the city of Baltimore. However, Testaverde did not perform as well in 1997 as he did the previous year. He threw 18 touchdowns and 15 interceptions, and was replaced by backup Eric Zeier after suffering an injury. Zeier led the Ravens to two consecutive victories and become popular with the fans. After trading for Indianapolis Colts quarterback Jim Harbaugh, the Ravens released Testaverde prior to the 1998 season. While Modell and Ravens coach Ted Marchibroda complimented Testaverde and said that he would start elsewhere in the NFL, Testaverde and his agent were dissatisfied with the way that his release was conducted.
New York Jets (first stint)
In 1998, his first season with his hometown New York Jets, Testaverde began the season as the second-string quarterback behind starter Glenn Foley, whose rib injury in Week 2 made him the starter. Testaverde flourished in his first start, throwing four touchdown passes against the Indianapolis Colts and winning two straight games for the Jets. The recovered Foley was named the starter by head coach Bill Parcells for their Week 6 game against the St. Louis Rams, but after a miserable 5-of-15 outing, he was benched and replaced by Testaverde, who remained the starter for the rest of the season. He went 12–1 in 13 games as a starter, completing 61.5% of his passes with 29 touchdowns, seven interceptions, and a 101.6 quarterback rating, making the Pro Bowl for the second time.In a December game against the Seattle Seahawks, Testaverde was involved in a play that was cited as an impetus for the NFL's adoption of a new instant replay review system the next season. With the Jets trailing 31–26 and twenty seconds left in the game, Testaverde attempted to score on a quarterback sneak on fourth and goal from the Seattle five-yard line. Testaverde had been tackled and the ball was not across the goal line when this happened, but because Testaverde's helmet had crossed the line the game's head linesman, Earnie Frantz, ruled the play a touchdown. The Jets won the game 32–31 and the loss was said to have cost the Seahawks a playoff berth and coach Dennis Erickson his job.
In spite of the controversy, Testaverde's 1998 season was arguably his best season in the NFL. With him under center, the Jets won the AFC East for the first time since the merger and earned a first-round bye, and a home Divisional Round playoff game against Jacksonville. In the AFC Championship that year, they lost to the eventual Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos 23–10.
The Jets had Super Bowl aspirations entering the 1999 season. However, in the first game of the season, against the New England Patriots, Testaverde suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon and did not play for the rest of the season.
In 2000, Testaverde returned as the Jets quarterback. The highlight of the season was the "Monday Night Miracle" game against the Miami Dolphins on October 23, 2000, selected by fans as the greatest game in Monday Night Football history. In that game, the Jets fell behind 30–7 going into the fourth quarter, but came back to win the game, 40–37 behind five touchdown passes from Testaverde, including one each to Laveranues Coles, Jermaine Wiggins, Jumbo Elliott, and two to Wayne Chrebet. In the regular season finale against the Ravens, he passed for a career-high 481 yards, two touchdowns, and three interceptions in the loss. In the 2000 season, he led the Jets to a 9–7 record but missed the postseason. He finished with 3,732 yards, 21 touchdowns, and 25 interceptions.
Following the departure of head coach Al Groh, Testaverde had a new coach in Herm Edwards. In 2001, Testaverde led the Jets back to the playoffs, where they lost in the Wild Card Round to the Oakland Raiders 38–24. Testaverde was efficient in the loss, passing for three touchdowns and no interceptions. In 2002, he was replaced after a 1–3 start by Chad Pennington. He made cameo appearances to take the last snap in both the playoff-clinching game versus the Green Bay Packers and the 41–0 Wild Card Round win against the Indianapolis Colts. In 2003, he was assigned to a backup role behind Pennington, although he started the first six games due to Pennington's left wrist injury.