But he does have more wins this season. And probably as many gray whiskers, if someone bothered to count.

All said, the aging quarterback with the more remarkable story isn't the guy who arrived in town in a helicopter, but the one who arrived this season in a baseball cap. Right now, Collins is the greatest backup-to-riches tale in recent NFL history, mainly because he has done absolutely nothing to screw up the Titans' 10-0 start and instead is contributing to it.

While the Football world keeps waiting for him to turn back into a pumpkin and lose the starting job, Collins keeps moving along, stretching his career and the Tennessee winning streak and the case that he, not Favre, will be the golden oldie on the field Sunday in the Jets game. Deion Sanders was on TV the other day pushing Collins for league MVP, and although that's a reach, Collins may push for another shot at the Super Bowl to make up for the one he lost with the Giants eight years ago.

The quarterbacks who will stare across the field at each other in Nashville are definitely having a season for the aged, if not the ages. Favre beat the Patriots a week ago, which means he did what the Jets brought him to New York to do. After two months on the job that could be described as mixed, he has a better understanding of his receivers and the system. He also has the Jets on top of the division and on track for the playoffs. There's no question that getting Favre, and turning the page on Chad Pennington, was the right thing for the Jets to do.

That said, Favre is only doing the expected.

Collins is doing the unexpected every time he takes a snap.

"It was hard to think I'd get the opportunity to play," Collins said yesterday. "But I always thought I'd take advantage of the opportunity if given to me."

By now, you know the story. Collins will turn 36 next month, and he began the season as the grandfatherly backup to Vince Young, who was the present and the future of the Titans. But Young had maturity issues dating to last season, and when he buckled under poor play, criticism and injury, Collins stepped in as the starter in Week 2 and the Titans never looked back.

"They're not asking him to do too much," Favre said,

"but when called upon, he gets it done."

True enough. Collins isn't throwing for 400 yards and four touchdowns a game. He isn't putting any defense on alert. He's not that kind of quarterback at this stage. Jets coach Eric Mangini said Collins is "managing the game," which euphemistically means Collins is letting his teammates do the heavy lifting. He has eight TD passes and only four interceptions in nine starts. He's being carried by the Tennessee defense and a solid running game. Plus, had the Titans lost a few games, Collins would be on the bench.

But he isn't on the bench. His experience is bailing him out in a way his arm can't. He doesn't make many mistakes or take silly chances. And the few times he dared to throw deep, he made it count, connecting on a pair of second-half touchdown passes to rally the Titans last week in Jacksonville.

"You can't go through an NFL season without making plays," Collins said. "I haven't lost my skills. I've stayed confident in my abilities and my beliefs."

He's also one heck of a rebounder, probably better than Bill Russell. Remember, this is his second comeback. The first came in 1999 when he joined the Giants and gave up alcohol. He reached the mountaintop in the NFC Championship Game against Minnesota with 381 yards and five TDs in a 41-0 rout. In the spring of 2004, the Giants waved goodbye to Collins and hello to Eli Manning. Collins went to the Raiders, another way of saying he took a few years off.

He was destined to collect dust and all future paychecks as a backup until a series of events led him to the unlikely scenario we see today.

"You know, I played against Kerry in the '96 [NFC] Championship Game and here we are again, facing off," Favre said. "It's quite rare. We're still standing."

Come Sunday, we'll see who's still winning.

Kerry can do

Kerry Collins has done an excellent, largely mistake-free job since taking over as the Titans' starting QB:

160 COMP.

271 ATT.

59.0 PCT.

1,755 YARDS

8 TDs

4 INTs

56 LONG GAIN

19 20+ YARDS

5 SACKED

82.0 RATING