ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) -- Rick Mirer is getting what he asked for: another chance.

Is he ready? Doesn't matter. Vinny Testaverde is out with a ruptured Achilles' tendon. Mirer is in.

"I don't know how much I can do fast," said Mirer, whose New York Jets play the Buffalo Bills on Sunday night. "I haven't played with these guys before. I'm still working some things out. This is new to them and me."

The Jets and Bills both are coming off losses. Both had slow starts last season and want to avoid falling behind again.

"It's a pretty big challenge. There are high expectations for this team," Mirer said. "I need to do my best to do what Vinny would have done and pick up where he left off."

But you can't replace the top-rated passer in the AFC overnight. Or can you?

"You don't just find a guy that's a cross between Johnny Unitas and Dan Fouts," said coach Bill Parcells, who nevertheless has a knack for turning chumps into champs.

Look at Testaverde. For now Mirer is just another broken promise. He was a bust with the Seahawks, Bears and Packers after Seattle made him the second choice overall in the 1993 draft.

But the Bills say that's what makes him dangerous. "I think he's going to play well, just because he knows this is his opportunity," Buffalo defensive end Marcellus Wiley said.

"He's been labeled as a guy who hasn't performed up to his ability," Wiley said. "Vinny, before last year, they were saying the same things about him, and he dominated ...(Doug) Flutie. You could keep going. The backup guy is out to show who he is."

Now is a good time and New York a great place for Mirer to turn his football life around in a hurry.

"I can't worry about those (expectations)," he said. "It is very real here in New York, though; other cities don't have this many people talking about it. That is the situation I am in now and I will not make it any harder than it is now."

The similarities between Mirer and Testaverde are scary. Both were college stars, both floundered for years in the NFL.

Mirer is still floundering.

"I'd like to get that (monkey) off my back, the way Vinny did," he said. "There are a lot of similarities if you look at the beginning of our careers, and he showed me last year good things can happen."

Mirer looks to Testaverde for inspiration, but can't expect much else.

"He's got other things to take care of right now," Mirer said. "It takes him awhile just to get up the stairs to get to the (team) meetings."

The Bills say the Jets are the same team with or without Testaverde, who totaled 442 yards and five touchdowns in two victories over Buffalo last season.

"Whoever steps in can get the job done," Bills cornerback Ken Irvin said.

That's what the Jets are hoping. Last season's trip to the conference championship game is history. So are their two wins over Flutie and the Bills.

"Last year? It doesn't matter at all," Jets linebacker Bryan Cox said. "It's different circumstances. You saw that with us against New England."

The Patriots beat the Jets in the season opener after New York won both meetings last season.

The Bills won't have injured running back Thurman Thomas, but the Jets are far worse off without Wayne Chrebet (broken foot), Otis Smith (collarbone), Eric Green (pinched nerve in the neck), Jason Ferguson (knee and ankle) and Leon Johnson (knee).

"The media portrays them as a team that's limping in here," Wiley said. "But the way we look at them, they're still the Jets. They were expected to be in the Super Bowl, and I don't think that expectation changes in one week."

Even without their quarterback and their leader.

"We have to prepare for the New York Jets, not just one particular person," Bills defensive end Bruce Smith said. "Curtis Martin is always a big threat. Their line, and especially Jumbo Elliott, is right up there with the best in the league. Keyshawn (Johnson) is capable of making big plays."

Added safety Henry Jones: "They still have a lot of good weapons. Parcells will have them ready."

NY JETS Season schedule and results

BUFFALO Season schedule and results

September 12 New England L 28-30 September 19 @Buffalo 8:20pm ET September 26 Washington 1:00pm ET October 3 @Denver 4:15pm ET October 11 Jacksonville 9:00pm ET October 17 Indianapolis 1:00pm ET October 24 @Oakland 4:15pm ET November 7 Arizona 1:00pm ET November 15 @New England 9:00pm ET November 21 Buffalo 1:00pm ET November 28 @Indianapolis 4:15pm ET December 5 @NY Giants 1:00pm ET December 12 Miami 4:05pm ET December 19 @Dallas 4:15pm ET December 27 @Miami 9:00pm ET January 2 Seattle 1:00pm ET

September 12 @Indianapolis L 14-31 September 19 NY Jets 8:20pm ET September 26 Philadelphia 1:00pm ET October 4 @Miami 9:00pm ET October 10 Pittsburgh 1:00pm ET October 17 Oakland 1:00pm ET October 24 @Seattle 4:15pm ET October 31 @Baltimore 1:00pm ET November 7 @Washington 1:00pm ET November 14 Miami 1:00pm ET November 21 @NY Jets 1:00pm ET November 28 New England 1:00pm ET December 12 NY Giants 1:00pm ET December 19 @Arizona 8:20pm ET December 26 @New England 1:00pm ET January 2 Indianapolis 1:00pm ET

Records source: STATS, Inc.

Copyright 1999 STATS, Inc. Commercial distribution without the express written consent of STATS is prohibited.