07/22 — Eric Mangini made the rounds this morning — the radio rounds in New York. And try as Mike and Mike (with Trey Wingo in for Mike Golic) and Boomer Esiason (with Chris Carlin in for Craig Carton) tried, the Jets' head coach was not going to publicly declare his starting quarterback two days before the first full-squad practice of training camp.

"Who starts for you under center when you take on Miami in Week 1, Kellen Clemens or Chad Pennington?" Wingo asked with ESPN New York tact.

"That's basically why we have training camp," Mangini said. "And they'll work through training camp, both will get an equal shot to prove they should be the starter. And I'll make a decision within the timeframe."

Mike Greenberg chimed in with a question that articulated the concerns of a lot of fans and probably a few players as well: "How quickly do you feel it would be best for the team to make that decision if it's something that goes pretty much right to the start of the season? Do you foresee that could come with some problems as well as benefits?"

But Mangini wasn't buying what Greenie was selling.

"I think that having both guys work with the first group is always helpful because you don't know what's going to happen through the course of the season," the coach said. "We do that with every position. We work in different combinations of people. ... You want that experience so it's something that you can transition to a lot easier."

A few minutes later, Esiason, on his WFAN Radio morning show, offered his perspective as a former Jets QB.

"I actually lived through it a bit, Coach — and it's not easy for the players, either," Boomer said about a quarterback controversy in the NY market. "What are you looking for in terms of deciding who's going to be your starting quarterback on opening day against the Miami Dolphins?"

"It's going to be who I think gives us the best chance to operate offensively, to be able to move the football on a consistent basis and to be able to score," Mangini responded. "There's no checklist of criteria that I have. It's sort of like when you decide to get married — you just know."

The other topic that seemed to most pique the interests of both radio teams was the presence of Calvin Pace at outside linebacker. To Wingo's question about Pace possibly being a "one-year contract guy" after a strong 2007 for the Cardinals, Mangini said:

"Last season when we looked at Calvin, he was playing in a '34' system primarily, so we were able to see him in that. We really liked the things he did in that system. There's a lot of things to like about him. Athletically, he's fluid, he's big, he's got good instincts, a good burst. And I really like the person a lot — a smart guy and a hard-working guy. So I'm enjoying him."

Then when Esiason asked the coach to "compare him to a player in your days with the New England Patriots," Mangini sight-adjusted seamlessly.

"It's actually more like a player when I was with the Jets," he said of his first stay on a Green & White staff from 1997-99. "He reminds me of Mo Lewis, that bigger, fluid player that can do a lot of different things well."

Two last nuggets from the radio mines this morning. To Boomer, Mangini said DT Kris Jenkins "will be around the 360 range," but repeated his observation from OTAs: "Kris, as big as he is, is extremely athletic. ... He makes that size look good."

And for those who want to dwell on 4-12 rather than '08, Mangini offered this to Greenberg:

"The one thing that's great about the NFL is that every season is unique, so it really doesn't matter what happened the previous year. You see it season after season. We're excited about this year and that's what we're working for, and there's a really good feeling in the building."

The feeling outside the building is good as well. We'll bring you a shorter reporter later this afternoon on the Jets vets checking into their dorms two days in advance of the first full-squad practices of training camp, which will commence with Thursday's morning practice.