08/14 — Eric Mangini joked with reporters at today's news conference who wanted to know if it was now OK to ask non-Brett Favre questions — "We're hitting the limit," he said, then looking to PR director Bruce Speight, "Do we have a rule on this?"

But the Jets head coach did field questions about his QB depth chart below Favre and his answers were interesting.

Specifically when asked about Brett Ratliff having a chance to challenge Kellen Clemens for the No. 2 spot behind Favre, Mangini said Clemens will be the No. 2 QB for Saturday night's home preseason debut vs. the Washington Redskins.

"I've talked to Kellen, Brett and Erik [Ainge] about that and really it's no different," Mangini said. "As Brett improves and makes progress, he gets more reps. Kellen's reps are based up on how he does and Erik's reps are based on how he does."

But then does that mean Ratliff is challenging Clemens for the backup job once the regular-season opener at Miami arrives?

"It's Kellen's job right now and we're going to see how the rest of camp goes," he said. "Brett's done some things I've really liked. It's no different than when Kellen was first coming in and getting reps with the ones and twos.

"I've been happy with Brett. I've liked the way he's worked. But that doesn't mean I'm unhappy with Kellen. Erik has the least amount of reps. He's got a real opportunity with these show-team reps to make a case for himself. It's different, it's not our offense, but he can still go through the progressions."

Two other non-Favre questions and answers here. One was on the Jets' first defense in general at Cleveland and how they allowed the Browns to move 62 yards on nine plays to the Derek Anderson-to-Braylon Edwards TD. Concerned, Coach?

"What I wasn't really happy with was the first play," Mangini said of Jamal Lewis' 11-yard burst up the middle to get the drive rolling. "That's a play we studied a bunch of times. It was a function of not having the right fit. This was no huge game-plan-specific New York Jets play. It was about as milquetoast as you can get.

"I didn't like the initial fits and really the level of intensity on that play. It was nothing out of the ordinary. So that play was the play I didn't like. I thought things settled down after that. I thought the running game after that was pretty good."

Indeed, after Lewis' burst, the Browns managed 96 yards on 28 carries, 3.4 per carry, the rest of the night.

The other question was on top draft pick Vernon Gholston's progress.

"I think he's doing OK. The time he missed is affecting him. He's working postpractice, getting some extra experience there," Mangini said. "There are some times where you see the pass-rush ability, the raw power. He's got very strong hands, a great ability to control the line of scrimmage. And those traits just naturally come out, especially in a 1-on-1 drill where there's less processing. You want to see it translate into the game and into the practices. It'll come, it'll come."

One news element Mangini provided in his news event: Favre should get from 8-12 plays in his Jets debut against the Redskins.

"You just can't go in with a hard number because the game, especially in preseason, flows so differently," he said. "Usually you're trying to get 10 to 12 reps." Mangini added that Favre will stay in shorter or longer than the rest of the first offense.

In one (or is it two) transactions, former Penn State RB Rodney Kinlaw was waived but is now returning to the Jets. FB Justin Green was claimed on waivers from Baltimore but subsequently was released.