Pete Kendall started as a rookie with the Seahawks 11 years ago, so he has an idea of what Nick Mangold and D’Brickashaw Ferguson are going through now with the Jets.
“As overwhelming as it might be, it’s the best way to learn,” Kendall said. “The greatest teacher is experience, so you’re better off getting out there, even if you’re not sure you’re ready.”
That’s good news for Mangold, who could be thrust into the starting center’s spot because of free agent Trey Teague’s ankle injury. The rookie out of Ohio State had been considered as a potential starter at guard, but may shift over. If that’s the case, he knows he has a lot of work ahead of him.
“It is intimidating,” the 300-pounder said yesterday on the final day of this early mini-camp at Hofstra. The team returns on July 28. “The playbook is so massive.”
He said that he is trying not to think about how he will be utilized when the season comes.
“I’ve got too much other stuff to worry about,” said Mangold, who was the Jets’ second first-round pick this year, after Ferguson. “If I mess up out here, then nothing else matters and I won’t be out there at all.”
If Mangold winds up as the starting center, he knows who he will be surrounded by.
“Rookie camp was totally different,” Mangold said. “Now, I’ve got Chad Pennington behind me and Curtis Martin. I’m completely out of my comfort zone. You look around and you almost don’t know if you belong.”
Head coach Eric Mangini said both rookies are “progressing.”
“They are extremely mature, but they are rookies,” Mangini said.
The way things look now, the Jets could well need Mangold to play as though he belongs quickly. Kendall has liked what he’s seen out of his two new linemates.
“They are talented kids,” Kendall said. “I’ll help them as much as they and the coaches want me to. But there’s no better way of becoming a player than being on the field, in games, picking things up that way. You don’t become a football player just watching.”
*
K Mike Nugent struggled on Friday, but recovered yesterday. “I’m much more comfortable this year,” said Nugent, who nailed several kicks of over 40 yards. “But I still have to prove myself. “You can’t afford to slip up in this league.” . . .