NFL

a lot of questions and no answers

We (the intrepid reporters who cover these 3-12 Jets) did all we could to wrest some answers from the ever-effusive (not!) Eric Mangini.

All I can tell you is we did everything we could. In the NFL coachspeak vernacular: We did the best we could with what we had.

Mangini is a good guy with an often embracable self-deprecating sense of humor. A quote machine who actually delivers some pertinent information he is not. Among the topics today included what Kellen Clemens needs to work on and why his completion percantage is so low (52-percent).

I asked Mangini specifically if an NFL QB can be a successful winning QB completing 52 percent of his passes. The essence of Eric’s response was, “It depends on what 52-percent you’re completing. If they are all touchdowns, (he’s) probably OK.”

Huh?

Another line of questioning concerned LT D’Brickashaw Ferguson and whether he’s playing the kind of dominant football a No. 4 overall pick in the draft is expected to play.

Mangini said he “actually” thinks “‘Brick’ has made improvements throughout the course of the season.”

In fairness to Ferguson: He’s not playing poorly … in fact if he were a third-round pick or lower, he’d be playing fairly well. But he has not met expectations attached to his draft place. And he certainly has not lived up to his self-described role as being a “body guard” for his quarterback.

The Jets have allowed 50 sacks this season and Ferguson has had a hand in some of those.

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Of note … Chiefs QB Brodie Croyle (ribs) went from limited practice Wednesday to practicing full today, which means he’ll almost certainly start. Chiefs LB Napoleon Harris (knee), who leads the team in tackles, was upgraded from no practice Wednesday to limited today. WR Eddie Kennison (ribs) is out.

No changes for the Jets as Kellen Clemens continued to take snaps with the first team and looks ready to play Sunday.