Mangold: Tough to see Jets release Faneca

Nick Mangold was trying to enjoy a night out at a restaurant with one of his fellow offensive lineman last Friday, ready to eat a hearty meal and throw back a few cold ones when things got interrupted.

The cell phone of Mangold's dinner mate - left guard Alan Faneca - rang. It was Jets coach Rex Ryan on the line, delivering some sobering news to the 33-year-old veteran who helped anchor the Jets' offensive line for the past two seasons.

Faneca was getting released, no longer wanted after the Jets drafted Massachusetts lineman Vladimir Ducasse in the second round. The Jets were fine with having Ducasse and Matt Slauson, last year's sixth-round pick, battle it out at left guard to replace Faneca and decided to release the aging veteran, who was due $7.5 million.

"The man that he is, he left the table and didn't deal with it there at the table," said Jets Pro Bowl center Mangold last night in Manhattan at the Jets' eighth annual Taste of New York benefit aimed at fighting hunger in the tri-state area. "I didn't see the actual reaction, but just the aftermath."

That, of course, wasn't pretty.

"It was tough," Mangold said. "I've never been through a process of a team saying, 'Hey, we're done with you.' And to have to sit there and watch somebody else go through that process, it makes me realize that I really don't want to go through that process. It was difficult.

"But we had a couple of drinks afterward and you get used to it as time goes on."

Faneca, a nine-time Pro Bowler, didn't take long to find a landing spot, agreeing to a one-year, $2.5 million deal with the Cardinals Tuesday night. His swift exit was just the latest change in what's been an extremely busy offseason for the Jets, who had already sent packing well-like veterans such as Thomas Jones and Jay Feely.

"As tough as it is to see them leave, that's the nature of this business," quarterback Mark Sanchez said.

Mangold said: "Change happens and if we really want to call ourselves a great offensive line, we should be able to plug somebody in and be able to have the same success . . . I enjoy the challenge."

Notes & quotes: Sanchez, still rehabbing from left knee surgery, said he's been throwing mostly in a stationary fashion, though he's done small a few drop back throws. He said he's running full speed on the whirlpool treadmill.