HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. — Alan Faneca is a seven-time Pro Bowler who signed the richest NFL contract ever for an offensive lineman during the off-season.

But when he committed a false start Saturday in practice in his first Eric Mangini-run camp for the New York Jets, he was treated the same as a free agent rookie.

He had to run a penalty lap. Not once, but twice, because he did it two times.

"That was something new," the left guard said after the Jets' morning practice yesterday. "The first time I ran one, I felt like I was 10 years old again."

Instead of being a ninth-year veteran who is being counted upon to lead the Jets' offensive line, both on the field and in the locker room. But when Faneca signed his five-year, $40 million contract, he knew what comes with it.

"It definitely makes you focus," Faneca said. "When you get out here and get under this heat, you're running a hurry-up offense and you're figuring out plays and you're figuring out defenses. You know you have to remember the snap count, too. It's all just a part of the process of getting us going."

When asked what Faneca's reaction to the punishment was, Mangini responded, "I didn't really ask him."

Faneca knows that expectations for him will be higher because of his price tag, but it won't change his approach.

"Whether you're making minimum" salary, he said, "or whether you're getting paid a lot, you still take it the same if you give up a sack. We're a unit that takes pride in what we're accomplishing.

"We're laying the groundwork right now," he added. "We're starting off well. It's not about where we start right now. It's about where we finish at the end of training camp and what we can accomplish in the regular season."

Faneca "is very smart," said left tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson, who flanks Faneca to his left. "You can see why he's been in the league for as long as he has. You can see why he's had the success that he's had."

"You want to find out what (Faneca) is thinking," said center Nick Mangold, who is on his right, "because you know he's going to know more than you. He's got a lot of information in his mind.'

And he's more than willing to share it. Yet he also wants to blend in, despite his impressive resume.

"I have to be who I am," Faneca said. "I can't come in here and just demand leadership from everybody to look up to me. I have to come in and prove that. Leadership is (earned). It's not something that you're entitled to.

"You come out here and you show the guys who you are, what you're about on and off the field, and guys either respect it or don't."

Certainly Mangini respects it.

"He's fitting in great," Mangini said of Faneca. "I spend a lot of time in offensive-line meetings. That group is a good group."

It certainly should be better than last year's unit, which struggled during a 4-12 season. And Faneca doesn't intend to rest on his accomplishments.

"You can always get better," he said.