Nick Mangold admits he has a lot to learn when it comes to the Jets'new offense

The Jets lost one of their most famous fans Wednesday with the stunning death of actor James Gandolfini, 51, aka Tony Soprano, who reportedly suffered a fatal heart attack or stroke while vacationing in Italy.

"We're deeply saddened to hear about the passing of our friend James Gandolfini," the Jets tweeted Wednesday night. "Our thoughts and prayers are with his family & friends."

Gandolfini was a Jersey guy long before he became a suburban mobster on TV. He was born and raised in New Jersey and attended Rutgers. He went to many Jets home games in recent years. In fact, he witnessed at least three memorable games -- a fourth-quarter comeback win over the Houston Texans in 2010, the emotional and dramatic 2011 opening win over the Cowboys on the 10-year anniversary of Sept. 11 and the crushing Christmas Eve loss to the Giants in 2011.

The accompanying photo is from the Christmas Eve game. Judging from the look of angst on Gandolfini's face, it could be his reaction to Victor Cruz's 99-yard touchdown.

Not many people know this, but Gandolfini narrated the video of the Jets' 2011 season, which was used as part of NFL Films' "NFL Yearbook" series. It was probably the best thing to happen to the Jets that year, an 8-8 disappointment.

Gandolfini's most celebrated connection to the Jets occurred in June 2007, when then-coach Eric Mangini made a cameo appearance in one of the final episodes of "The Sopranos." Mangini didn't have any speaking lines; it was just a quick exchange of pleasantries with Tony Soprano in the fictional restaurant of his boyhood friend, Artie Bucco.

"It took me a long time to get into character," Mangini joked at the time. "Playing me eating dinner is a real stretch, but I worked with an acting coach and I think I really nailed it."

Mangini said he wasn't afraid of getting whacked.

"I knew the context of what we were doing prior to getting into it and felt very comfortable with being at the restaurant," he said, laughing. "It's not like Tony and I had any previous affiliation or subsequent affiliation. It was more or less just meeting another person at a restaurant who happened to be a fan of the Jets."

Nick Mangold admits he has a lot to learn when it comes to the Jets’ new offense, but that’s not even close to what Geno Smith needs to know.

Mangold, who has been Mark Sanchez’s center for four years, said the rookie QB — battling his buddy Sanchez for the Jets’ job — could be a starter by Week 1, but it won’t be easy.

“I thought he did pretty well, but there are rookie growing pains,” Mangold told the Daily News at a “Man Cave” event hosted by Proctor & Gamble and Gillette, literally as he had his beard trimmed. “You gotta learn a whole new system. You’re coming from college where you have all of your buddies from the past four or five years, who all know each other. Now all of a sudden you’re coming to a huddle, you’re telling guys who are 30 years old, couple of kids, a mortgage, you’re telling them what to do. It’s a big transition.”

Added Mangold, “He’s not there yet, obviously. But I think he does have the opportunity to be pretty good this year.”

Mangold said that if Smith puts in the work, he believes the quarterback could be ready to take over an NFL starting job in Week 1 if called upon. “He’s got potential, but that’s what training camp is for,” Mangold said.

The center said that between OTAs and minicamp, offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg had the Jets go over just about everything in their playbook. “I think we were introduced to the whole offense. I don’t think you can learn it all, but you can get introduced,” Mangold said.

Mangold is often identified by Rex Ryan as the non-QB with the most knowledge of the offense. “I gotta learn wide receiver routes again,” Mangold said. “Marty changed them all. New names.”

The center also said he’s more preoccupied with the guard competition than the QB competition, because he’ll have two new guards regardless. Willie Colon, Stephen Peterman and rookie Brian Winters are competing for the two starting guard spots.

“To me, that’s kind of more important, in my mind, than what’s going on behind me,” Mangold said. “No matter what’s happened before . . . I’ve always had Brandon Moore to my right. So now, not having that safety net, it could be a difficult task to make sure we’re all on the same page.”

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