As soon as Chad Pennington is healthy enough to start - and there's a good chance he will be this week - he will return to his old position. Eric Mangini has made it clear that Pennington still is the No. 1 quarterback. "If he can, he will," Mangini said yesterday, refusing to say if Pennington can or will. Pennington, nine days removed from his high-ankle sprain, hopes to start in Sunday's virtual must-win home game against the Dolphins. He wanted to start in Baltimore, saying after the game that he was "ready to go," but was designated the No. 2 quarterback. That he dressed for the game, which seemed a near impossibility at mid-week, means he convinced Mangini he was well enough to play in a pinch.