11/26 — Eric Mangini hearkened back to Darrelle Revis' Thanksgiving Day showing against Terrell Owens, calling his performance "excellent." Then the coach further advanced the development of his rookie corner when he invoked one of football and baseball's iconic trademarks when talking about the early slant pass to T.O. that Revis nearly intercepted deep in Dallas territory.

"We obviously have to get Darrelle on the JUGS machine a little bit more," Mangini said. "That's another good example of him being physical at the line of scrimmage, anticipating the route and jumping the route after he's jammed him. That ball comes so quickly, you have to react to it and have your hands up quick enough. That could have gone the other way. It's nice to see him put himself in those positions. We've definitely got to work on the JUGS."

Mangini was smiling, not being critical, as he said it, but he was half-serious, too.

And Revis was all serious when I asked him during today's locker room session whether he worked on the JUGS at Pitt — "No, never did" — and whether he's used it recently.

"No, I haven't, but I will this week. It's something I need to work on and get better at," he said. "DBs don't use it, but you should because sometimes we don't get a lot of balls thrown our way."

I asked a few other Jets about the JUGS machine because reporters tend to think the motor and the white tires attached to a tripod that fires pigskins at any speeds (reprtedly up to 99 mph) to players at any distance. Equipment assistant Cortez Robinson is often seen operating the machine during off-season drills and and after training camp practices. Then during the regular season it is never seen — because it's brought around at the end of practices, when reporters have long been ushered back to the media room.

As it turns out, the JUGS seems to be used more in-season by offensive rather than defensive players.

"Guys still use it every day," wide receiver Justin McCareins said. "It's a good chance to catch 50 or 100 balls. They're coming at you differently than regular passes but it's still good work for your hand-eye coordination and finger strength and dexterity. I use it a couple of times a week, Brad [Smith] is pretty consistent on it, Jerricho and the tight ends, and Darian Barnes works on it quite a bit."

"Usually every day after practice that the machine's out there, I'll do it," Smith said. "It's a tool, a chance to get more balls thrown to you."

Fellow starting corner Hank Poteat confirmed that he hasn't gone to the JUGS in a while.

"To be honest, I haven't used it in a few weeks," Poteat said. "But maybe there will a couple of games where there were plays you could've made, or you want to improve your focus or you've had a lack of practice. Anything you focus on definitely can help."

Mangini mentioned two former Jets corners, who also were New England corners when he was the Pats' secondary coach, who worked the machine with the utmost focus.

"Ty Law and Otis Smith used to be incredible," Mangini said. "We'd do the JUGS machine and they'd have a competition where each time they caught the ball, they'd go up a little bit closer. There were times when they'd be six inches away from the JUGS and you could see Ty's hands shaking, but boom! He’d catch it.

"That was how they continued to develop their hands, by constantly challenging each other and getting closer and closer because the difference between a pick and a batted ball is reaction time."

Inside the Jets

DE Shaun Ellis, who earned the NFL's AFC Defensive Player of the Week award last week for his play against Pittsburgh, is one of the anticipated guests for tonight's "Inside the Jets" show on 1050 ESPN New York. Others scheduled to appear are Brad Kassell, Flight Crew member Linda and yours truly. Greg Buttle, pinch-hitting for regular host Bob Wischusen, kicks the festivitries off from Charlie Brown's restaurant in Garden City, N.Y., at 7 p.m. Listen live on newyorkjets.com from 7–8 p.m. tonight

Browns in Late Afternoon