07/31 — At his midday news conference, Eric Mangini made a few unmistakable points about the penalty lap he ordered his offense to run two hours into this morning's practice, detailed in my previous blog.

In general, the head coach said: "That was a combination of two or three things. I explained to the team after practice, we have all day to practice. I'm perfectly content to stay out there all day. I enjoy it. We're going to practice till we get it right. Whether it takes two hours, four hours, whatever the case may be, it's too important not to get it right. At that point the group needed a reminder."

Specifically, Mangini liked the way QB Chad Pennington led the way for the offensive rebound.

"When things were not going the offense's way, Chad was able to get those guys and refocus them," he said. "There are times in a game where the momentum swings, and you can either be engulfed by it or change it. Chad today said, 'This thing stops right now and you guys are coming with me.' "

Mangini made a few player observations: On rookie LB David Harris, he said: "He and I had an understanding yesterday about staying onsides. I like the enthusiasm, it just needs to be tempered. He's got the work ethic we're looking for, he's very bright, and he's done a nice job, too, of picking the brains of the veteran linebackers. He's not afraid to ask them questions."

And TE Joe Kowalewski continues to impress the coach with his scrappiness, ever since last year's rookie minicamp, when he arrived as a non-roster invitee and made a spot for himself.

"Joe showed that weekend he really belonged, more so even than one of the undrafted free agents we had signed," Mangini said. "He's a grinder. He's got that great tunnel vision, constant focus."

On the contributions of free agent rookie backs Alvin Banks and Danny Ware, he said, "There's really good young competition there. They need to not just contribute from an offensive perspective. They need to carve out a role on special teams. That spot is a core special teams player a lot of times."

Mangini confirmed that CB Andre Dyson has been sidelined with an injury since leaving Monday's practice and that G Brandon Moore was excused from today's early workout for personal reasons.