JET NOTES

Chad Pennington was excused from Jets practice yesterday for what Eric Mangini described as “personal reasons,” raising a legitimate question whether the quarterback will make tomorrow night’s preseason game against the Redskins in Washington.

Mangini, who said Pennington was dealing with a “family illness,” did not rule out Pennington missing the Redskins game.

“There is no timetable for his return,” the coach said. “I want Chad to make sure he’s able to focus on his family and take care of the things he needs to take care of. I’ll be talking to him quite a bit. But that’s where his focus should be right now.”

Pennington was not likely to start the game because he started last week’s opener, and all indications are that Patrick Ramsey is going to start and play with the first team.

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Mangini was very complimentary of the wide receivers and defensive backs in Wednesday’s practice regarding the way they caught the ball and held on to it.

One of the players he praised was a former resident of his dog house.

“Justin McCareins was one of those guys that really did a good job focusing on the football,” Mangini said. “He made a nice play on a deep ball from Chad as well as on an out on the sideline. His blocking has improved and he’s made some nice strides over last couple of weeks.

“I talked to the team about focus by the defensive backs and receivers when catching the ball,” Mangini went on. “They did a good job looking the ball into their hands. It showed up across the board.

“I also showed them the Derek Jeter play with exceptional effort,” Mangini went on, referring to Jeter’s famed diving catch into the Yankee Stadium stands against the Red Sox. “He wasn’t focused on the fact that he was so close to the boundary and he made an exceptional play. That’s exactly what we’re looking for.”

Mangini also complimented rookie CB Omowale Dada, saying, “He stood out, especially in the spring, with his high motor, high effort. He’s worked at different positions, which has all been positive for him.”