08/20 — Number 4 isn't the only Jet trying to get himself up to speed quickly with the Green & White schemes. So is No. 45.

And recently things have been falling into place as much for safety Cameron Worrell as they are for QB Brett Favre.

"Coming in, I didn't really have any off-season time to pick the system up and have some OTAs to get the small mistakes out," said Worrell, the former Bear and Dolphin who signed with the Jets in between the end of June minicamp and the start of July training camp. "So it was a learning process the first couple of weeks of camp. And I've kind of picked it up and felt more comfortable in the system as time has gone by."

The comfort level was validated by the last play of the open portion of training camp. With Brett Ratliff trying to rally the twos for a touchdown in a two-minute drive, the QB threw a pass that Worrell smothered for the "game-ending" interception.

"We were not really playing a prevent but a real loose coverage," Worrell said. "The quarterback just threw it right to me. I don't know if it was a miscommunication between him and the receiver, but I was in the right spot at the right time. That's been the way it's been going lately. I put myself in the right position and things start to show up."

That was also true of his major contribution to Saturday's preseason home opener against Washington. Redskins RB Rock Cartwright burst through a gap in the Jets defense in the second quarter and was off down the left sideline for what looked like a sure touchdown.

But not to Worrell, who was on the far side of the field but took off in hot pursuit and pulled Cartwright down at the Jets 11 after a 73-yard gain. The effort paid dividends when, three plays later, first-year QB Derek Devine was picked off by S James Ihedigbo at the 1.

"The good lesson from that play," head coach Eric Mangini said Tuesday, "was that Cameron runs the ball down and then a couple of plays later we get the pick. It was a good way to reinforce how important it is to finish plays."

"I've always been a high-motor guy — it's kind of how I've stuck around in the league for six years," Worrell said. "It's what I hang my hat on, whether it's playing safety or running down on kickoff. I'm a guy who likes to be around the ball."

It's hard to say if Worrell has a spot on the Jets' 53-man roster with veterans Kerry Rhodes, Eric Smith and Abram Elam at the top of the safety depth charts and Ihedigbo and Ron Girault vying with him for roster spots, but that's OK with the focused man from Central California.

"I came in as an undrafted free agent. I've had to fight and scratch every year, and it really never changes," he said. "I'm used to this struggle, I'm used to the fight. I actually enjoy it. I think it brings out the best in me."

A few other highlights from the final open practice of the 2008 Capital One Bank Jets Training Camp:

■ Ratliff found Jerricho Cotchery for a 50-yard downfield completion after J-Co got past DBs Rudy Burgess and Girault.

■ Favre got one two-minute drill. He moved the offense with blitzkrieg effectiveness on his first two plays — a 32-yard laser to a diving Brad Smith past Darrelle Revis, then a 21-yard drop into Cotchery's basket working against Justin Miller. But from there Favre went four-and-out.

■ K Mike Nugent went 6-for-6 on his field goals during the special teams portion of practice, including his longest tries from 43 and 48 yards.

■ Practice lasted 2 hours, 17 minutes, the second-longest session of camp, trailing the 2:18 of the late practice of Aug. 13, one week ago. But Mangini stayed true to his stated goal, holding the average length of his 25 camp practices to exactly two hours.

■ An estimated crowd of 4,100 watched the final open practice of camp, bringing the combined attendance for 25 practices to more than 70,000, a Jets training camp record.

The Postpractice Scene

With practice over, Mangini turned his squad loose to sign autographs for the fans. Then a number of players made their way over to the 1050 ESPN New York tent.

The radio station conducted its afternoon show from two cities today. It was still the Michael Kay Show, but Kay was working it over the phone from Toronto, where the Yankees are playing the Blue Jays, while in Hempstead, Don LaGreca and Greg Buttle welcomed in guests including GM Mike Tannenbaum, RB Thomas Jones, WR Jerricho Cotchery, NT Kris Jenkins and rookie LB Vernon Gholston.

Change of Seasons

Thursday's schedule shifts dramatically as the Jets move to more of their in-season schedule. Coach Mangini will speak to reporters — and his news conference will be streamed live as always on newyorkjets.com — at 10:15 a.m.

The important part for fans of the Radar is that you have to come to grips with getting less detail from our practice reporting. The media window for Thursday's session is the first 45 minutes of practice, so as with last year's 30-minute window, we'll be focusing more on player interviews and Radar entries on the coach's "presser" than on play-by-play of the players stretching and going through individual drills. Just wanted to prepare you.