Jackson not yet catching up

FOXBOROUGH - This was not the new beginning Chad Jackson was hoping for when he talked about last night's exhibition opener against the Ravens being the starting point for his start-all-over year.

Jackson, who played sparingly last season after returning from a torn anterior cruciate ligament, looked rusty. The third-year player, who hopes to compete for the Patriots' No. 3 receiver job, had just one reception for 0 yards. He dropped another pass after getting slammed by linebacker Jarret Johnson, and was involved in a public dispute with Matt Cassel after the quarterback's pass was intercepted by Fabian Washington in the first quarter.

On the play, Jackson kept going while Cassel was trying to throw the ball to his back shoulder on a stop fade. Afterward, Cassel pointed and gestured at Jackson, and Jackson gave it right back to Cassel. It wasn't quite Carson Palmer and Chad Johnson bickering on the Bengals' sideline last season against the Patriots, but it was an unseemly display, nonetheless.

After the game, Cassel downplayed the dispute, chalking it up to working out the kinks.

"We weren't on the same page on the route and coincidentally when that happens, bad things happen," said Cassel. "So, it's one of those things. It's the first preseason game and we have to get better and get on the right page."

Jackson also had a play in the second quarter on which he appeared to give up on a crossing route, leading to an incompletion. After that play, he jawed with cornerback Frank Walker.

Despite all the talking he did during the game, Jackson was not available for comment after it.

Taking a pass
Tom Brady had plenty of company on the sideline, as the Patriots held out their franchise quarterback and 18 other players.

Brady sat, allowing the team to evaluate its other passers - Cassel, Matt Gutierrez, and Kevin O'Connell.

Four players are on the physically unable to perform list - defensive end Jarvis Green, defensive lineman Mike Wright, right guard Stephen Neal, and offensive tackle Oliver Ross.

New England went with a skeleton crew in the secondary, as safeties Rodney Harrison and James Sanders and cornerbacks Ellis Hobbs, Jason Webster, and Mike Richardson sat out. The others who didn't play were wide receivers Randy Moss, Wes Welker, and Kelley Washington, linebackers Mike Vrabel and Bo Ruud, offensive linemen Matt Light, Ryan O'Callaghan, and John Welbourn, who was signed Monday, and running back Kyle Eckel.

Vrabel came off the PUP list Tuesday, and Hobbs, Welker, and Ruud came off last Saturday, likely explaining why they didn't play.

Years in the making
With Troy Brown no longer on the roster, running back Kevin Faulk, who joined the Patriots in 1999, has taken over as the longest-tenured member of the offense. Not bad for a player who was viewed as too small and too fumble-prone to survive in the NFL during his first few years in the league.

Did the 32-year-old ever think he'd be the senior member of the Patriots' offense?

"Never. Never at all," he said. "It happens, but you have to just keep preparing like when you first got here, and hopefully it will work out for you."

In his 10th season, Faulk is facing some competition in a crowded backfield. The team brought in former Raider LaMont Jordan, adding him to the mix with Faulk, Laurence Maroney, Sammy Morris, Heath Evans, Eckel, and BenJarvus Green-Ellis. Like Faulk, Jordan can serve as a change-of-pace and third-down back, a role Jordan occupied while with the Jets, prior to his time in Oakland.

Jordan had a strong debut with the Patriots, rushing for 76 yards on 19 carries and the team's lone touchdown.

"When it came to the run plays, I wasn't thinking too much. My goal when I ran the ball was not to think too much, to just lower my shoulders and go," said Jordan, who was signed July 26.

"I think at times I did a good job of that. In the passing game, I was out there thinking a bit, just making sure I knew who to block and where to go on check-downs. I think I may have missed a couple of check-downs. But it's a good place for me to start. Next week is a big week for me."

First impressions
The Patriots got some contributions from their rookie defenders. First-round pick Jerod Mayo started at inside linebacker and second-rounder Terrence Wheatley drew the start at left cornerback opposite Fernando Bryant. Third-round pick Shawn Crable set up the Patriots' first points with a second-quarter interception of Kyle Boller.

Crable had three tackles, a half-sack, and the interception. "I was just in coverage, happened to be in the right spot, and the ball was there," said the linebacker. "I just reached out and was surprised it stuck."

Mayo finished with three tackles and Wheatley had four tackles, tops on the team. However, it's not usually a good sign when a cornerback is the team's leading tackler.

"We didn't have a lot of linebackers, so it gave them opportunity; same thing at cornerback," said coach Bill Belichick.

Tackling opportunity
Wesley Britt has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of the spate of injuries that has befallen the offensive line. With Light, who was replaced at left tackle last night by Nick Kaczur, missing the last 13 practices with an undisclosed injury, Neal still on the PUP list, and O'Callaghan out, Britt earned the start at right tackle.

"I'd like to think I was making progress. I'm not focusing on that," said Britt, who has one career start during the regular season at right tackle. (He started as an extra tight end in last year's regular-season finale against the Giants.)

"I'm just focusing on whatever I can do to get better," he added. "I can't think about the situational issues, or what my progress is; just attempting to get better every day."

Britt said playing against the likes of Ty Warren, Richard Seymour, and Vince Wilfork in practice has boosted his confidence.

Down and out
Patriots wide receiver Sam Aiken left the field with a knee injury in the first quarter and did not return . . . Safety Tank Williams injured his knee on Raven Yamon Figurs's 48-yard kickoff return in the second quarter. Williams left the field under his own power, but did not return . . . Patriots kicker Stephen Gostkowski was 3 for 3 on field goals, connecting from 36, 44, and 40 yards.

Mike Reiss of the Globe staff contributed to this report.