Making most of opportunity

Patriots' Jordan takes advantage of playing time

LaMont Jordan had a solid debut for the Patriots, rushing for 76 yards and a TD. (Jim Davis/Globe Staff)

FOXBOROUGH - At the end of practices, the Patriots often have what running back LaMont Jordan calls the "opportunity period."

It's a session for the less-experienced players who might not receive plentiful repetitions during the regular practice. But Jordan, now in his eighth NFL season, has been a regular "opportunity guy." The way he sees it, the more opportunities the better.

"It's been different in that I feel like a rookie all over again, almost," Jordan said after the Patriots' 16-15 loss to the Ravens in the exhibition opener Thursday night at Gillette Stadium.

"It's not something that I'm used to doing in my career, but it's something I accept and something I appreciate because it gives me another opportunity to show the coaches what I can do. It gives me an opportunity to get better conditioning, and an opportunity to learn the offense a lot better."

Jordan's "opportunity" status was on display Thursday night, as he played deep into the fourth quarter, a time when front-line players are seldom still on the field this early in the exhibition season.

He finished with a team-high 76 rushing yards on 19 carries (4-yard average), scored a fourth-quarter touchdown, and displayed a hard-charging running style - albeit against second- and third-string defenders - that could be a nice complement to the likes of Laurence Maroney, Sammy Morris, and Kevin Faulk.

Jordan, who signed a lucrative free agent contract with the Raiders in 2005 and rushed for 1,025 yards and caught 70 passes that season, seems to be embracing the idea that he must work his way back to the top.

"[The] performance is important because I'm trying to make this ball club; that's why I signed with the Patriots," he said. "I wanted to come to a winning organization and get back to winning football, and come somewhere where I felt like I had a chance to play and contribute."

A significant part of Jordan's preseason seems to be based on conditioning, and he surprised himself in that regard Thursday night.

"I survived a lot longer than I thought I would, but I still have a ways to go," he said. "I don't feel like I was as explosive. I don't feel like my footwork in the hole was as good as it's been in the past. Conditioning-wise, I wasn't as bad as I thought I was going to be, but I'm nowhere near where I would like to be."

Coach Bill Belichick touched on Jordan's performance after watching film of the game yesterday, noting that it was a good experience for Jordan to run plays at full speed and with tackling, something the team seldom does in practice. In a sense, Jordan is playing catch-up after signing July 26.

"LaMont did some real good things, he had a lot of carries," Belichick said. "I think there was some good teaching for him, and he gained some good experience. He showed up - broke some tackles, made some yards on his own, and made a few plays. It was good to see him out there, and I'm sure he'll get some more opportunities to build off those as we go forward."

If the Patriots are looking at Jordan (5 feet 10 inches, 230 pounds) as a possible weapon in short-yardage situations, Thursday night provided a potential preview.

In addition to barreling in over the left side of the line for a 1-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter, Jordan picked up 3 yards on fourth and 1 in the second quarter, and churned out a tough 2 yards on third and 1 in the third quarter.

Talking about a spin move he utilized in the game, Jordan said he's gone back to the approach he took with the Jets, and in college at Maryland, when he visualized some of his runs before the game.

All in all, Jordan hopes the performance is a springboard.

"I wasn't as nervous as I thought I was going to be," he said. "I think this is a good spot for me to start to build on."

Mike Reiss can be reached at mreiss@globe.com.