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FOXBORO - The "bubble boys" of the Patriots won't be resting easily today following a 27-20 victory over the New York Giants in the preseason finale, as they await the decisions of the coaching staff for the final positions on the 53-man regular-season roster.

There will have to be 22 players either released or assigned to reserve lists for the team to make the roster limit by 4 p.m. Saturday, and as rookie linebacker Oscar Lua said last week, this won't be the happiest time in the world for them.

It maybe even worse for Lua, the seventh-round pick from Southern Cal, who started Thursday night's game but hobbled off the field midway through the opening drive with an apparent right leg injury.

The injury, the severity of which was not immediately known, might be a quick ticket to the injured-reserve list for Lua, who was battling for a roster spot in a crowded field of young talents, including Eric Alexander, Pierre Woods, Corey Mays and fellow rookie Justin Rogers.

But no matter what, he said late last week, he will always enjoy the memory of his time with the Patriots in training camp. "I had never been in an NFL camp before so I kind of came in with an open mind," he said. "It's been great. It's been a great experience to come out and play with these guys and be able to compete with some of the best in the game. I'm just glad I was able to be part of here with the Patriots."

Lua, although a bit undersized at 6-foot-1 and 240 pounds, made his mark in the Carolina preseason game with an interception of a pass of David Carr - even though, as he said, the happy result may have been the result of a little frowned-upon freelancing on his part.

"It was a good play," Lua said. "I just read what the quarterback was doing, which is something I know that I shouldn't have been doing in particular and I just got lucky and got a pick if the ball's thrown at you, you're expected to catch the ball. It was nothing spectacular. It was just something that landed in my hands.

"I was supposed to have the halfback," he added, "but luckily he blocked, I was just sitting there and Carr threw up a fruit and I was lucky enough to just be there."

Through three preseason games, Lua was tied for the team lead in tackles with first-round pick Brandon Meriweather, both with 12. He was also active on special teams, which he believed to be an important factor in his quest to make the regular-season roster.

"Special teams is going to be one of the deciding factors, not only for myself but most of the rookies as to how you get judged and evaluated on what your worth to the team is," he said. "We have great starters at every position here, so it's going to be tough to overtake any of those positions as a rookie so we're going to find ourselves a role somewhere on this team. It might be special teams."

He might not get that opportunity this year if the leg injury that forced him out of the Giants' game is severe enough to end his season. But even before the injury, Lua made it clear that he had an appreciation for the opportunity he had received.

He said he heeded the advice he got from his college coach - Pete Carroll, the former coach of the Patriots.

"He just told me basically what every coach told me when I got here: 'This is an opportunity for you. That's all it is. Nothing's promised. We're going to give you an opportunity so try and take advantage of it,'" Lua said. "Coach Carroll said, 'You're going out there. You have an opportunity. So don't blow it.'"

Quick kicks Thursday marked the debut of new punter Chris Hanson, the former Jacksonville Jaguar who went to the Pro Bowl in 2002, but became notorious the next season when he missed all but five games of the season after a locker room accident in which he gashed his leg with an ax. The Jaguars' coach, Jack Del Rio, had put the ax and a tree trunk in the locker room at then-Alltel Stadium, admonishing his team to keep "chopping wood." Most recently, the 30-year-old Marshall grad had punted in the preseason for the New Orleans Saints before being released last week

The Patriots dropped Jared Lorenzen seven times during his two-quarter stint, including three by Le Kevin Smith and two by Pierre Woods Vinny Testaverde and Matt Cassel both matched each other's passing total with 99 yards apiece The only veteran player other than specialists who saw significant time was fullback Heath Evans, who caught one pass for 8 yards and carried seven times for 16 yards Dante Wesley had a fourth-quarter interception, picking off Norfolk native Tim Hasselbeck Stephen Gostkowski kicked two successful field goals from 37 and 23 yards, but had a 56-yard attempt blocked on the last play of the first half Bam Childress caught the only TD pass for the Patriots, a 12-yarder from Matt Gutierrez with 2:54 left.