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FOXBORO - There are times, Terrence Wheatley said earlier this week, when he and fellow rookie cornerback Jonathan Wilhite just have to compare notes after a tough day at training camp.

Especially after either one has been torched by a fellow named Randy Moss.

"Yeah, we definitely try to compare notes after practice," Wheatley said, "like, 'did you see what Randy did today, and how close I was, but I really wasn't all that close ' You do some things like that, you definitely go over the playbook to make sure we're all on the same page. Even though we're competing, we are a team."

Wheatley was the Patriots' second-round pick (62nd overall) out of Colorado, and he's experiencing what just about every rookie learns when he makes the step up from college play to the pros. Of course, not every team has a receiver the caliber of Moss on its roster, but there's no asking for dispensation because Wheatley came to a team with an all-time great on the opposite side of the field.

"I think that's the biggest transition for college players, to come up here and you haven't seen this before guys this big, this strong, this fast," Wheatley said. "You may understand the defense, but you don't understand what the receiver's trying to do to you." Wheatley and the other newcomers in the Patriots' secondary, rookies and veterans alike, have caught a little bit of a break with Wes Welker still on the physically-unable-to-perform list. But with Moss, Chad Jackson, Jabar Gaffney and Sam Aiken all playing well in camp practices, there are no shortages of challenges out there.

"You want to take it day-by-day," said Wheatley, a native of Walnut Creek, Calif. "You're going to have some good days and some bad days. When you finish camp, that's when you have an understanding of where you are as a player. And even then, you're probably never as good as you think you are. So you definitely want to take it day-by-day. And I think that's what a lot of us have been doing."

After just under two weeks as a pro, Wheatley did not overstate his progress when asked how he was doing.

"I guess average, at best," he said. "It's been a little bit rough at times. That's been the biggest thing that I'm focusing on right now, is competing and making sure that I don't blow coverages, and making sure that I know everything that I need to know. Then after that, I'm just trying to learn as much as I can in terms of what Randy wants to do, or Chad, or whoever I'm guarding, what kind of tendencies they have, you try to pick up on that."

The most important thing, the 5-foot-9, 183-pound rookie said, is paying attention in meetings and practice and putting what he had learned into practice so the coaches will develop a sense of trust in him.

"At any position, that's what you want to do," he said, "especially because we're kind of out in the open, on the island by ourselves, and there's so much that you've got to do technique-wise and scheme-wise that you've got to make sure that you're 100-percent certain of what you're doing.

"I've always said that when we mess up, everybody notices," he continued. "But when linebackers and linemen mess up, we kind of back them up. But we have nobody backing up except the fans and in the colleges, it was the band. They got our back when we messed up. You definitely want to go out there and earn their trust right away. Then they can feel confident in you and just let you go out and play."

Versatility is a very big part of being a Patriot, and Wheatley admitted that at some point, he is going to want to accept as many challenges as he can handle. But right now, he said, he's got his hands full trying to master the basics of what Bill Belichick and secondary coach Dom Capers are expecting him to learn.

"I'm struggling just to learn corner as it is," Wheatley said. "Once I get that down, I'll start trying to learn other positions. But right now, I'm just trying to focus on whatever they're asking of me, and right now, that's just corner. So I'm just going to work on that."

But he knows he's not alone. There's a pretty good support network in place for Patriot rookies. "Everybody's kind of helping me out, and telling me that if Randy (Moss) catches a touchdown pass, well, 'that's Randy. You can't do anything about it sometimes,'" he said. "They definitely try to give you some confidence. If you have a question, you can ask anybody and they'll tell you. Everybody's been very helpful."

MARK FARINELLA may be reached at 508-236-0315 or via e-mail at mfarinel@thesunchronicle.com. Read Farinella's blog, "Blogging Fearlessly," at thesunchronicle.com/sports.