FOXBORO - Tonight's game at Raymond James Stadium will mean a lot of things to a lot of New England Patriots.

But to the least experienced quarterback on the roster, it will be just another step in his evolution from college star to young pro trying to make sense of it all.

"I just know that I'm going to play, same as last week," Kevin O'Connell said after Thursday's practice at Gillette Stadium's practice complex. "There wasn't really a set way of doing things. I think you've just got to be ready to play a whole lot, and have the game plan digested by the time Sunday rolls around."

It's not known when the third-round draft choice from San Diego State will enter the game against the 1-0 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8 p.m.; NFL Network, Ch. 4). He'll have to wait until the conclusion of the stints of either Matt Cassel or Matt Gutierrez, depending upon what needs the coaching staff may have to see the two more-established backups.

Future Hall-of-Famer Tom Brady won't be there; it was revealed late Saturday that he would not make the trip to rest a sore foot. But any time on the field is good time for O'Connell, as it appears less likely by the day that the Patriots will keep four quarterbacks on their roster. So while he sits and waits his turn, he will try to glean whatever he can out of the others' performances for adaptation to his own skill set.

From film viewing and from their practice time together, O'Connell said he has already developed an appreciation for what makes Brady the quarterback he is.

"It's just his ability to move on from the previous play, and to play at such a high level, no matter what happens," O'Connell said. "Playing quarterback, there's a lot of things that happen on a play-to-play basis that you might not have anything to do with. But it can affect you, and if you let it affect you, your negative play can turn into 10 negative plays if you're not mentally strong.

"That's the one thing that makes him special, just being around him, is how mentally tough he is," he continued. "Watching him on tape and breaking down some of the things we're trying to do, he makes it all go by being able to move on to the next play."

O'Connell played about a quarter and a third in the Patriots' preseason-opening, 16-15 loss to the Baltimore Ravens a week ago Thursday. He completed six of 13 passes for 57 yards, was intercepted once and was sacked twice for 8 yards in losses, but he also ran twice for 22 yards and was the quarterback guiding scoring drives that put nine points on the board.

At times, however, O'Connell's better plays seemed more like the unwitting success that rookies have when they're too inexperienced to realize that they shouldn't throw the ball into traffic or run for their lives when plays break down in front of them.

But the Patriots didn't draft O'Connell in the third round because he's good at accumulating dumb luck. He said he's already broken down both the good and bad from the preseason opener and is prepared to put it all into actual application tonight against the Bucs.

"I learned a ton last week," he said. "Every snap, there was something new that I learned to apply going forward here, and that's the thing. I just want to continue to grow. I feel like we've had a good, solid week of preparation so far, but I know personally I still have a lot of work to do to get ready for Sunday. I just want to continue to be able to move the football and be a catalyst whenever I'm in there."

Toward the end of his career at San Diego State, O'Connell was almost exclusively a shotgun-formation quarterback. The Patriots have plenty of shotgun plays in their playbook, but the more traditional formation has a required a refresher course for their newest signal-caller.

"I still took some things underneath, but it's been an adjustment, definitely, since I got out here in April," he said. "But the system itself is wonderful. Especially getting to watch a guy like Tom, and the other quarterbacks getting to execute it every day, and Tom being in his ninth year in the offense, it's pretty much artwork when it's at its best. "As a young quarterback, that's all you can ask for, the chance to not only get to see it on film, to see it presented by Josh (McDaniels, quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator) and the other coaches, but at the same time, to come out here and see it done the way it's supposed to be done every time."

Eventually, O'Connell hopes he'll be the one executing the offense to the letter every time he takes a snap. First, however, he has to get past the excitement that results from realizing a childhood dream to be playing football at its highest level.

He said the novelty is already starting to wear off a little.

"Obviously," he said, "you dream about it so many times as you grow up, but as we got closer to game time and knowing I was going to play it's just like this week. It's more just making sure x's and o's wise, and understanding what they're going to be trying to do against us defensively.

"It doesn't really give you a chance to dream about it because you're so focused on the actual execution that you're going to have to complete," he said. "But it was definitely special, running out for the first time in a Patriot uniform, getting to run out on the field and being out there with some of the other young guys, and just trying to get better."

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/farinella.