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FOXBORO - The clock is counting down the remaining minutes of this preseason, and by now, some members of the Patriots are starting to think that time is passing a little more quickly than they would like.

With no wins and two losses, and a clear regression in their 27-10 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last Sunday, it would be preferable to all parties concerned with the team wearing blue tonight if the Patriots put up a better fight against the 1-1 Philadelphia Eagles at Gillette Stadium (7:30 p.m.; Ch. 5, 64).

"Not so much on the scoreboard, but just from the plays within the game, we're behind," cornerback Ellis Hobbs said Wednesday. "And we need to pick it up as far as the details and the little things ... you know, flying to the ball, missed tackles, just knowing your assignments."

"We're fighting a clock a little bit, but that's OK," Patriots' coach Bill Belichick said. "It puts some urgency in our preparation. I don't think that's ever a bad thing."

"Urgency" may not be enough for Belichick to put his Patriots on full regular-season footing for the third preseason game, which is generally regarded as the true dress rehearsal for the games that count. Quarterback Tom Brady's status is still up in the air; he returned to practice Wednesday after sitting out Sunday's game with a sore foot, but two of his primary protectors along the offensive line, left tackle Matt Light (undisclosed reasons) and right guard Stephen Neal (knee surgery rehab) remain out of action, and to put Brady at risk behind a patchwork offensive line for even a short amount of time may not be the smartest thing in the world. As usual, Belichick was playing it close to the vest regarding how much, if any, his veterans would play.

"We try to emphasize every opportunity we get to prepare for our regular-season opener," he said. "That's all of training camp practices and all four preseason games. I think they are all important and we try to maximize all of them. Each game gives the players the opportunity to fine-tune their skills, techniques, reactions and all that in preparation for the regular season."

Eagles' coach Andy Reid has no such trouble announcing his playing-time plans; it's already been established that Philadelphia will go with its No. 1 units for about three quarters of the game.

Presumably included in that apportioning of playing time will be former Patriots' cornerback Asante Samuel, who is listed as the starter at left corner on the Eagles' depth chart.

Samuel has battled the injury bug in training camp, and he required some help from the player whom he has supplanted, veteran cornerback Lito Sheppard, to deal with the ever-aggressive Philadelphia peanut gallery at the Eagles' Lehigh University training camp earlier this month.

According to the Philadelphia newspapers, the two cornerbacks were rehabilitating injuries on an outside field during practice when a fan started heckling Samuel about being hurt in the wake of his signing the most lucrative contract ever by an Eagles' defensive player.

When the leather-lunged fan became too personal in his insults, Sheppard approached him and told him to stifle the commentary.

"I don't want the fans to get on him about my situation," Sheppard said. "He kind of just got thrown into this whole thing. Things don't need to be directed at him, and I wanted that to be known."

Samuel's former counterpart in the Patriots' defensive backfield, cornerback Ellis Hobbs, said Wednesday that he harbors no ill will toward his ex-teammate for having bolted in free agency.

"No, because he got money over there," Hobbs said. "It always feels weird initially when you see a guy on the other team, but it is what it is. It used to be that you'd stay with a team 10, 12 years, your whole career, and then they retire your jersey. Now, it's six or seven and you move on ... it's not like it used to be." Hobbs, who's fighting his own demons in battling back from two offseason surgeries to prepare himself for the upcoming campaign, said he believed it was clear from the Bucs' game that "they were ready and we weren't."

"It looked like a completely different team out there in Tampa Bay. They treated it like a game, and we went out there treating it like a scrimmage," he said.

Linebacker Mike Vrabel, who saw his first significant playing time last week, refused to panic.

"It's just another step in a progression," he said. "You play 30-35 snaps last week, and I would imagine we'd be ready to play close to the whole game. They're a good football team ... and to sit here and try to evaluate where we're at, I think we've just got to play 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.