---

FOXBORO - Dave Thomas will be taking a step up this weekend.

With two NFL seasons under his belt, four starts on his ledger and more time on the injured list than he'd care to remember, the tight end from Texas is very likely to be the Patriots' starter Sunday when they open the season at home against the Kansas City Chiefs (1 p.m.; Ch. 4, 12).

"Any time you miss games, it's frustrating," said the 6-3, 248-pound native of Plainview, Texas. "But I'm excited to move forward, put that in the past, and I'm excited to get this season started on Sunday."

With Benjamin Watson relegated to the sidelines and the trainer's room for the past week with a knee injury (he was listed as "doubtful" on the Friday injury report), it appears that Thomas will be handling the bulk of the tight end responsibilities. Stephen Spach returned to the roster Wednesday to provide an experienced hand familiar with the team's playbook, and Mike Vrabel may be called upon to reprise his role as the goal-line third tight end.

Unfortunately, there hasn't been a lot of time to work on that in training camp; all three of them, as well as quarterback Tom Brady, missed some practice and preseason game time over the past four-plus weeks. So, experience from the past will have to suffice as the Patriots look to put a sharply-executing offense on the field against the Chiefs.

"With the quarterbacks and receivers, we've had time together in the past and we've had time together even during the preseason camp," Thomas said. "We've all been working hard everybody's been out there working hard, and we're just excited to put it out there on the field.

"In the preseason, we do a lot of different things and we work on a lot of different packages," he added. "My job is whatever they tell me to do, just try to execute it the best I can."

Thomas said that while the Patriots' offense may not resemble what takes the field Sunday because of the dictates of their preseason, they have to be aware that Kansas City may also look considerably different than what they've shown in exhibition games.

"The first game, Kansas City can do anything and we can do anything," he said. "You've just got to be ready for everything. Everything they've shown in the preseason, hopefully we have an idea, but going into the game you never really know."

Captains courageous

The Patriots elected their captains Friday, and there may be one mild surprise, as Randy Moss was chosen to be an offensive captain, clearly a reward for his "good behavior" and dedication to the program. Brady and offensive tackle Matt Light were the other captains on offense, linebacker Tedy Bruschi, safety Rodney Harrison, linebacker Mike Vrabel and defensive lineman Vince Wilfork were named defensive captains, and linebacker Larry Izzo will serve as special teams captain.

Light, Wilfork and Moss are first-time captains.

Quick kicks

Wide receiver and special-teamer Sam Aiken was officially ruled out of Sunday's game with a knee injury. Others listed were offensive linemen Dan Connolly and Russ Hochstein as questionable with knee and groin injuries respectively, and defensive lineman Le Kevin Smith in the same category with a knee injury. Amazingly, Brady was not listed in any category, breaking a dubious 56-game streak in which he had been listed at least once during the week as "probable" with a right shoulder injury.