Last modified: Thursday, September 3, 2009 2:20 AM EDT Backup QB Andrew Walter should see plenty of action tonight. Final shot for NFL's longshots BY MARK FARINELLA SUN CHRONICLE STAFF FOXBORO - Tom Brady? Fat chance. Eli Manning? Not very likely. In fact, it's very doubtful that any of the projected starters for either the New England Patriots or the New York Giants will play for an extended amount of time, if at all, in tonight's preseason finale (7:30 p.m.; Ch. 4, 64). That makes for bad viewing for those who'll fill the seats at Gillette Stadium, but it's a very important building tool for coaches Bill Belichick and Tom Coughlin - perhaps more important than anything that has gone before in this preseason. The fourth (or fifth, depending upon scheduling) preseason game has undergone a transformation over the last decade or so. Once the final test of the front-liners before the competition began in earnest, now coaches protect their starters from season-ending injuries and instead devote the final game to evaluating the players that will be at the bottom of the roster. Patriots' fans can look back at the final game of the 1989 preseason, against Green Bay at Foxboro Stadium, to understand this evolution. In that game, the Patriots lost three key members of their defense to season-ending injuries - linebacker Andre Tippett, defensive end Garin Veris and cornerback Ronnie Lippett - and the result was a 5-11 regular season and the end of Raymond Berry's coaching tenure. The stakes are too high to risk high-paid starters in a game that has no bearing upon the outcome of the season. So very few coaches want to take that risk, and over time, the rules of the NFL preseason have been altered to accommodate an alternative use for the final preseason game. Until a few years ago, the NFL mandated two major cuts in the preseason - down from 80 players to 65 and then from 65 to 53. Now, the first cut mandates a reduction of only five players, giving coaches more time to develop depth and evaluate the fringe players on their rosters. At the beginning of Belichick's coaching tenure in New England, the starters would be expected to play at least a half in the preseason finale. But by 2004, Belichick was putting his starters in street clothes in the last weekend before the games count. He relented slightly last year and gave some of his starters two series against the Giants in the Meadowlands. What Belichick will do tonight remained a closely guarded secret, except for an admission in a radio interview that the sore-shouldered Brady would not play at all. That's probably a blessing in disguise, because with the surprising cut of presumed backup Kevin O'Connell, Belichick needs to know if ex-Raider Andrew Walter or rookie Brian Hoyer can handle the quarterbacking chores - or if he will have to pursue a rumored trade for Philadelphia backup A.J. Feeley, or seek another veteran backup. First and foremost, however, Belichick and his staff will be evaluating players on their bubble. "There are a number of things that we'll see more evidence of this week," he said, "not only evaluation of players, but also evaluation of different roles on the team. We'll see matchups against different types of players with the Giants than we saw with the Redskins or the Bengals or the Eagles. "That's just natural," he added, "because there are certain players the Giants have that are just a little bit different than some of the guys we've faced. That will help our evaluation process, and also the ability of players to play a specific role and to play a play or two or to play in a particular situation versus the ability of a player to play over an extended period of time." There are still several positional competitions that have to be sorted out. Offensively, Belichick has to finalize the depth along his offensive line. Rookie Sebastian Vollmer appears to have locked up a roster spot, but there are probably three or four spots remaining that have to be thrashed out among Wesley Britt, George Bussey, Dan Connolly, Ryan O'Callaghan, Rich Ohrnberger, Ryan Wendell and Billy Yates. The tight end battle has been whittled down to size, but there may still be an odd-man-out situation among veterans Benjamin Watson and Dave Thomas and newcomer Alex Smith. There are still unanswered questions at wide receiver, where Joey Galloway or Greg Lewis may be at risk to lose out to unheralded rookie Terrence Nunn. BenJarvus Green-Ellis or oft-injured veteran Sammy Morris may be on the bubble in the backfield, and there's the possibility that the Patriots' patience with Laurence Maroney may be close to an end. Defensively, the retirement of inside linebacker Tedy Bruschi earlier in the week may have created other problems to be solved after the final cutdown date. Shawn Crable and Paris Lenon may be the first beneficiaries of Bruschi's departure, but the depth behind Jerod Mayo and Gary Guyton on the inside is unproven and may spur an energetic scavenging of the waiver wire after the initial 53 players are chosen. The secondary has yet to sort itself out, also. Cornerback Shawn Springs' injury-forced absence has moved Jonathan Wilhite up on the depth chart into a position for which he may not be ready - something already proven with fellow 2008 draftee Terrence Wheatley -- so tonight's game is likely to be crucial for Wheatley, Darius Butler and Jamar Love. At safety, Pat Chung appears to be safe, but Brandon McGowan and Ray Ventrone may need to use the game to further their cause. The combinations will be unfamiliar and the stars will be absent. But tonight may be more important toward determining whether the 2009 Patriots are Super Bowl contenders than every touchdown pass Brady threw to Randy Moss last Friday. "We evaluated a number of players last week in the Washington game playing upwards of 40 plays, but we definitely couldn't do that with everybody," Belichick said. "This week, we'll look at some other players playing maybe in that neighborhood of playing time. So I think there are a lot of things that we can find out and will find out, not only in the game, but in these couple days of practice. "In the end, we'll just try to put it together the best we can," he said. 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.