FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Three quarterbacks will be in the spotlight on Thursday night when the Saints and Patriots open their preseason schedules.It will be just another tuneup for two of the leagues most productive veteran signal callers, Tom Brady and Drew Brees. For the other, it will serve as an important prelude to an opportunity hes prepped for just over two years.New Englands Jimmy Garoppolo has known since the abrupt conclusion of Deflategate last month that he would get the first regular-season starts of his career when Bradys league-imposed, four-game suspension begins next month. What remains unclear is if that new status will also translate into Garoppolo starting during the preseason and taking the majority of the snaps.Its always different on game day. Its a different feel and everything, Garoppolo said. You get those butterflies in your stomach and all that. Its awesome. Football is back now.It will also be the first peek this season at the 39-year-old Brady and 37-year-old Saints quarterback Drew Brees as they continue to progress toward the conclusion of their respective NFL runs -- though both plan on playing for a few more seasons.While the teams have held joint preseason practices three times in the last five years, this latest edition brought about more reminiscences for the former Big Ten rivals.Brees said the steady rain that fell during Wednesdays practice took them both back to when Bradys Michigan team faced Brees Purdue squad in 1999.The weather today the exact same as it was for that game, Brees said. Tom actually threw it out there. He said, `Hey, remember that game, Michigan-Purdue in the Big House? It was just like it. They kind of smoked us that day, though.From college kids to veteran pros, Brees said there is an appreciation for the longevity that both have had in the league.I think were thankful for the opportunities that weve been given, Brees said. Obviously, he is a part of a great organization, and has been for a long time. Im part of a great organization and have been for a long time.From knowing him and his approach, I think we both understand we gotta prove it each and every time out. Were in the business of winning. I think we both have high expectations as to how long we can play. But we dont take it for granted.Brees said he has been told he would play a series or so on Thursday, leaving ample time for backups Luke McCown and Garrett Grayson to get snaps.Garoppolo and Brady have each had equal time working alongside players that will likely make up the Patriots first-team offense. Garoppolo said after Wednesdays rain soaked practice he hadnt yet received any indication from the coaching staff on who would start Thursday.I dont know. Your guess is as good as mine, he said.Game notes Patriots WR Julian Edelman was back on the field Wednesday after leaving practice early Tuesday with an unspecified lower left leg injury. Edelman was in uniform, but did not participate in live pass-catching drills. He instead worked on conditioning with a small group of other players. ... Saints RB Mark Ingram, who missed a couple of practices recently, also said he isnt sure how much playing time he will get Thursday. But he said his time off was nothing major. Yeah, Im fine, he said. They were taking care of me a little bit. So, Im good. ...Former Rutgers football player turned motivational speaker Eric LeGrand was at practice Wednesday, and addressed players afterward. LeGrand, who was paralyzed while attempting a tackle during a 2010 Rutgers game, was in town working on a new web series. Patriots Logan Ryan and Duron Harmon both played alongside LeGrand at the school.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL---Follow Kyle Hightower on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/khightower Michael Kors Black Friday Deals . Woodson said during a radio interview Thursday that the Knicks Carmelo Anthony doesnt get the same calls as other superstars. Michael Kors Black Friday 2015 .ca! Hi Kerry, Heres an interesting one. I know its common knowledge that all players are responsible for their sticks. We witnessed that when Zack Kassian hit Edmontons Sam Gagner in the face after a missed check. http://www.mksale2016uk.eu/ . Louis Blues teammates who would also be participating in the Olympics, Alex Pietrangelo felt right at home, no different in some ways to the travel experience of any old road trip – save for the length of the journey, that is. Michael Kors Black Friday UK . It was the kind of score that might make everyone else wonder which course he was playing. Except that Graeme McDowell saw the whole thing. Crouched behind the 10th green at Sheshan International, McDowell looked over at the powerful American and said, "Ive probably seen 18 of the best drives Ive seen all year in the last two days. Michael Kors Black Friday Sale . But the quarterback hopes to stay involved in football after officially calling it quits Tuesday. "Id love to look at those opportunities as they arise," Pierce said in an interview from his Winnipeg eatery. COLUMBUS, Ohio -- With all the fervor of a Baptist preacher, Ohio State defensive line coach Larry Johnson paces in front of the players and delivers a passionate explanation of The Edge, the programs latest motivational mantra.To be elite, youve got to take a free fall, but you cant be afraid to go to the edge! Johnson booms in a speech that made the rounds on social media. Coach says `jump! and you say `how far, coach, where do you want me to go? Every guys got a chance to do that today. If youre elite, grab somebody today, take `em with you!Looming over that scene at the Buckeyes indoor practice facility, a huge video screen runs a loop of a snarling wolf, an image thats supposed to remind players to stay on the attack. Be the aggressor or the victim. That was the overriding theme during spring practice.These are among Ohio States latest tactics to motivate millennial players in an age of social media, digital flash and diminished attention spans. They are easy-to-remember buzzwords and catchphrases, with bold imagery accompanied by hype videos usually set to hip-hop music. Last season it was The Grind. The year before, when Ohio State ended up winning the national championship, it was The Chase.We have to think like an 18-year-old and thats the challenge for our staff all the time, coach Urban Meyer said. Im not trying to appeal to the 52-year-old assistant coach. The 18-year-old who has to go do his job, who has to go do very uncomfortable things, we have to appeal to them.Meyer develops the messages with a group that includes performance coach Mickey Marotti and Tim Kight, a pastor-turned-leadership development consultant who the coach hired several years ago to help refine the programs message and impart it on coaches and players.Its not one of those things, `hey, leets try this, said Meyer, who is 50-4 in his four seasons at Ohio State.dddddddddddd Theyre extremely well thought out. How do we get that human spirit, how do we solve that mystery of getting them to go as hard as they can?Quarterback J.T. Barrett said the team has embraced the essence of The Edge, which is defined as the line where average stops and elite begins.For me, and I think a lot of my teammates, its something that really hits home being that everybody can be pushed to a certain point, but wherever that point may be -- and its different for each individual -- you have to find a way to get through that. And you cant do it by yourself, Barrett said. The definition is very narrowed down (for) the young guys, so its easy for them to understand.Counting down to the opening game, the coaches are pushing the players to get to Code Green, which designates them as game ready. Code Green replaced the wolf as the message on the video board this week.Defensive end Sam Hubbard said the players who dont subscribe to the programs mantras are going to be left behind.In the past, stuff like that weve seen the results of it in the national championship, said Hubbard, who backed up All-American Joey Bosa last year and will have a starting role this season. If you act too cool for something like `Code Green, then just forget about it. Youre never going to improve.Youve got to really buy into it. The results speak for themselves, when guys are going to the NFL and stuff like that. So it really does work, and I buy into it.---Follow Mitch Stacy at http://twitter.com/mitchstacy . For some of his other recent stories: http://bigstory.ap.org/content/mitch-stacy Cheap Jerseys ' ' '