FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Through 12 training camp practices, New England Patriots quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo has had the type of ups and downs one would expect from a player entering his third NFL season.

Now comes the next step: Starting the team’s preseason opener Thursday night against the New Orleans Saints and attempting to build momentum as he prepares for the games that count, starting Sept. 11 against the Arizona Cardinals in the regular-season opener.

“It’s always different on game day. It’s a different feel and everything. You get those butterflies in your stomach and all that,” Garoppolo said. “It’s awesome. Football is back now. It’s been back for 10 or 11 days, but it’s been practice, so now we get to out there and play.”

Garoppolo won’t be playing with many of the team’s top offensive weapons, a group that is expected to include tight end Rob Gronkowski and receivers Julian Edelman and Chris Hogan. Still, the game experience is considered vital in his continued development because of the myriad of situations that will come up that simply can’t be duplicated at that pace in practice, as well as facing a live pass rush with tackling (which the Patriots haven't had in practice).

While Garoppolo was in a similar situation last year -- preparing to start in the event that Tom Brady's suspension wasn’t overturned in court -- he acknowledged Wednesday that this year is different because he knows for sure that he’ll be playing in the regular-season opener.

But he has insisted his approach hasn’t changed much at all.

“Pretty similar to the last two years, to be honest,” he said. “It’s an opportunity to go out there and perform with your teammates. You don’t know how many snaps you’re going to get or how many snaps you’re not going to get. It’s all coach’s call, so when you’re called on, you’ve just got to go out there and perform.”

For what it’s worth, Garoppolo has appeared to slip a bit in recent training camp practices. On Monday, for example, he threw an interception to rookie linebacker Kamu Grugier-Hill in heavy coverage.

But just as he has had a few throws he’d like to have back, Garoppolo has also delivered some impressive strikes and shown a command of the offense that had teammates such as Gronkowski praising his work. In a full-team scrimmage last Friday, Garoppolo connected with Gronkowski over the middle for his first completion.

“I would definitely say we have a feel for each other,” Gronkowski said. “I definitely know when I come out of a break, where the ball is going to be with him. He knows where I’m going to be, so we’re definitely on the same page. We’ve felt each other out now to the point that we know what to expect.”

What Patriots fans can expect from Garoppolo is still a developing picture, as he has only thrown 31 career regular-season passes.

Asked Wednesday if he’s satisfied with his performance in training camp, Garoppolo said there’s always room for improvement. He didn’t want to get into specifics.

“Little things here and there,” he answered. “You just want to be sharp, especially when game time comes around.”

But he repeated something he has also said at different points over the past two years: “We’re moving in the right direction.”

We should get a better feel of how far along that direction is Thursday night.