FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- After a couple days of joint practice, the Patriots invited the Saints to Gillette Stadium on Thursday night to help them kick off the new football season; a season the Pats hope — and some expect — will end with New Orleans being their host.

The Big Easy will be the site of Super Bowl XLVII in February, and at this point that occasion is every bit as far off as it seems to be — particularly for the players that’ll wage the weekly battles between now and then to determine who will win the right to play on football’s biggest stage.

And Thursday night’s choppy opening series showed just how long New England has to go.

With all of its skill position players seeing the field — including quarterback Tom Brady, who didn’t play in last year’s first preseason tilt, the Patriots struggled to move the ball consistently as they began the process of working out the kinks.

Brady’s first throw of the season was a bit off-target as he tried to find Rob Gronkowski running up the right hash, and though runs by Stevan Ridley and Danny Woodhead netted a first down on the next two plays, the Pats couldn’t move the ball with a fresh set of downs.

It started with a much better throw from Brady, who whipped a pretty back shoulder toss to newcomer Brandon Lloyd, but the receiver dropped it along the sideline. A Ridley run and a pass to Aaron Hernandez couldn’t move the chains again, and though New England kept possession because New Orleans committed was offside on the punt, they didn’t do much with it.

They did pick up one first down on a pass to Gronkowski; However, at that point an inexperienced and injury-riddled offensive line had some trouble. New left tackle Nate Solder committed a holding penalty, then Brady was forced to throw the ball away after scrambling from pressure, then the quarterback got drilled by freed Saints lineman Will Smith. Blindsided, Brady lost the ball and New Orleans recovered.

Defensively, the Patriots looked better with both of their first-round rookies starting against Drew Brees and the Saints, Chandler Jones opening the game at right defensive end while Dont’a Hightower was at linebacker in the team’s 3-4 front.

Kyle Arrington started across from Devin McCourty as the first-team cornerbacks, but second-round choice Tavon Wilson didn’t wait long to make his debut, either. With New Orleans facing third and 5 on its first series, Wilson entered the game as the nickel back. The Pats forced a punt, and then even though Brady’s fumble gave the Saints possession in New England territory, the defense held them to a field goal.

Brady came back after the unimpressive opening series — but again there were difficulties. Right tackle Marcus Cannon — who was joined by Solder, Donald Thomas, Dan Koppen and Dan Connolly from left to right across the offensive line — set them back with a false start. And though Brady nearly recouped that loss with a first-down completion to Lloyd, that was negated by another holding call against Solder. That series ended with a punt.

And suggested the distance to New Orleans is a lot farther away than merely 1,511 miles.

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Nineteen Patriots didn’t dress for the contest, most notably including linebacker Brandon Spikes, receiver Deion Branch and defensive end Jonathan Fanene, all of whom are still listed as starters on the team-released depth chart. None of the absences was particularly surprising based on recent practice participation.

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The earliest reminder that the NFL is using replacement officials while it remains in a contract dispute with the usual crews came some 48 minutes prior to kickoff, when referee David White — a Division III college official last season — was if he could “project (his) voice a little more” after a couple of quiet attempts during the pregame mic check.

Incidentally, when he got to use his voice for the first time during the game, White forgot to turn off his microphone, and was inaudible until screaming from the sidelines alerted him to the issue.

The NFL locked out its officials on June 3, and with little progress apparently being made in negotiations as six games opened its preseason slate in earnest, ESPN reported Thursday that the league has committed to using the fill-ins for at least another week. Commissioner Roger Goodell has previously said he’s comfortable with the replacements working the entire preseason.

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Minutes before kickoff the Patriots showed a video remembering Junior Seau, the ex-linebacker who committed suicide on May 2 by shooting himself in the chest. Seau played parts of four seasons in New England, recording 179 tackles, 4.5 sacks and three interceptions.

After the video, the stadium observed a moment of silence.

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How quickly do NFL rosters turn over? Of the 90 players on the Patriots roster for Thursday’s game, only six had been with the team since 2007. Receivers Donte Stallworth and Jabar Gaffney were also part of that club, but rejoined this season after leaving via free agency.

Also of note, with Kevin Faulk still unsigned and Matt Light retired, Brady is now the only Patriot who was here prior to 2003.

Dave D’Onofrio covers the Patriots for the New Hampshire Union Leader and Sunday News. His e-mail address is ddonof13@gmail.com.