Ryan Mallett mostly pleased with his performance in loss to Eagles

Mallett started the game after Tom Brady was given the night off.

APNew England Patriots quarterback Ryan Mallett (15) passes against the Philadelphia Eagles during the first quarter of an NFL preseason football game in Foxborough, Mass., Monday, Aug. 20, 2012.

FOXBOROUGH – Ryan Mallett finally feels like he things are coming together for him.

With Tom Brady taking the night off, the second-year quarterback started in Monday night’s 27-17 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles and completed 10 of 20 passes for 105 yards.

There were areas where he felt he could have performed better, but Mallett believes there are plenty of positives to take from the performance.

“It felt pretty good getting in there, getting in a little rhythm,” he said. “Like coach (Bill Belichick) says, we have to go look at the film and evaluate ourselves. I always have high expectations, so I grade pretty hard, but we’ll go look at it and see what to improve on.”

Mallett did get into a groove early in the game. Over his first three series, he completed 8 of 15 passes for 87 yards -- numbers that were hampered by a pair of drops by Danny Woodhead and Jeremy Ebert.

He also led the Patriots to a touchdown on their third offensive series when he found tight end Alex Silvestro, a converted defensive lineman, in the flat for a 7-yard reception.

Silvestro said he was full of nerves on the play, but Mallett delivered a perfect pass that set him up for success.

“When I turn around he threw it right on the money, so it was a good pass by Mallett,” Silvestro said. “I just saw it and had to try to snag it.”

The highlight of Mallett night came when he stood in against the rush and was able to find Deion Branch for a 20-yard strike. The low point came in the first quarter when Mallett stared Branch down on the sideline and threw an interception that was negated by a penalty.

The quarterback fell out of his groove in the second half and completed two of his last five passes for 18 yards.

The growing pains are still there, but Mallett says that he’s more comfortable in the pocket and finally understands what is going on around him.

“Last year I didn’t have a very good base; now I have a good foundation that I can keep working to build on,” he said. “That’s what I’m doing every day is trying to build on that foundation.”