Bill Belichick, Aaron Dobson

New England Patriots' Aaron Dobson pulls Patriots' head coach Bill Belichick's shirt during a joint workout with the Philadelphia Eagles at NFL football training camp in Philadelphia, Thursday, Aug. 8, 2013. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

(AP)

FOXBOROUGH – If the decision were Aaron Dobson’s to make, he would be on the field Thursday night against the New York Jets.

In his mind, the hamstring injury that kept him sidelined for Sunday’s game against the Buffalo Bills has healed up to the point where he believes he can play effectively Thursday night.

In fact, he expects to be on the field for the home opener.

“Oh, yeah, definitely,” he said. “I expect to play.”

Unfortunately, that isn’t his decision to make. The coaching staff will soon decide whether or not the second-round pick is ready to make his debut, and Dobson is waiting eagerly to learn his fate.

For now, all he can is hope that things go his way after being left full of disappointment last week when he was left behind for what was supposed to be his NFL debut.

“It was my first real game and I missed it,” Dobson said. “I’m just trying to move forward, think positive and great ready for the Jets game on Thursday.

“Definitely (going to be exciting), just being in front of my home crowd. My first game. I’m really excited.”

If Dobson does get on the field, there may be added pressure to perform with Danny Amendola (groin) and Zach Sudfeld (hamstring) possibly being sidelined due to injuries. But Dobson said that if he plays, he can only worry about doing his job.

“I wouldn’t say that. As a receiver crew, I feel like we gotta go out there and make plays and focus on the little things,” Dobson said. “We can’t make our role too big. That would just put too much pressure on any one person.”