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http://isportsweb.com/2009/10/26/pa
triots-tame-london-romp-bucs-35-7/
The New England Patriots in the annual NFL International Game in London yesterday blew out the winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers 35-7 in front of over 84,000 fans in Wembley Stadium.
London was named by the Romans who, settled here first in 43 AD, and called it Londonium. It became the seat of power after William the Conquer came to rule in 1066 after the Battle of Hastings. So much for the history lesson. Yesterday, London was in control of Sir William Belichick, “The Hoodie” and the Bucs were the unlucky losers brought to the block by the Tower.
The Bucs were never really in it as the Patriots defense stepped up and scored a touchdown on an interception and return by Brandon Merriweather before the vaunted Patriots offense even took the field on the game’s first series.
"They ran that play against Carolina last week. The coaches just happened to put us in a great position. I think the quarterback and the receiver were on two different pages." said Merrieweather.
In actuality the Patriots offense played a bit sloppy although the statistics wouldn’t really show it. Tom Brady had a nice day, dominating the Bucs at crucial times, completing 23-32 passes for 308 yards and 3 touchdown passes. But he also threw two INTs. The first on a red-zone fade to Moss in the back of the end-zone that should have never been thrown. The second, he had rookie WR Brandon Tate wide open on a deep post. Brady launched the ball in the direction of Tate, but CB Aqib Talib made a fantastic play coming out of nowhere to pick the ball off a split second before Tate was able to pull the ball in.
Brady’s TD to Wes Welker was a classic Welker catch. Brady hit him on a screen near the line of scrimmage and Welker does what he does best, weave in and out of traffic, make people miss and ended up in the endzone. Brady also hit WR Sam Aiken for a 55 yard TD pass. Brady had been flushed from the pocket and just before the line of scrimmage, pulled up and hit Aiken, coming all the way across the field. Aiken slipped the tackle of Barrett Ruud and then turned upfield and raced the remaining Bucs defenders all the way to paydirt. Brady’s last TD was a 35 yard strike to TE Ben Watson who, singled up on LB Geno Hayes, blew right past him down the seam. This was a matchup we called our readers to look out for during our pre-game analysis. http://isportsweb.com/2009/10/22/st
eve-steves-patriots-buccaneers-key-
matchups/
Brady after struggling early this season in his return from injury, had only 6 TD passes in his first 5 games, has now thrown 9 in his past two games and the long ball has become a staple again in the New England arsenal.
"Tom, he's the guy that changed the game. He's the guy you worry about constantly," he said. "When you have a great quarterback like that, that's what he does and that's what he will do for you." Said Bucs coach Raheem Brock.
Wes Welker had another outstanding game, he is arguably the best slot receiver in the business. He and Brady have a great relationship where they are so comfortable with each other they can each read the defenses and each will know when the other will cut the routes short or extend them out. Welker had 10 catches for 107 yards with most of the yardage after the catch. He now has 46 receptions on the season and that is while missing 2 games with a knee injury. Welker is the best safety valve that Brady possesses, even rendering old reliable Kevin Faulk unneeded in this contest.
The running game while gaining 108 yards on 28 carries did not have the expected effect on a Tampa defense that had been absolutely gashed on the run this season. None of the running backs distinguished themselves this week after the big week of Laurence Maroney and BenJarvus Green-Ellis had against the Titans. The best gains were the end arounds where they caught the Bucs coming hard after Brady. The offensive line did a good job of pass protection but did have penalties problems Sebastian Vollmer and Logan Mankins each had two.
The Patriots defense had a big game with 3 INTs, two by Brandon Merriweather, one of which he returned for a TD on the game’s opening series. The Pats also sacked Tampa’s QBs three times, had 9 tackles for losses and allowed a total of only 240 yards for the game. Overall a good performance. They hounded QBs Josh Johnson and Josh Freeman all day and brought good overall pressure while allowing them to complete only 11 of 30 for 151 yards passing.
The only good series the Bucs had passing was just prior to the end of the first half when Johnson completed a 33 yard picture perfect pass to Antonio Freeman for a touchdown over rookie corner Darius Butler. After that the Bucs were unable to mount any sustainable drives and the Patriots defense frequently put them in third down and long yardage.
The Patriots also did a very good job of limiting the two-headed monster of Derrick Ward and Caddilac Williams running the football. Ward had only 48 yards on 13 carries and Williams had just 29 yards on 11 carries. Overall, the Pats held the Bucs to just 89 yards rushing on 26 carries. The Pats front seven did a super job of getting in the backfield and disrupting the running game. Tully Banta-Cain and Vince Wilfork in particular were extremely solid. Banta-Cain was making plays all over the field and was a force to be reckoned with constantly.
The Patriots secondary again made strides and appeared solid throughout the game. Leigh Bodden, Darius Butler and Jonathan Wilhite were all solid in corner and Merriweather and Brendan McGowan were excellent at safety. Merriweather is fast becoming the playmaker the Patriots thought he was when he was drafted three years ago. He is making plays all over the field and now that he is comfortable in the defense, he allows his athleticism to fly around and break up passing plays. Yesterday was his first INT return for a TD in his career. McGowan is supplying the big physical presence and has been very solid in the backfield.
Overall, although the Patriots had some rough spots and appeared a tad sloppy on the field, they generally did what they had to do, and that is dominate an inferior opponent. Tampa Bay is struggling now, neither Josh Johnson nor Josh Freeman appears ready to take over the mantle as a starting QB right now so for the time being, the Bucs will continue to suffer.
The Patriots offense for the second week in a row scored seemingly at will against an overmatched opponent. That is a good thing considering the struggles they had, particularly Brady had in finding a rhythm with his wide receivers. But the true test for this team comes after the bye week. The next five games will be against the Dolphins at home, on the road against the Colts, at home against the Jets, in New Orleans against the Saints and back to Miami for a return date against the Fins. At the end of the five game stretch, we will have a much better idea of what this team is composed of then.
But for now, Bill Belichick has to be satisfied with the effort of the team. They handled the hoopla associated with the London game as any other and came thru it very well. The past two games the Patriots have out-scored their opponents 94-7, Brady has thrown 9 TD passes and the defense is showing signs of coming together. Later this week we’ll bring any breaking news surrounding the team, as it prepares to heal up during the bye week. Until then, It is what it is…
