Relentless Pats looking to sink hapless Bucs

LONDON -- Tom Brady stood behind a lectern at the venerable Brit Oval Cricket Ground on Friday and favored the United Kingdom with that famous smile.

In the course of a pleasant conversation with reporters, the New England Patriots quarterback (for our European friends, that's Gisele Bundchen's husband) said something that should send shivers down the spine of every Buccaneers fan from the Thames to Tampa.

"I see no reason," Brady said, "why we shouldn't go out there and perform better every week."

Better?

How much better does it get than 59-0?

Can it be possible that Brady, the AFC Offensive Player of the Week, has it in him to perform better than last week against the Titans, when he passed for 345 yards and five touchdowns -- in the first half?

Well ...

These are the Bucs. And this particular group of Bucs has entered dubious historical territory, even for a franchise that, before its Renaissance in the late 1990s and early 2000s, routinely lowered the bar of futility, season after miserable season.

It will seem like old times Sunday when the Bucs (0-6) and Patriots (4-2) meet at Wembley Stadium in front of 90,000 American football converts who sold out the place this past summer faster than a British cab driver can get you from Westminster Abbey to the Tower of London.

Tampa Bay's losing streak has reached 10 games, including the final four games of 2008. It's the second-longest losing streak in franchise history, shorter only than the team's 0-26 start in 1976-77.

A 28-21 loss to Carolina on Sunday left the Bucs and first-year coach Raheem Morris still looking for answers and silver linings.

"The results right now are disappointing," Morris said. "But to see the people start to grow and develop into what they can become is pretty encouraging."

It has been that kind of year for the Bucs, who haven't consistently stopped the run and have been vulnerable at times against the deep pass.

And that's just the defense. Despite a nice rebound from two knee operations by running back Cadillac Williams and a career year so far by tight end Kellen Winslow, neither veteran quarterback Byron Leftwich nor second-year quarterback Josh Johnson have registered a victory.

Yet, Patriots coach Bill Belichick, ever on the lookout for an opportunity to flatter his opponent, made these throwback Bucs sound like the Super Bowl champions they were in 2002.

"Tampa's a very explosive football team," Belichick said Friday. "They have a lot of young players. They're very dangerous. They get a lot of turnovers on defense. They're an explosive return team, good coverage team on special teams. They've got a good set of backs, a couple of outstanding tight ends, a very mobile quarterback, good receivers and a good offensive line."

It was a reiteration of Belichick's theme from earlier in the week, when he actually said this: "I hope we'll be able to be competitive against them."

Morris wasn't buying it.

"Bill Belichick played a winless team [Sunday] and the score was 59-0," Morris said. "Now he's going to play another, and I'm sure Bill Belichick is licking his chops. And he should be."

Morris, still desperately seeking his first victory as an NFL head coach, speaks the truth. The Patriots are two-touchdown favorites in this "home" game for Tampa Bay, which surrendered one date at Raymond James Stadium to accommodate what has become an annual event in the NFL.

Of greater concern for the Patriots, perhaps, are the far-reaching effects of playing a game on this side of the Atlantic. A seven-hour flight East, a disrupted practice schedule, media attention akin to a playoff game -- all of it potentially could take a toll on a team that seems to be steaming toward a return to the playoffs after missing out in 2008.

The Patriots aren't thinking that far ahead. Publicly, no one is saying they're worried that the rigors of a trans-Atlantic flight in the middle of the season could derail a potential playoff year.

"I don't think so," Patriots receiver Wes Welker said. "We do have the bye week [after this game]. Right now, we're just kind of focused on Sunday and making sure we take care of business there. Then from there, we'll see what happens."

What happened to the four teams that played regular-season games at Wembley Stadium in 2007-08?

One of them, the 2007 Giants, won the Super Bowl. None of the other three (Dolphins in '07, Chargers-Saints in '08) finished with a winning record, although the Chargers did go 8-8 to win the AFC West last season.

Of those four teams, though, only last year's Chargers won their first game back in the U.S. after playing in London. And San Diego went on a three-game losing streak right after that victory.

Brady: "I see no reason why we shouldn't go out there and perform better every week.' (US Presswire)

So, despite Belichick's gallant attempt to dress up the Bucs in playoff-contender's clothing, the true test will begin Nov. 8, when the Patriots host the Dolphins after a week off. "We'll see where we are at that point and try to make the decisions that are best for our football team," Belichick said. "But right now, that's not really too much of a concern for us."

The organizations took different approaches to preparation this week. The Patriots practiced on Tuesday, while the Bucs took their usual day off.

New England then left after practice on Thursday and arrived in the wee hours of Friday morning, London time. Tampa Bay left at 9 a.m. ET on Friday and arrived late Friday night.

The actual matchup on the field might not be the best way to gauge which travel schedule works better. Do the Patriots really need an extra night's sleep in London to have the advantage on a Bucs team that is ranked 28th in total offense and 27th in total defense?

How much would an extra day in the UK help the Bucs against a Patriots team ranked fourth in offense and sixth in defense? An extra week? An extra month?

It's the kind of game running back Laurence Maroney can use as a big stepping stone after registering his first 100-yard game of the season last week against the Titans. The Bucs allowed not one, but two 100-yard rushers last week (Carolina's DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart).

Maroney should get his chances against the Bucs' 31st-ranked rush defense, because neither Sammy Morris (knee) nor Fred Taylor (ankle) made the trip to London.

Then there's Brady, who threw five touchdown passes in the second quarter last week against Tennessee. And in another life, when Patriots receiver Randy Moss caught passes for the Vikings in the old NFC Central, he made mincemeat of the Bucs' secondary twice a year (nine games, 36 catches, 658 yards and seven touchdowns in his career).

And Brady says they can be even better?

Not a comforting thought for the Bucs.

"We know that we're in for a battle, but those guys put on pads just like we do," Bucs receiver Michael Clayton said. "We've got to go over prepared to play a mistake-free football game, and we're just going to do our best to prepare to do that this week."