The New England Patriots (5-2) and Tom Brady put on a show for the Wembley Stadium crowd in London, England on Sunday and crushed the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  The Patriots got off to a quick start, building a 14-0 lead after the first quarter.  Brandon Marriweather set the tone for the Patriots defense, picking off Buc’s quarterback Josh Johnson on the fifth play of the game and returning it 39 yards for a touchdown.  Brady hit receiver Wes Welker for the second touchdown of the quarter on a 14-yard pitch and catch.  Welker was Bradys’ favorite target in this game, hitting him 10 times for 107 yards and that first quarter touchdown.  He also hooked up with Randy Moss five times for 69 yards. Brady tacked on another touchdown early in the second quarter with a 54-yard catch and run to Sam Aiken.  Brady was not perfect in this one though, throwing two picks in the second quarter.  He finished the game with three TDs and two picks for 308 yards on 23/32 attempts.

The Buccaneers offense finally answered near the end of the half with a 33-yard touchdown pass from Josh Johnson to Antonio Bryant, making it 21-7 at the break.  That would be the only score of the game for the Bucs, as the Patriots defense did a good job forcing Johnson into a lot of mistakes.  Johnson threw three interceptions and one touchdown, on 9/26 attempts before being replaced in the 4th quarter by rookie Josh Freeman.  Laurence Maroney had a touchdown for the Pats, but only got 43 yards on the ground in 13 carries (3.3 avg).  I would expect more yards out of Maroney against such a bad Bucs defense.  The Patriots have a bye this week, but they look like they are back in that 2007 groove, and will look to continue their dominant play November 8th against the Miami Dolphins.

25-year old safety Brandon Meriweather is having an outstanding season for the Patriots.  He has played in 7 games for the Patriots this season and he has made 39 tackles, defensed 5 passes, 3 tackles for a loss, 1 forced fumble and he has intercepted 2 passes (70 return yards,  1 returned for a TD).  The Patriots are happy with Meriweather who has been great for the Patriots serving as the back line of the defense.

Tom Brady and the New England Patriots (4-2) put on a record breaking show last week, and will be bringing that show to London, England this Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-6).  Brady had a record-breaking five touchdowns in one quarter last week when the Patriots crushed the winless Tennessee Titans 59-0.  The Patriots are taking on another winless team in the Buccaneers and I am expecting another big game from Brady and the Patriots’ offense.  The Buccaneers are completely over-matched in this one and they could be embarrassed just like the Titans were last week.

The Bucs have had difficulty getting consistency out of the quarterback position and Josh Johnson is their starter after Byron Leftwich was benched after week three.  The Patriots defense should look to force some turnovers as Johnson has thrown five interceptions in the past three games.  The Bucs running game is pretty effective though, so they need to key in on stopping Cadillac Williams and Josh Johnsons’ scrambling.  They averaged about 100 rushing yards per game and if the Patriots can shut down their run, then the Bucs have no chance. This should be another blowout for the Patriots and the British will be able to see what real football is like.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  New England Patriots 35, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 13

The Patriots have lost WR/KR/PR Julian Edelman indefinately with a broken arm.  This is a big loss to the Patriots as Edelman has done everything they have asked…..and he has done it well.  Edelman has 1 carry for 5 yards this season and he has also caught 21 passes for 188 yards (9.0 avg).  Edelman has helped out on special teams big time this season.  He has returned 7 kickoffs for 157 yards (22.4 avg) and 6 punts for 63 yards (10.5 avg) this season.  Edelman was a excellent pick by the Patriots in the 7th round last April as he was a QB in college for the Kent State Golden Flashes.

The New England Patriots have released 27-year old inside linebacker Eric Alexander.  Alexander played in 6 games for the Patriots this season and he made 8 tackles and forced 1 fumble.  In five years with the Patriots, Alexander played in 36 games in which he made 44 tackles and forced 1 fumble.  The Patriots won’t likely miss Alexander too much as most of his work was done on special teams.

UPDATE:  The Patriots have re-signed Eric Alexander after just one day just like they did with Tully Banta-Cain.