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DT Chris Hovan was one of the few current Bucs on the roster the last time Tampa Bay took on New England, in 2005

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Game Notes: Patriots at Bucs, 1 p.m. ET

Oct 25, 2009 - Defeating the New England Patriots on Sunday would improve the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ record to 1-6 but would not magically vault them back into the thick of the playoff race. That, in fact, is not even the team’s immediate concern; at this point, the Buccaneers, however clichÃ©s it may sound, are most definitely focusing on week at a time.

Still, regardless of the stakes, Sunday’s game against the Patriots is huge, if for no other reason than the venue. Tampa Bay and New England will play the only regular-season NFL game outside of U.S. borders this year, continuing a three-year run of one-time contests at London’s Wembley Stadium. Selling America’s most popular sport to the rest of the world is a gradual process, but the Bucs and Patriots know they can do their part this Sunday.

“We’re talking about making our game global,” said Buccaneers Head Coach Raheem Morris. “We want to be like soccer. We want to have that type of global acknowledgement. We want a franchise over here. When you go from Tampa to Seattle it’s not much different than going to London.”

Ah, but there are other reasons for this game’s importance beyond the venue. If it did prove to be Tampa Bay’s first win of the season, it would obviously be a landmark victory, potentially sparking the kind of turnaround the franchise experienced after a similar start in 1996.

No, a single win would not turn around the Bucs’ playoff hopes, but it would feel like a new start for this very young team.

“That first win, it would be like a new season,” said cornerback Ronde Barber. “Hopefully it comes this week. We’ve got a tough opponent. New England is as tough as they get. You watch them on film and they’re tough to figure. Tom [Brady]’s so good and the receivers are so good, but to find a way to win a game would be a nice way to start over, yes.”

Added defensive tackle Chris Hovan: “Right now we’re 0-6 and the Patriots are doing very well. They’re very explosive, with all their weapons on offense and they have a great defense. I think it’s going to be a big challenge and we need everybody to go against these guys right now.”

Obviously, the Bucs’ goal won’t be easy to obtain, but it will be thrilling to watch them pursue it in such an unusual venue. And if they are able to reach that goal, it could do wonders for the team’s state of mind.

“Any time you get a chance to play a team like the New England Patriots and you go in there and you find a way to get out of there with a win, that develops a certain confidence, a certain swagger that can carry into the last nine nine games for you,” said Morris. “And it also can break you down, too, if you go out there and get humiliated by the Patriots. So this is a great test for our football team, this is a great test for me, this is a great test for our organization and we just happen to be in a great place like London to be able to do it.”

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Game Notes: Patriots at Buccaneers, Sunday, October 25, 2009

Kickoff: 5:00 p.m. GMT (1:00 p.m. ET)
Site: Wembley Stadium (84,000), London
2009 Records: Tampa Bay 0-6; New England 4-2
Network Television: CBS (Jim Nantz, Phil Simms)
Bucs Radio: US 103.5, flagship station (103.5 FM, 620 AM; Gene Deckerhoff, Dave Moore, T.J. Rives)
National Radio: Westwood One Radio Sports (Kevin Kugler, Mark Malone)
Tampa Bay's Last Game: Lost to Carolina, 28-21
Up Next for Tampa Bay: Bye week, then vs. Green Bay (11/8)
New England's Last Game: Beat Tennessee, 59-0
Up Next for New England: Bye week, then vs. Miami (11/8)

All-Time Buccaneers-Patriots Series Results

New England leads the series 4-2, but Tampa Bay has won two of the last three meetings.

The most recent meetings between the clubs was in Week 15 of the 2005 season, a game New England won, 28-0, in Foxboro. The Buccaneers captured the previous two games, 21-16 at New England in the 2000 season opener and 27-7 in 1997 in Tampa.

The first meeting between the two clubs was in the Bucs’ inaugural season in 1976, a 31-14 New England win in Tampa. The Patriots also captured wins in 1985 (32-14 in Tampa) and 1988 (10-7 in overtime in New England).

Despite losing those first two meetings between the teams by 17 and 18 points, respectively, the Buccaneers took the early lead in both contests. On Dec. 12, 1976, the Bucs led 14-7 at halftime before New England scored 24 unanswered points. On Oct. 27, 1985, the Bucs built a 14-0 advantage but the Patriots once again stormed back, scoring the game’s final 32 points. The third meeting between the two teams, in 1988, was played amid terrible weather conditions and was tied, 7-7, at the end of regulation. The visiting Buccaneers actually won the toss to begin overtime but elected to choose direction in order to have the wind at their backs. The strategy backfired as the Patriots drove for the winning field goal on their opening possession.

Last Meeting

In their first meeting in Foxborough since 2000, the Buccaneers were shut out for the first time since 1999 by the two-time defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots, falling 28-0 on December 17, 2005. The game was played on a Saturday and marked Tampa Bay’s third straight road game after wins at New Orleans and Carolina.

Tampa Bay WR Ike Hilliard led the team with five catches for 50 yards, surpassing 400 career receptions in the contest while DE Simeon Rice recorded his 10th sack of the season, marking the eighth time overall and fifth consecutive season Rice had recorded at least 10 sacks, tying him for fifth-most in NFL history in both categories.

Tampa Bay surrendered a touchdown on the opening drive of the game for the first time all season as the Patriots took a 7-0 lead on a one-yard touchdown pass from QB Tom Brady to eligible tackle Tom Ashworth. New England’s second scoring drive in the second quarter was aided by two 15-yard penalties on the Buccaneers as the Patriots extended their lead to 14-0 on a three-yard RB Corey Dillon touchdown run.

On Tampa Bay’s next possession, with less than two minutes remaining before halftime, Patriots LB Willie McGinest forced and recovered a QB Chris Simms fumble inside Tampa Bay territory. Three plays later, Brady found WR David Givens on a 16-yard touchdown pass with 27 seconds remaining in the half for a 21-0 lead. After a scoreless third quarter, New England pushed its lead to 28-0 early in the fourth quarter as Brady found Dillon for his third touchdown pass of the day, this one from two yards out.

Injury Report

The Buccaneers took all 53 players on the trip to London and it’s possible that all 53 will be cleared to play on Sunday, though the team will still have to declare eight players inactive.

The two Tampa Bay players in the most doubt, wide receiver Michael Clayton and running back Clifton Smith, were listed as questionable on Friday’s injury report. Clayton is contending with a hamstring strain while Smith spent the week recovering from a concussion sustained last Sunday against Carolina. Clayton seemed likely to play after the team arrived in London; Smith will probably need game-day clearance to be in action against the Patriots.

New England has already ruled out four players, including starting left tackle Matt Light due to a knee injury. Rookie Sebastian Vollmer will presumably make his second straight start in Light’s absence. The Patriots will also be without running backs Sammy Morris (knee) and Fred Taylor (ankle), as well as rookie wide receiver Julian Edelman (forearm).

Three other Patriots were questionable heading into the weekend: cornerbacks Darius Butler (ankle) and Shawn Springs (knee) and offensive lineman Dan Donnolly (knee). All three were able to practice on Friday in a limited fashion.

Bucs-Patriots Connections

Some of the players and coaches in Sunday’s game have ties to the other team or to the opposition’s region.

-Buccaneers Defensive Coordinator Jim Bates served on the staff of current Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick’s with the Cleveland Browns from 1991-93 and again in 1995. Bates was linebackers coach in 1991, defensive ends coach in 1992-93 and secondary coach in 1995, all while Belichick was the Browns’ Head Coach.
Bucs Assistant Head Coach/Wide Receivers Richard Mann also served on Belichick’s coaching staff with the Cleveland Browns from 1991-93, in the same capacity.
Bucs Offensive Line Coach Pete Mangurian served as the Patriots’ tight ends coach under Belichick from 2005-08.
Patriots Head Athletic Trainer Jim Whalen served as the Director of Rehabilitation for the Bucs from 2000-01.