The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are going to start rookie first round pick Josh Freeman at QB starting with the November 8th matchup in Tampa against the Green Bay Packers.  I’m not so sure that is a good team to break him in against as they have two great corners in Charles Woodson and Al Harris.  Freeman got into the game in England against the Patriots late to get his first taste of real NFL action.  He completed 2 of 4 passes for 16 yards (60.4 QB Rating) but he also got sacked two times.  Freeman rushed for 5 yards on 1 carry in that game too.  23-year old Josh Johnson will return to the bench for the Bucs as he had a rough time as the starter.  He has played in 6 games for the Bucs this season and he completed 63 of 125 passes (50.4%) for 685 yards with 4 TD passes and 8 INTs (50.9 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 22 times for 148 yards (6.7 ypc) so far this season.  Johnson will likely be the #2 QB behind Freeman with Byron Leftwich still being #3.  Leftwich has played in 3 games this season and he has completed 58 of 107 passes (54.2%) for 594 yards with 4 TD passes and 3 interceptions (71.2 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 6 times for 6 yards (1.0 ypc) this season.  Hopefully the offensive line will protect Josh Freeman well enough to give him a chance for success the rest of the year.  The Buccaneers made a good decision to play Freeman as this is a lost season anyway.  Might as well see what the rookie can do.

The Bucs released backup offensive guard Marcus Johnson after he was arrested for DUI on Tuesday morning.  Johnson played in six games (0 starts) for the Bucs this season.  The Bucs have promoted offensive lineman James Lee from the practice squad to replace Johnson on the roster.  It appears that the Bucs are sending a message to players that they won’t tolerate bad behavior and that’s a good thing.  It’s bad enough to be 0-7 on the season but you don’t need a bunch of thugs earning that record.

The Bucs have released veteran safety Sean Mahan.  Mahan played in 6 games (4 starts) for the Buccaneers this season.  The reason he was cut is because Jeff Faine is ready to return from a triceps injury that cost him a few weeks.  Faine has started 3 games this season for the Bucs.  Getting Faine back should really help out the interior of the offensive line and the Bucs need all the help they can get.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers traveled all the way to Wembley Stadium in London, England to get embarrassed by the New England Patriots.  At least they did not lose as bad as the Tennessee Titans did last week to the Patriots (59-0).  Josh Johnson had a terrible game for the Buccaneers, as the quarterback was picked off three times in this contest, including the fifth play of the game.  The Patriots’ Brandon Merriweather jumped a slant rout, intercepting Johnson and taking it 39 yards for the first score of the game.  Johnson went 9/26 for 156 yards, with three interceptions and one touchdown before being benched in the 4th quarter.  Josh Freeman replaced him and went 2/4 for 16 yards in garbage time.  The running game was much better than the passing game, but that isn’t saying much.  They got a mediocre 77 yards on 24 carries (3.2 avg) combined from Derrick Ward and Cadillac Williams.

The Buccaneers defense could not stop the big plays from happening, and had a really hard time stopping the Brady-Wes Welker connection.  Welker had 10 catches for 107 yards and a touchdown.  The Bucs gave up a 54-yard touchdown, a 35-yard touchdown, and 37-yard reception by Randy Moss to set up Wes Welker’s touchdown, and a 20-yard run from back-up QB Brian Hoyer.  The Bucs will never win a game if they keep giving up that many big plays in a game. Josh Johnson does not seem to be the answer for the Bucs at quarterback, so another QB change could be coming for the Bucs.  They have a bye this week to try and figure that situation out.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-6) get to show American Football off to London, England this Sunday, but unfortunately they are playing the New England Patriots (4-2).  The Patriots put on a clinic against the Tennessee Titans last week, with a 59-0 demoralizing defeat.  The Titans, like the Bucs, have not won a game and are not on the same level as the Patriots.  Tom Brady got out of the funk he has been in every since returning from knee surgery, as he had a record-breaking five touchdowns in the second quarter.  Brady and the offense looked like the 2007 Patriots who did not lose a regular season game.

The Buccaneers are completely in over their heads in this match-up and it could get ugly.  They really need Josh Johnson to have the game of his life if they want a chance in this one.  Johnson, who replaced Byron Leftwich in week three, has not been much better then Leftwich.  He has thrown five interceptions in three starts and looks lost out their at times.  He is athletic, and should use his scrambling ability as much as possible against the Patriots.  They will also need a big game out of Cadillac Williams, who has yet to have a 100 yard game and has three games where he failed to get into double digit rushing yards.  This is going to be a very rough game for the Bucs and hopefully for their sake they can put up a better performance then the Titans did last week against the Patriots.

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