The Patriots have been selected to play the Buccaneers in London’s Wembley Stadium next year. The Bucs will be considered the home team for the Oct. 25 clash. The NFL has played games in London each of the last two years, with the Giants beating the Dolphins there last year and the Saints knocking off the Chargers five weeks ago.

Note the subject line has the Steelers hanging with the Pats and not vice versa. The Steelers are considered one of the class teams of the AFC, and the Patriots have been a step ahead of them all game, though they blew a golden chance to take a lead into the half.

The teams are tied at 10 in a defensive struggle that has clearly been impacted by the elements. The game is being played in a steady, raw rain that has made ball control a little more difficult. On the last three plays of the first half, alone, Randy Moss dropped a touchdown, Ike Taylor dropped an interception, and Stephen Gostkowski shanked a chip shot field goal.

The Patriots have generally controlled play, jumping ahead after Mike Vrabel picked Ben Roethlisberger on Pittsburgh’s opening drive. Three plays later, Sammy Morris gave the Pats a 7-0 lead with a two-yard plunge.

The Steelers didn’t put together a scoring drive until the final minutes of the half, with left corner Deltha O’Neal being particularly targeted. O’Neal was beaten for the tying touchdown, a 19-yarder to Santonio Holmes.

The Pats then blew a golden opportunity to regain the lead in the final two minutes. Kevin Faulk’s 41-yard draw put the Pats in Steelers territory, and a Sammy Morris run set them up at the 1. But Matt Cassel threw behind Moss, then Moss dropped one that was right in his hands, followed by Taylor missing an interception that nearly deflected to Moss. Gostkowski’s miss from 27 yards completed the futility.

In general, neither team has moved the ball particularly well. The Patriots, as expected, have had some success throwing underneath, but until the two draws they had gotten little from the running game or the downfield passing game.

The Steelers started moving the ball through the air on their final drive of the half. Up until that point, the Patriots deserve credit for an excellent defensive effort, particularly with starting defensive end Ty Warren inactive.

It’s a credit to defensive lineman Mike Wright that the Steelers have had very little success running to his left side. The Steelers have rushed for just 48 yards on 14 carries (3.4 avg.).

The Pats have also been aggressive defensively, dropping Roethlisberger with an Ellis Hobbs blitz and tipping another of his passes at the line.

Pats ball to open the second half. It’s anyone’s ballgame.

The Patriots just released their inactives for today’s game against the Steelers, and the big absence is defensive end Ty Warren, who will miss his second game in three weeks with a bad groin. The wet field undoubtedly didn’t help Warren’s case. Jarvis Green and Mike Wright will see more time as a result.

PATRIOTS INACTIVES

WR Kelley Washington
RB LaMont Jordan
OT Wesley Britt
C/G Billy Yates
TE Tyson DeVree
DE Ty Warren
OLB Adalius Thomas
3rd QB Matt Gutierrez

STEELERS INACTIVES

CB Bryant McFadden
CB Fernando Bryant
LB Bruce Davis
OT Tony Hills
OT Marvel Smith
DE Brett Keisel
RB Najeh Davenport
3rd QB Dennis Dixon

No real surprises here. Most of the players in the “questionable” category should play, although it will be interesting to see if LaMont Jordan, who hasn’t played since Oct. 5th due to a calf injury, will be ready to go.

Here’s the full report from the Pat’s side:

Out
LB Adalius Thomas (forearm)

Doubtful
WR Kelley Washington (thigh)

Questionable
LB Tedy Bruschi (knee)
CB Ellis Hobbs (shoulder)
RB LaMont Jordan (calf)
DL Richard Seymour (knee)
DE Ty Warren (groin)

Probable
C Dan Koppen (elbow)
DL Le Kevin Smith (shoulder)
CB Mike Richardson (concussion)

Richard Seymour, who missed the last two practices with a knee injury, was back out on the field today during the media viewing portion of practice, which was held on the outdoor practice field. Earlier, he told reporters he expected to play in Sunday’s game against the Steelers at Gillette Stadium.

 When asked if he’d be ready to play this week, Seymour responded:  “Absolutely. Hopefully that’s the game plan.”

 Other items of note, running back LaMont Jordan practiced for his third straight day.
Missing from the outdoor session were wide receiver Kelley Washington and linebacker Adalius Thomas.

The Patriots practiced today, and there were no changes from yesterday’s participation/injury report. Of note, defensive lineman Richard Seymour once again missed the session with a knee injury. 

Here’s the full report: 

Did Not Participate in Practice
DL Richard Seymour (knee)
LB Adalius Thomas (forearm)
WR Kelley Washington (thigh)

Limited Participation in Practice
LB Tedy Bruschi (knee)
CB Ellis Hobbs (shoulder)
RB LaMont Jordan (calf)
DE Ty Warren (groin)

Full Participation in Practice
C Dan Koppen (elbow)
DL Le Kevin Smith (shoulder)
CB Mike Richardson (concussion)

 The Pats released their practice/injury report. Richard Seymour did not practice at all, and is now listed with a knee injury. He was limited last week with a toe problem. LaMont Jordan, who returned to practice, came back on a limited basis with his nagging calf injury.

Here’s the full report:

Did Not Participate in Practice
DL Richard Seymour (knee)
LB Adalius Thomas (forearm)
WR Kelley Washington (thigh)

Limited Participation in Practice
LB Tedy Bruschi (knee)
CB Ellis Hobbs (shoulder)
RB LaMont Jordan (calf)
DE Ty Warren (groin)

Full Participation in Practice
C Dan Koppen (elbow)
DL Le Kevin Smith (shoulder)
CB Mike Richardson (concussion)

The awards are now starting to pile up for Matt Cassel, as the Pat’s quarterback was named the AFC’s offensive player of the week for his performance against the Miami Dolphins. Cassel completed 30 of 43 passes for 415 yards and tied a career-high with three touchdowns and an interception with a 114.0 passer rating. Cassel led the Pats’ offense to 530 total net yards (the second-highest total in team history). He also had an 8-yard touchdown run. His 415 passing yards marked just the fifth time in NFL history that a quarterback totaled 400 or more passing yards in consecutive games. He had amassed 400 yards against the Jets on 11/13/08.

The team practiced outdoors today in shoulder pads and sweats.  Defensive lineman Richard Seymour was not present during the media viewing portion of practice. Also missing during that time was wide receiver/special teamer Kelley Washington and linebacker Adalius Thomas.

Returning to the field, meanwhile, was running back LaMont Jordan. In other news, the Pats signed punter Tom Malone to the practice squad.

A league official has confirmed that Patriots tackle Matt Light will not be suspended for his altercation with the Dolphins’ Channing Crowder at the end of Sunday’s game. Both Light and Crowder were fined $15,000.

The news was first reported by the NFL Network.

Patriots quarterback Matt Cassel is one of three quarterbacks nominated for FedEx Air Player of the Week honors. Cassel threw for 415 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another in a 48-28 victory over the Dolphins.

His competition for the award is New Orleans’ Drew Brees, who went 20 of 26 for 323 yards and four scores in a 51-29 victory over the Packers, and Cowboys QB Tony Romo, who went 23 for 39 for 341 yards and three scores in a 35-22 win over the 49ers.

Fans can vote until Friday at 11 a.m. by visiting NFL.com/FedEx.

Apparently it wasn’t enough for Steelers safety Anthony Smith to guarantee a victory against the Patriots last year and then get burned for a pair of long touchdowns in the 34-13 blowout. This one slipped through the cracks, but after beating the Bengals on Thursday, Smith told the Indiana Gazette that not only did he not regret guaranteeing a victory against the Pats, but that he’d do it again.

“If they ask me again, I’ll say the same thing,” he said, apparently forgetting how ticked off his own teammates were at him last year for giving the unbeaten Patriots motivation they didn’t need.

Smith is just a role player now, replaced in the lineup by free safety Ryan Clark, but that didn’t stop him from running his mouth again.

“We’re the No. 1 defense,” he said. “If we play like we’ve been playing, and our offense comes around and has a good game, and we’re clicking on all cylinders, we’re going to win the game.”

The Patriots’ Dec. 7 game against the Seahawks, originally scheduled for 8:15 p.m. on NBC, has been flexed out of that spot in favor of Ravens-Redskins. With the Seahawks having such a miserable season, even the presence of the Patriots couldn’t keep the game in prime time. It will instead be played at 4:05 p.m. on CBS.

The Patriots could be winning this one in a rout. The fact that they’re not is their own fault.

Two turnovers and five penalties are all that has stopped an offense that has otherwise moved the ball at will. The Pats have clearly been the better team in the first half, but they only lead 17-14.

They’d be wise not to let Miami hang around, since the Dolphins have shown an ability to pull out games in the final quarter.

The Patriots have made two turnovers and they’ve led to all 14 Dolphins points. The first one was acceptable – Matt Cassel had Randy Moss on the sidelines, but corner Jason Allen made a nice play on the ball, which deflected to Renaldo Hill.

More egregious was the second, a Sammy Morris fumble at the Dolphins 28 when the Patriots were driving.

The Pats driving has been a pretty constant theme, with Cassel operating out of the shotgun and surveying the field before finding the open man. Once again, Randy Moss hasn’t been targeted too often, although he did make a nice move on Jason Allen to score a 25-yard touchdown that gave the Pats the leave with just over two minutes left in the half.

Kevin Faulk, Wes Welker and Jabar Gaffney have been doing the bulk of the work. Gaffney, in particular, has bounced back nicely from a pair of early drops, with four receptions for 65 yards.

Cassel is on his game once again, too. He’s 18 of 25 for 205 yards and a rushing touchdown.

Defensively, the Pats have made it hard for the Dolphins to run the ball. But they’ve once again had some struggles on third down, allowing two conversions on third and long to extend the Dolphins’ second scoring drive. One nice sign was Mike Vrabel’s sack to end the half. He hadn’t had one since recording two in the opener against the Chiefs.

The Wildcat, for what it’s worth, has barely been a factor, save for one decent Ronnie Brown run in the red zone.

The Dolphins get the ball to start the second half.

 Dolphins LB Joey Porter, speaking with Keyshawn Johnson on ESPN’s Sunday NFL Countdown this morning, once again had unkind words for the Patriots, this time he ripped them for their videotaping practices and alleged cheating.

Here’s the excerpt:

Keyshawn Johnson: “Let’s switch to the New England Patriots game. Is there a big difference in that rivalry of the Miami Dolphins, New England, and Pittsburgh-New England?

Joey Porter: “Yeah, it’s a big difference…but I still got hate from when I was at Pittsburgh.”

Keyshawn: Why?

Porter: Because I got cheated.

Keyshawn: Cheated in what?

Porter: In both of them AFC championship games.

Keyshawn: What did they do?

Porter: Come on, man. They’ve been videotaping for years, man. You cannot sit up there and honestly tell me if it wasn’t working, why was he doing it so much? You’re not going to sit up there and tell me if I’m a quarterback in my headset I know where the blitz is coming. I know where my hots and stuff is at before it happens. I know what play you’re running on defense. All you got to do is be in the right position … just catch the ball.

Keyshawn: So you feel they were cheating. You don’t feel they were just the better team?

Porter: What? No, no, no, no. Two times we could have blown them people out easily. They say, oh, he’s so smart. This is the best brainstorming coach. Yeah, because he’s cheating. He got caught. … If it wasn’t so bad, why did you destroy the tape so fast? … We want to see the tapes. When you get rid of evidence like that, there was something in it they didn’t want everybody to see.

Keyshawn: So you take it personally?

Porter: Maaan… That’s my dynasty. You know what I mean? I could be sitting up here with three rings. This is the way I look at it. I played three AFC Championships — won one, lost two. … Yeah, to me just like they want to put an asterisk on everything else, yeah, I don’t care what they say. They have an asterisk on them. … At the same time, people that played against them on the field, we know. Who they got on that team beside Tom Brady? It’s not like they’ve got a gang of dogs over there. … They have a bunch of all right guys. You know what I mean? Not no just real dogs. They’ve got some beasts on the D line and stuff like that but ….

Keyshawn: You can’t possibly think, three Super Bowls … You think they cheated in every single one of them games?

Porter: Man, I’m going to tell you, I’m taking that to the grave, man. I don’t care what nobody say…

Keyshawn: What about last year? … All the glamour, glitz and glamour, 16-0. You think they were cheating then?

Porter: I don’t know. You know, I don’t know… maybe he found a new way to do it or not to tell you the truth. The boy cold, man. He showed us, he’s cold. The boy cold, man. Hey, the boy cold, man. (laughs) He showed us man, he cold… I don’t trust him…(laughs).

No real shocks on the Patriots inactive list.

CB Jason Webster
RB LaMont Jordan
CB Mike Richardson
T Wesley Britt
G Billy Yates
TE Tyson DeVree
LB Adalius Thomas
3rd QB Matt Gutierrez

And for the Dolphins:

WR Ernest Wilford
CB Joey Thomas
G Shawn Murphy
DE Lionel Dotson
T Nate Garner
TE Joey Haynos
DE Rodrique Wright
3rd QB John Beck

Running back LaMont Jordan (calf) and defensive back Mike Richardson (concussion) have been downgraded, and will not play in tomorrow’s game with Miami. Jordan  will now have missed his seventh straight game.  Richardson, meanwhile, suffered the injury in Thursday’s 34-31 loss to the Jets.

The Patriots have placed linebacker Eric Alexander on season-ending injured reserve. In turn,  linebacker Vince Redd was promoted from the practice squad.

Alexander, whose primary role has been on special teams, has battled a hamstring problem all year, getting in just one game, that being the season opener against Kansas City.

Redd, an undrafted rookie free agent from Liberty, has been on the team’s practice squad all season. He should add some depth at the linebacker position, primarily on the outside where the Pats have been dealing with the loss of Adalius Thomas, who broke his right forearm in the Nov. 9 win over Buffalo.

Both defensive end Richard Seymour (toe) and linebacker Tedy Bruschi (knee) were again limited in participation during today’s practice. More importantly, they were listed as “questionable” for Sunday’s game with the Dolphins, or having a 50-50 chance of playing. Center Dan Koppen (elbow) also holds the questionable label heading into the rematch with Miami. Meanwhile nose tackle Vince Wilfork, who missed yesterday’s practice, was taken off the injury report.

Here’s the full report from the Pat’s side:

Out
LB Eric Alexander (hamstring)
LB Adalius Thomas (forearm)

Doubtful
RB LaMont Jordan (calf)

Questionable
LB Tedy Bruschi (knee)
C Dan Koppen (elbow)
CB Mike Richardson (concussion)
DE Richard Seymour (toe)
S Ray Ventrone (concussion)

Linebacker Tedy Bruschi, who turned up with a knee problem on the injury report yesterday, and was limited in participation, was on hand for the start of today’s practice. We won’t know his status until the Pats release today’s report later today.

 Nose tackle Vince Wilfork, who was missing yesterday for reasons not related to injury, was also present during the session, which for the fourth straight day, was held indoors at the Dana Farber Fieldhouse.

Not present were running back LaMont Jordan (calf), linebacker Eric Alexander (hamstring) and linebacker Adalius Thomas (forearm).