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Patriots Notebook

After some in-depth analysis, pair activated

By Christopher L. Gasper
Globe Staff / October 25, 2009

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LONDON - The Patriots activated rookie wide receiver Brandon Tate and right tackle Mark LeVoir, adding them to the 53-man roster and making them eligible for today’s game against the Buccaneers, according to a league source.

Both players started practicing Tuesday, the first day they were eligible to do so after sitting out the first six weeks of the season on the non-football injury list and physically unable to perform list, respectively.

The Patriots had two roster spots open after releasing receiver Joey Galloway and tight end Michael Matthews Tuesday.

Tate, a third-round pick, was put on the non-football injury list to start the season as he recovered from torn anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in his right knee suffered last October during his senior season at North Carolina.

With Julian Edelman out with a serious forearm injury, Tate gives the Patriots a fourth wide receiver/returner if he is on the 45-man active roster for the game, as expected.

LeVoir was put on the PUP list with a shoulder injury. He played in all 16 games last season after being claimed off waivers from the Rams Sept. 1, 2008. He made two starts at right tackle in place of an injured Nick Kaczur.

LeVoir, if active for the game, would give the Patriots a third offensive tackle behind rookie Sebastian Vollmer and Kaczur. The Patriots are without starting left tackle Matt Light for a second straight game because of a right knee injury.

Missing Galloway
Today’s game would have been a United Kingdom reunion for Galloway and his former Tampa Bay teammates if Galloway were still a Patriot.

The Patriots released Galloway after he had been inactive for three straight games. His brief Patriots career ended with a total of seven catches for 67 yards, with no touchdowns and no trip to London.

Before joining the Patriots, Galloway spent the previous five seasons in Tampa and led the Bucs in receiving yards and receiving touchdowns each season from 2005-07, posting three straight 1,000-yard seasons.

An injury-plagued 2008 season limited him to 13 catches for 138 yards and zero touchdowns, and the Buccaneers released him in February. Still, his former Tampa teammates expressed surprise that things didn’t work out for the 37-year receiver with New England.

“Joey is kind of immortal,’’ said Buccaneers cornerback Ronde Barber. “It seems like he never slows down. He just finds a way to survive.

“I was actually shocked. I haven’t had a chance to talk to him since they let him go. I don’t know what was going on in their locker room or in their personnel decision-making room, but he’s not there. I was kind of looking forward to playing against him to be honest with you.’’

Tampa Bay running back Cadillac Williams was even more surprised than Barber about Galloway, who had a career-high 1,287 receiving yards for the Bucs during Williams’s rookie season of 2005.

“Oh yeah, man, I was,’’ said Williams. “I actually talked to the guy back and forth. We texted in the last week or so. When I heard, I was like, ‘Wow.’ I was kind of surprised because that guy still has a lot of good years in him. He’s a heck of a football player. For whatever reason it just didn’t work out.’’

Seen this act before
Barber has a history with Patriots wide receiver Randy Moss. The two squared off twice a year from 1998 (Moss’s rookie year) to 2001 because under the NFL’s old alignment, the Buccaneers were in the NFC Central with the Vikings.

Barber said Moss hasn’t changed much.

“He sure doesn’t seem like it,’’ said Barber. “I always thought of him as just the deep-threat guy and they’re finding different ways to get him the ball. He’s actually running hitches now. He has added to his repertoire.

“He still is dangerous. He still is a vertical threat. When they need a big play down the field, that’s their guy - not that Wes [Welker] doesn’t have that ability, but it’s definitely Randy’s job to get over the top of defenses.’’

Barber may have tipped Tampa Bay’s plans for Moss, hinting that fellow cornerback Aqib Talib was going to shadow him.

“We got our job cut out for us, and Aqib is going to have his hands full all day,’’ said Barber.

Smith questionable
Buccaneers coach Raheem Morris said Tampa Bay’s one injury-related game-day decision will be running back Clifton Smith, who is listed as questionable with a concussion. Smith took a vicious hit from Panthers special teamer Dante Wesley on a punt return last Sunday.

Wesley, who drew a one-game suspension for the hit, played briefly for the Patriots. They cut him near the start of the 2008 season.

Morris said the club will be careful with Smith, who received a phone call from an apologetic Wesley.

“You care about the safety of your players,’’ Morris said. “We’ll take our time with Clifton. I won’t put him back on the field until he’s ready, and our doctors say he’s ready.’’

Party time
The UK Patriots Fan Club drew several hundred fans to a party at the popular nightspot Sports Cafe on Haymarket Street downtown yesterday. Former Patriots kicker John Smith also was on hand. The highlight of the event was just after 7:30 p.m. local time, when Bob Kraft walked into the joint. He brought 12 game tickets with him and they were dispersed to lucky fans.

Voice of experience
The Buccaneers’ Friday night arrival was the latest of any of the six teams to play in London over the last three seasons. Tampa Bay’s decision to hold off on traveling was made largely on the advice of owner Malcolm Glazer and his family, who have had an ownership stake in Manchester United since 2003 and a controlling interest in the club since 2005 . . . Tampa Bay defensive tackle Chris Hovan will face off against former Boston College teammate and current Patriots center Dan Koppen today. The two are friends, dating back to The Heights. Hovan and Koppen played together at BC for two seasons, 1998 and ’99. “I actually helped recruit Dan to come to Boston College, so Dan is a great guy,’’ said Hovan. “He’s been a stalwart at that center spot for many years.’’ . . . The big football game for most Londoners today isn’t Patriots-Buccaneers. It’s the English Premier League soccer match between Liverpool and Manchester United.

Dan Shaughnessy and Albert R. Breer of the Globe staff contributed to this report.

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