Wembley Stadium in London, England will host the second ever regular season game outside of the U.S. Last year, a sold-out crowd of over 81,000 saw the New York Giants hold off the winless Miami Dolphins 13-10 in the London rain. Both teams struggled offensively in the foggy, slippery conditions.

Giants QB Eli Manning became the answer to the trivia question…Who scored the first regular-season NFL TD ever outside the U.S. ? Manning’s scramble to the corner of the end zone, just before half time, made NFL trivia history. Try that one out at your barber shop.

This year, the San Diego Chargers and the New Orleans Saints prepare to battle before another sellout. Wembley Stadium turnstiles open at 3PM London time, with kickoff set for 5PM. For FFB teams that include players from the Saints or Chargers, that will still mean a 1PM Sunday start here on the east coast. London time is 5 hours ahead of EST, but the British are set to turn their clocks back one hour Saturday Night.

Wembley Stadium bills itself as the ‘largest roof covered seating capacity in the world.’ That got me to thinking, why did the Giants and Miami play in total rainy slop in 2007 ? So, I went to FAQ’s in the terrific Wembley Stadium web site. The seats are all under cover in the event of rain, but the playing surface is always uncovered, allowing for maximum sunlight. There’s not much of that in England. This is to grow the natural grass. There are no artificial surfaces in International ‘football’ ( soccer).

A 30% chance of rain is forecast for London on Sunday. But, the feeling here is a shootout for all British NFL loyalists to enjoy. BBC and Sky Sports will be broadcasting this interesting match-up of former QB team mates, Philip Rivers and Drew Brees. San Diego Chargers G.M. A.J. Smith all but offered Brees his walking papers when the team drafted Philip Rivers. Brees will want to prove something. I look for an ambitious passing attack from both teams in ‘jolly old England’. As Philip Rivers and LaDanian Tomlinson offered the British press, “ This game will really have a college feel to it. Everybody is excited about us being here. We just don’t have a clue who they are going to cheer for. But, everything and everyone have been first class!

This will be an intriguing game from a FFB perspective. I have Philip Rivers, Chris Chambers and the Saints kicker, Taylor Mehlhaff. Will Chris Chambers grab a TD in England? He’s still banged up, so it appears Malcolm Floyd, Antonio Gates, and Vincent Jackson will do the most damage. LaDanian Tomlinson is a mere mortal now. Reggie Bush is out, and Deuce McCallister might as well stay in England. He faces steroid cover-up charges and a mandatory 4-game suspension upon his return from across the pond. The Saints backfield is in free fall, and that should not bode well for Drew Brees. Reggie Bush was under many of his dump-offs and turned them into serious FFB points. Drew Brees is going to take a hit.