More questions than answers after yet another mind-numbing defeat
Martin Fennelly, The Tampa Tribune, published 4 October 2015

Is there any way they can play all their games in London? The Bucs turned in another modern art masterpiece Sunday at their well-established house of horrors. They went Full Brindza. They gift wrapped a win for Carolina, led by their rookie quarterback, who helped turned it over five times, including four interceptions, leading to 27 Carolina points.

The Bucs might have picked the wrong guy. And I don’t mean Jameis Winston. Lovie Smith, the head coach, the man in question, continues to have no real answer, unless you count his tired explanations Sunday, which we don’t. I don’t know if Kyle Brindza should be handing his playbook to Lovie or Lovie should be handing his to the Glazers. But this isn’t working.

With Sunday’s loss, the Bucs fell to 3-17 under Lovie. They’ve yet to win a home game with Lovie. Think about that. It boggles the mind — 10 straight home losses under Lovie, some of the extraordinary blowout variety, like last year against Baltimore or the season opener a few weeks ago against Tennessee. Sunday was just garden variety bad, but lose to 1-3 Jacksonville next week and the bye week becomes bye-bye season. Can bye-bye, Lovie, be far behind?

How many times in this 10-game streak, or the 3-17 one, has Smith not had his team ready to play? The Panthers jumped the Bucs. I don’t even think Carolina is that good, even at 4-0, but the Bucs were no match for them, even with the Panthers missing linebacker Luke Kuechly.

Even when they had a chance, the Bucs didn’t have a chance. Lovie’s Bears teams used to feast on the other team being sloppy. Now the Bucs are the ones who are the mess. Mistakes everywhere. Well-coached teams just don’t give games away. All I know is that on the day the Bucs honored Mike Alstott, the A-Train, they took another trip on the L train, straight through the tunnel of Lovie.

How many times can we listen to Lovie say his team shouldn’t be beaten that way? Or that the week of practice, the preparation, said they would play better than they did? Or that the results don’t show it, but they’re better than that loss? Or that these are correctable things, fixable things? Or that eventually things will come together?

He said all of that and less Sunday. “You have some days like this. Eventually you get over the hump,” Smith said. “I thought today would be a hump day for us.”

Score another one for the hump. Look, Jameis has been horrific in both his home starts. His first NFL pass went for a Tennessee touchdown. His first pass Sunday, a rain-slickened throw, was taken back for a Carolina score.

That Jameis stared at tight end Brandon Myers for about three weeks didn’t help. But it made me think: Why is the play call for a throw to … Brandon Myers? And in the direction of Carolina standout cornerback Josh Norman?

Why did the running game vanish so early? And don’t tell me because the Bucs were down 17-3. Doug Martin was making some yards. And why do the Bucs play for the field goal just before the half, forgetting they have two 6-foot-5 receivers, instead laying it at Brindza’s feet?

Brindza’s two misses were killers. Throw in another missed extra point. He’s probably driving home to Michigan as we speak. It was Lovie’s call to give Brindza another try after the Houston disaster, which seemed fair enough, but what about all those other 53-man roster decisions that Smith has made since being given nearly full control when he took over?

Yes, he’s had a few good turns in the draft. Winston might still work out and Mike Evans might eventually get it together again before the season ends. I’m talking about Josh McCown, Anthony Collins and Michael Johnson — one and dones. I’m talking about Bruce Carter not winning a starting job. Or Alterraun Verner and George Johnson — the next Johnson up — not being able to hold on to theirs. These are Lovie decisions. This is Lovie’s team. And it’s not working.