quarterback for the Buccaneers. A porous defense keeps undermining Tampa Bay's chances of winning.The Bucs (3-5) have lost five of six following a 2-0 start. Neither changing quarterbacks nor firing defensive coordinator Mike Smith has been an answer to ending a tailspin that's dropped the team into a familiar hole: last place in the NFC South Womens Ali Marpet Jersey , where they've finished six of the last seven seasons."I don't think the past equals the future," coach Dirk Koetter said after Sunday's 42-28 loss to the Carolina Panthers, a game the Bucs trailed 35-7 at one point. "We've got to play better football, more consistent football. We have to get off to better starts. We've got to be in the hunt in (the) turnover battle."The Bucs are first in the NFL in passing offense and second in total yards. But well as they've moved the ball through eight games, they're just as bad defensively in allowing a league-high 275 points (34.4 per game) and ranking 30th among 32 teams against the pass.To make matters worse, Tampa Bay hasn't forced a turnover in a club-record five consecutive games.Winston lost his starting job after throwing four interceptions two weeks ago. Fitzpatrick flourished early in the season filling in while Winston was serving a three-game suspension. However, in his last three starts the Bucs have been outscored 103-27 in the opening half.Inconsistency on offense has been part of the problem. Shoddy defense has been a recurring theme, even in the games the Bucs have won.Carolina scored on five straight possessions during one stretch of the first half to build a 28-point lead. Fitzpatrick rallied the team within 35-28 in the fourth quarter before the Panthers put away the game.The loss dropped the Bucs to 2-3 in games started by Fitzpatrick. Winston, who's thrown 10 interceptions in four games, is 1-2.A common denominator in Tampa Bay's three victories is the Bucs have played mostly with the lead and found a way to hold off New Orleans, Philadelphia and Cleveland late.In the other five games — all losses — opponents have compiled double-digit leads in the first half, and the offense has spent the second half trying to make up ground.Defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul said players have to own the ineffectiveness."It's frustrating, but that's on the players. It's not on the coaches. It's on us, it's on me," Pierre-Paul said. "I'm tired of the coaches saying they have to take it because it's up to the players to play ball."Koetter said poor tackling was the primary culprit against the Panthers. Mistakes on offense and special teams contributed to falling by 28 in the second quarter."We actually did start fast on defense," Koetter said Monday. "On those five straight drives where they scored http://www.tampabaybuccaneersteamonline.com/vinny-curry-jersey , on three of those drives we put them in horrible field position with an interception, two sacks, a punt return and a fake punt."Fitzpatrick rallied the team from a big second-half deficit for the second straight week, only to fall short in the end, throwing for 243 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions.Not good enough to win, but encouraging enough the Koetter said the 35-year-old will start again Sunday at home against Washington."We know we have the talent, it's just we can't keep digging ourselves in these holes, especially on the road," Fitzpatrick said."I don't know that there is an answer or a magical formula or anything; it's just frustrating right now to not play well and then play well in spurts," the quarterback added. "We're just not a very consistent team and not a consistent offense right now."Yarcho’s Pick Six: Whupped In The Windy City That was horrific. No excuses, no justifications. Absolutely, unequivocally pathetic. The NFL’s number one offense was completely shut down while the 31st ranked defense made Mitchell Trubisky have the best game of his career - past or future. No way Trubisky ever plays this well again. Ever.After starting 2-0 the Bucs have lost their last two by a combined score of 78-37. At the end of the day, it’s inexcusable. It’s indefensible. It’s sickening.Let’s pick six.Six Topics Suitable For Conversation1.) Mike Smith Has To Go - Some may view this as an overreaction, but look at the track record. One of the NFL’s worst defenses under Smith in 2017 and so far through 2018, there is no justification in keeping Smith around. Even if promoting Brentson Buckner in an interim role proves that he isn’t the guy http://www.tampabaybuccaneersteamonline.com/lavonte-david-jersey , the defense can’t possibly get any worse under his leadership. This defense has far too much talent on it to play this poorly - and when you allow Trubisky to throw six touchdown passes in one game after he had nine in his career thus far, it’s time to go. Koetter has to know this, but may be protecting his bestie by deflecting blame away with his oh so clever postgame quote; “We should fire every person that was on that field today, starting with me. That was horrific.” I understand the Buccaneers are missing Vernon Hargreaves, Chris Conte, Jordan Whitehead, they lost Carlton Davis during the game. The secondary is young, yes. But that performance was bush league. The last time the Bucs fired a coordinator in season was 2009 when OC Jeff Jagodzinski was fired following the preseason leading to Greg Olson’s promotion and DC Jim Bates was fired in November, allowing then head coach Raheem Morris to take over play calling. Time for it to happen again. Absolutely indefensible.2.) Jason Pierre-Paul Is So Good - No one seemed to be talking about it, but for a brief moment JPP was tied with Khalil Mack for the NFL lead in sacks. He has been an absolute force on the defensive line and in the locker room. He said he took this loss personally and we saw him getting on the rest of the defense’s butts on the sidelines. Just have to hope he doesn’t lose that fire. The Bucs need it.3.) Encouraging Signs From Ronald Jones - RoJo got a lot of second half work and the signs are positive. It looked like there were some opportunities where he was just a fraction of a second away from breaking off a big play. He finished with ten carries for 29 yards, but only took one hit for a loss where Ali Marpet was beat badly off the snap. It had to be a confidence building afternoon for Jones and his future role with the team. Gotta work on that pass catching, though...4.) Winston Looked Rusty, But Solid - Some of the timing was off and he looked indecisive at times, but overall Jameis Winston looked pretty good given the circumstances. He did throw two interceptions, but on the first one his arm was hit by Mack, leaving the pass fluttering and easy pickings. On the second http://www.tampabaybuccaneersteamonline.com/kwon-alexander-jersey , he appeared to just leave it short on a poor pass. Winston had a lot more time in the pocket than Fitzpatrick did, but the Bears were dropping seven into coverage leaving little to no open passing windows. It was the right move to get Winston some live game reps as he will need that under his belt before taking the snaps in Atlanta following the bye.5.) Bye Week Comes At Perfect Time - A lot of people hate the early bye, but for the Bucs this is the perfect time. Start off on fire just to crumble the last two weeks, the Bucs need this week to regroup before taking on division rival Atlanta. Whatever that regrouping consists of - defensive changes/adjustments, practice for Winston to get that timing down again, whatever. This could spiral out of control as we’ve seen in years past if they don’t reevaluate and make the necessary changes.6.) Get Healthy - Missing Beau Allen and Jordan Whitehead hurt. Losing O.J. Howard and Carlton Davis in the game didn’t help. Bucs need to get healthy so they can get back to form. The defensive line and secondary injury bug is making things far more difficult for this team to compete. Can’t keep losing key pieces and expect to win games.Six Numbers To Consider19 - Number of times the Bucs have given up 400+ yards under Mike Smith; 4-15 in those games12 - Teams since the merger to give up 139+ points in the first four games. None of the other eleven made the postseason40 - Percentage of Mitchell Trubisky’s career touchdowns thrown on Sunday vs. Bucs69 - Years since a Bears’ QB had six touchdown passes in a game80 - Winston’s completion percentage3 - Weeks until the Bucs play at homeSix Ways To Get Through The Bye Week1.) Enjoy a family outing on Sunday without the stresses of watching Mike Smith’s defense2.) MLB PLAYOFFS!!3.) Enjoy the start of the NHL season4.) Read the thank you letter from your liver that you aren’t subjecting yourself to something that made you want/need to drink. Heavily.5.) Take a deep breath and realize that the first two weeks of the season is far more indicative of this team’s talent than the last two weeks. It’s gonna be okay.6.) Cheer like crazy for the Steelers, Redskins, and GiantsSix Song Monday PlaylistHere are the six songs to fully encapsulate the 48-10 loss1.) “Sunday Bloody Sunday” - U2 (Pretty self explanatory)2.) “Return Of The Mack” - Mark Morrison (Marking the return of Jameis Winston)3.) “Party Up” - DMX (Ya’ll gon’ make me lose my mind, up in here, up in here...)4.) “Numb” - Linkin Park (How most Bucs fans feel about Mike Smith’s defense...)5.) “Three Little Birds” - Bob Marley (‘Cuz every little things gonna be alright)6.) “Good Times, Bad Times” - Led Zepplin (No matter how I try I find my way to do the same old jam, Good times, bad times you know I had my share)Six Super Bowl Bets**Results from Sunday Night Football not complete at time of writing**1.) Los Angeles Rams - Going undefeated. Change my mind.2.) Kansas City Chiefs - Offense overcomes any and all defensive shortcomings3.) Jacksonville Jaguars - Dominant defenses win championships4.) New England Patriots - That lull wasn’t going to last forever. Sony Michel is the truth5.) New Orleans Saints - Week one loss, since then have found a way to get it done16.) Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Have to get the defensive side of the ball figured out. NOW.Six Final WordsLightning Hockey Starts In Five Days