Lovie Smith Deserves to Be Vilified After Embarrassing Loss to Falcons

Everything old is new again for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. 

Lovie Smith was hired as the Buccaneers head coach to change a losing culture. Smith has done the opposite since Week 1. A humiliating 56-14 loss to the Atlanta Falcons Thursday night magnified what has been a poor coaching effort from Smith and his staff. 

The Buccaneers have been ill-prepared for the start of this season, and it was never more evident than Thursday night. 

In the previous six meetings between Tampa Bay and Atlanta, which spanned the tenures of both Greg Schiano and Raheem Morris, the Buccaneers were 3-3 overall with a losing margin of nine total points. The worst loss came during Morris' final game as Tampa Bay's head coach when the Buccaneers fell, 45-24. The listless Buccaneers surrendered 428 yards of offense that day, and it still wasn't as bad of a performance as the one seen Thursday when the Falcons amassed 488 yards. 

This is how bad it has quickly gotten under Smith, and it's not a mystery why the Buccaneers are struggling to such a degree. 

Smith's loyalty to his veteran players, outdated schemes and unwillingness to accept change stunted the Buccaneers' growth through three games. 

Since the NFL is a quarterback-driven league, it starts under center. 

The Buccaneers signed 12-year veteran Josh McCown to a two-year, $10 million contract during free agency. McCown was almost immediately named the team's starting quarterback after signing the deal. And his play through three games hasn't warranted the level of loyalty the Buccaneers have shown him. 

In fact, McCown has gotten progressively worse each game. 

Game	Completions	Attempts	Yards	Touchdowns	Interceptions
vs. Panthers	22	35	183	2	2
vs. Rams	16	21	179	0	1
vs. Falcons	5	12	58	0	1

It quickly escalated to the point where Buccaneers fans and some pundits were clamoring for Smith to put Mike Glennon in at quarterback. They eventually got their wish after McCown suffered a thumb injury. 

Glennon took over once the game was out of hand, but his play warrants an extended look as long as Smith doesn't remain too stubborn. The young quarterback was 17-of-24 for 121 yards and a touchdown. Those numbers certainly aren't eye-opening, but they are better than those from the quarterback which preceded him. 

McCown's status for next week has yet to be determined, which may finally force Smith into playing the second-year signal-caller. 

Both quarterbacks could also benefit from an uptempo, no-huddle offensive attack. For some unknown reason, the coaching staff abandoned the concept after nearly coming back against the Carolina Panthers during Week 1. 

Instead, the Buccaneers weren't aggressive from the outset and fell behind in each contest. The Falcons led, 35-0, before the Buccaneers even knew what hit them. 

A team constantly giving up early leads is a team that is not prepared. And that falls squarely on those preparing the game plans.

Finally, Smith's vaunted Cover 2 defensive scheme has fallen behind the times. 

While Smith hasn't been a purely Cover 2 coach for quite a while, his schemes haven't adjusted to today's NFL. 

The Buccaneers didn't have an answer for the Falcons' talented wide-receiver corps. Julio Jones shredded Tampa Bay's secondary for 161 yards and a pair of touchdown receptions. But it was more than Jones, one of the NFL's best wide receivers, getting open. Falcons wide receivers were running free the entire evening. 

"

What coverage is this supposed to be? Looks like some sickly quarters: pic.twitter.com/y4N0NwUZ2R

— Cian Fahey (@Cianaf) September 19, 2014"

Prior to becoming an NFL head coach, Smith served as the Buccaneers linebackers coach from 1996 to 2000 during the organization's revitalization under head coach Tony Dungy. Smith invoked those days when he was hired as Tampa Bay's head coach, via ESPN.com:

"

We did lay a foundation for Tampa Bay Buccaneer football. There's a certain brand of football that you expected from us. That would be relentless, you play hard, physical, but there was a brand of football that you did get from us each week at Raymond James Stadium. It was hard for opponents to come in and win.

We have gotten away from that a little bit. And it is time, as we go to the future, for us to become a relevant team again.

"

Well, the Buccaneers aren't relevant at the moment after an 0-3 start. The brand of football Smith discussed in January hasn't been present since the team actually took the field. And the head coach has done nothing to change the culture of losing that plagued the Buccaneers during the past three seasons.

Salary numbers courtesy of Spotrac.com. Brent Sobleski covers the NFC South for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter.