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TAMPA, Fla. – In the same stadium where it was made famous, the Tampa Two defense got picked apart Sunday. Quarterback Joe Flacco threw for five touchdowns as the Baltimore Ravens defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 48-17 at Raymond James Stadium. “Our defense didn’t get anything done,’’ Tampa Bay coach Lovie Smith said. That’s an understatement. Baltimore put up 28 points in the first quarter and 38 in the first half. Flacco threw for 306 yards in th egame and it would have been a lot more than that if he wasn’t pulled in the fourth quarter. None of that is supposed to happen. Smith is supposed to be a defensive guru and the Bucs have some good individual talent on defense. This was supposed to be the second coming of the Tampa Two zone defense, which coach Tony Dungy brought to town in the 1990s. But the defense looked nothing like the Buccaneers glory years. Cornerback Crezdon Butler started in place of the injured Johnthan Banks, but that's no excuse for the entire defense flopping. It makes you wonder if the Tampa Two may have outlived its shelf life. With the Bucs heading into their bye week, Smith, who began his NFL career as Tampa Bay’s linebackers coach under Dungy, said some changes will be made. But the defensive scheme won’t be one of them. “Absolutely not,’’ Smith said. “We’re not going to change our scheme. We’ve been doing this scheme every year I’ve been in the league. I believe in it. We’re not coaching it and we’re not playing it as well as we need to. Zero chance that we change our scheme.’’ There also is zero chance the Bucs (1-5) will win any more games if they keep playing defense like they did against Baltimore. “What happened today was a lot of guys just doing their job,’’ defensive tackle Gerald McCoy said. “But, in the NFL, it has to be more than that. Doing your job is good in Little League. As the talent level goes up and the competition goes up, you have to do more than that. We’re doing too much being in place. No, be in place, shed a block and make a play. Don’t just be in place. “It’s unacceptable. Any fans that are angry, hey, what are we going to tell them “don’t be angry?’. I’m angry too. We’ve got to be better.’’
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