Fische » Three of the four teams in the NFC South are on winning streaks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers are not one of them.The Carolina Panthers’ three-game winning streak matches the one the Atlanta Falcons are currently on as well. Of course Tampa Bay Buccaneers Hoodie , then there’s the New Orleans Saints are on a seven-game outburst with their only loss coming at the hands of these very Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 1 of the 2018 NFL season.At 3-5, the 2-0 start enjoyed by Bucs fans all over is now fading as a distant memory. How did we get here? Well, that’s a whole other conversation.We’re here today though to discuss how our favorite team got to 3-5. As there tends to be in losses, the following are less individual plays, and more problematic reoccurrences from the contest. Here are five contributing factors which stood out above the rest.THE PLAY: Putting the ‘fun’ in FunchessPanthers wide receiver ran a 4.7 40-yard dash at his NFL Combine appearance. He hasn’t gotten faster. Yet, for some reason, the Buccaneers regularly played off coverage on the long, but slow wide receiver.On the following clip, cornerback Brent Grimes lines up on Funchess in the slot and plays well off the line.The subsequent free release allows Funchess to get into his cut with ease and with Grimes having to catch-up he’s out of position to make a play on the late pass by quarterback, Cam Newton.23-yards gained on this play was not only the receivers biggest play of the day, but it put the Panthers on the one-yard line already up 28-7.Had Grimes played the receiver more aggressively, he likely would have been in better position to make a play on the ball, or may have deterred Newton from going to his spot.Kudos to Grimes for almost coming up with a great play anyway, but he never should have given Funchess as much space as he did in the first place.THE PLAY: Lack of DisciplineHead coach Dirk Koetter said in his post-game press conference the team emphasized playing assignment football.Well, if they did, nobody was listening. Because this isn’t it.Tampa Bay knows Carolina. You can’t help but know them when you play each other twice per year. Granted, this is the first time they’ve seen each other live in 2018, but what the Panthers did in the clips above are nothing new.Giving up plays like these not only give up big yards and set up scores, but they demoralize a team, not to mention the fan base.THE PLAY: Lack of TacklingChristian McCaffrey is a really good young player with a lot of talent and shiftiness. But Customized Tampa Bay Buccaneers Jerseys , a lot of his plays today were made for him by the poor tackling of Buccaneers defenders.Whether it’s a cornerback lowering his head way too soon leading to a hurdle, or the four missed tackles seen here.Defenders consistently failed to capitalize on fairly good opportunities, while Panthers ball carriers sought out ways to keep plays going whenever possible.THE PLAY: Lack of BlockingThis area isn’t going to be about who you think it’s about. Instead, I’m looking at the running backs. On these two plays, running backs failed to pick up blitzing Panthers.One lead directly to an immediate sack of Fitzpatrick, and one knocked the quarterback off his base and interrupted any semblance of timing he may have had with his receivers. It may go in the books technically as a coverage sack, but make no mistake, the running back had as much to do with this play failing as any Carolina Panthers in coverage.THE PLAY: Desperation on the 26I want to preface this by saying I understand what coach Koetter was thinking. Down 28-7, your defense isn’t stopping anything and had given up four-straight touchdown drives at this point.Even though one of those started deep in Bucs territory due to the Ryan Fitzpatrick interception earlier in the first quarter, the bottom line was, the defense wasn’t getting it done.I’m sure Koetter thought he might get away with one here, and catch the opponent unaware. However, when you’re a team in Carolina who’s head coach is nicknamed ‘River Boat Ron’ because of his gambling nature, I have a feeling his team is ready for just about anything.To Koetter’s credit, the play isn’t actually a bad one. For a moment, punter Bryan Anger has tight end Alan Cross open about five-yards downfield, but when Jacquizz Rodgers is late picking up his block on the right edge in front of Anger it forces him to step up and hold on to the ball just a shade too long.The result is a late throw by the punter, and Panthers defenders react in time to break up the pass.Good design really, and had it worked, coach Koetter would be praised for his guts and confidence in his punter.However www.authenticstampabaybuccaneers.com , as it stands, the ball went over to Carolina on the Buccaneers’ 25-yard line, and six plays later they made it a four-touchdown game.In the end, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers came away with the loss, and will look to return home and get a win against the Washington Redskins.As you likely know by now, the Bucs did stage a bit of a comeback in the second half of this weekend’s contest, but fell short as the damage done in the first half was just too much to overcome. When healthy, Robert Ayers has been a pretty productive pass rusher.The Detroit Lions could use some help in that area, and now the veteran defensive end has a chance to provide it.The Lions signed Ayers in their latest attempt to bolster their defensive front. Now entering his 10th NFL season, Ayers made 10 starts in each of the past two seasons with Tampa Bay. He has 35 sacks, including a career-high 9陆 with the New York Giants in 2015."For me, as a young guy, when I first got in the league, he was one of the veterans that I just paid a lot of attention to," said Detroit linebacker Devon Kennard, who was with the Giants when Ayers was there. "Just how he handled his business, how he went about film and taking care of his body and stuff."The Lions also announced Monday that they had waived cornerback Josh Okonye. They did not announce these moves until shortly after coach Matt Patricia had finished his news conference, so he was not available to comment on Ayers' addition. Ayers would not speak with reporters after practice.Ayers was a first-round draft pick in 2009 by the Denver Broncos. He spent five seasons with them and then two with the Giants.Ayers has only played in 12 games in each of the past four seasons. He dealt with concussion and shoulder problems toward the end of last season, and he has also had ankle and pectoral muscle issues in the past few years. He turns 33 on Sept. 6.But in his 48 games over the past four seasons, Ayers had 23 sacks Tampa Bay Buccaneers T-Shirt , and if he can keep pressuring the quarterback, he can help the Lions. Only three NFC teams had fewer sacks than Detroit last season, even though defensive end Ziggy Ansah had a dozen by himself. Kerry Hyder had eight sacks in 2016, but missed all of last season with an Achilles tendon injury."We keep bringing more pieces in," said defensive tackle Ricky Jean Francois, himself a new addition after playing for New England last season. "(General manager) Bob Quinn and Matt Patricia see something, so they just want to keep bringing in people that can help the pass rush, so that's a plus. They see that's an area we need to improve in."Ayers has started 31 games over the past three seasons."He was a guy that showed me some love as a young guy, so I have a lot of respect for him and how he goes about his business," Kennard said. "It's a pleasure to have him as a teammate again."NOTES: News of Odell Beckham Jr.'s big new contract made its way into the Lions' locker room Monday, and Detroit receiver Golden Tate was certainly an interested party. "I like seeing it as a receiver. That's my position, obviously," Tate said. "The guys that got paid this offseason are big-time players, so I love seeing those guys get paid. Quite frankly, I hope everybody gets paid. This is a tough game to play in. It's a tough game to play for a long time, so to hear about that Odell deal, I'm excited. Another guy I'm going to hit up for a vacation here soon." Tate signed a five-year deal with the Lions in 2014. He said he's focused on training camp and isn't preoccupied about any negotiations for a new contract.