Lovie Smith says Buccaneers are still in it

"We're still in it."

That's what Lovie Smith said after yet another disastrous loss for the now 1-6 Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Shockingly, this assertion is not inaccurate. The Falcons lost. The Panthers lost. The Saints play later today, but they're facing the Green Bay Packers -- that's a likely loss, too. The Bucs are 1-6, but the division leading Carolina Panthers are 3-4-1. Atlanta is 2-5. New Orleans is 2-4, likely to be 2-5.

The NFC South sucks.

Yet somehow, I can't be overly optimistic about the team's chances. The defense looked better today, but still gave away the victory at the end of regulation. And the offense...well, that was just one gigantic mess throughout, with the exception of one drive over four quarters.

This was not a good team they were facing. This was arguably the easiest game left on the schedule, and the Bucs found a way to lose, as they've done all season long. There's really no reason to believe that the Bucs will fix their issues quickly enough to not just fall further. Because while this division is bad, it's not quite as bad as the Bucs.