TAMPA, Fla. -- Some quick observations from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' locker room after a 48-17 loss Sunday to the Baltimore Ravens:

Coach Lovie Smith was as emphatic as I've ever seen him when asked if he will stay with the Tampa 2 defense. Smith said there is no big scheme change coming. He defended the Tampa 2 and said it's been working in the NFL for years.

Despite the loss, Smith continued to say the Bucs are improving. He said he couldn't explain what happened against Baltimore but that he saw evidence of improvement in recent practices and the past two games. He might be the only one seeing improvement.

Defensive tackle Gerald McCoy summed things up nicely when asked if the timing of the bye week was good. "Yeah, it's necessary. We definitely have to re-evaluate some stuff."

I'll be back with more in a bit.