TAMPA BAY, Fla. — Lovie Smith brought the Tampa 2 scheme back to the Bucs. But defense hasn’t been restored.

After watching his blow an 11-point lead in the fourth quarter to the Saints and be steamrolled in overtime of what became a 37-31 loss Sunday, he had to admit there’s plenty of bad defense being played by the Bucs these days.

The Saints last five possessions Sunday resulted in a touchdown, touchdown, field goal, interception and game-winning touchdown.

“Well, disappointed, that’s what’s going on with it,” Smith said of the Bucs’ defense Monday. “We had some players out and missed some of those guys. But we have an 11-point lead and we lose it.

“On the road, at home, it really doesn’t matter. You have an 11-point lead in the fourth quarter and you lose it,” he said. “It’s not a good thing, period. I think to a man we all realize that and we’ll keep working to get it corrected.”

In two division games on the road, the Bucs have allowed 56 and 37 points. The result is a defense that ranks 30th in the NFL in total yards per game at 412.4. Only Jacksonville has surrendered more points than the 31.2 average per game hung on Tampa Bay.

While the Bucs’ rejuvenated offense was piling up points behind quarterback Mike Glennon (“odds are Mike will start for us this week,” Smith said), the defense was coughing up an unacceptable number of yards (511) and third down conversions (6 of 13).

Among the reasons the Bucs defense is in the dumper?

–Too many missed tackles. The Saints made a living on screens, passes in the flat and toss sweeps because the Bucs took some matador approaches to bringing down ball carriers. The Saints ran the football with Khiry Robinson final four plays of overtime for 31 yards, including an 18-yard TD run to end the game.

“We didn’t tackle well,” Smith said. “We had some guys there. For the most part, right up until the last drive, we had opportunities to make tackles. That’s why I was disappointed. We’ve had too many missed tackles.

“Some of the basic fundamentals that have happened, whether it’s screens, straight up the field, it’s all the same thing. Eventually, an offensive player is going to meet a defensive guy and you’ve got to make a play on him.”

–Penalties killed the Bucs, especially on third down. Smith disagreed with some of the flags, but he couldn’t excuse 15 penalties for 113 yards. None were worse than the illegal use of hands penalty on cornerback Johnthan Banks after the Bucs appeared to have forced a punt in overtime.

“It’s just something that hasn’t been a big part of who we are, but it’s become a trend and we need to stop it,” Smith said. “I think we had 10 in the second half, critical penalties that kept drives going for them and stopped drives for us.

“Some of the penalties, it happens. And then some of the others, though, are things we can’t do. Some of the ticky-tack holding calls that we got. Normally, one team doesn’t get penalized 15 times and the other six so there’s a lot of stuff going on.”

–No consistent pass rush. Despite intercepting quarterback Drew Brees three times Sunday, with linebacker Danny Lansanah returning one for a touchdown, the Bucs failed to record a single sack in 57 pass attempts.

NOTES, QUOTES:

–Mike Glennon will likely start at quarterback for the Bucs again this week. What happens after that remains unclear.

Coach Lovie Smith declined to say whether he’s seen enough from Glennon to anoint him as the starter over veteran Josh McCown, whenever McCown returns from a thumb injury. “I don’t know why we have to go there right now,” Smith said Monday, a day after the Bucs’ 37-31 overtime loss to the Saints.

Glennon has completed 57 of 98 passes for 672 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions since McCown left the Atlanta game with a ligament tear in his right thumb. Before the injury, McCown was 43-for-68 for 420 yards, two touchdowns and four interceptions.

“This is what I’ll say about Mike: Mike has played two great games,” Smith said. “Odds are Mike will start for us this week. He’s had two opportunities to play, and he’s played well … but we go from day to day. Right now we need to get our football team better. The quarterback position isn’t one that I’m really concerned about.”

–The Bucs had several penalties for illegal formation and failed on a few occasions to line up properly on offense Sunday.

“Normally, things like that, put you in that 1-4 category,” Smith said. “These are things I’d say we can correct. But they’re happening now. That shouldn’t be so hard to get on the line and get lined up. We’ve had some of the communication problems we’ve had, but again, we’re not there yet.”

REPORT CARD VS. THE SAINTS:

PASSING OFFENSE: A — The Bucs moved the ball down the field and were productive with QB Mike Glennon again. He passed for 249 yards and two TDs. WR Vincent Jackson had eight catches for 144 yards and Louis Murphy had a TD. The Bucs allowed only one sack.

RUSHING OFFENSE: F — The Bucs can’t run the football with Doug Martin or Bobby Rainey. They were held to 61 yards on 22 carries. The longest gain was one carry of 16 yards by Martin.

PASSING DEFENSE: C — It was a mixed bag for the Bucs. On the one hand, they intercepted Saints QB Drew Brees three times, returning one for a score. On the other hand, they didn’t sack him in 57 pass attempts. The Bucs were particularly hurt by screens.

RUSHING DEFENSE: D — The Saints pounded the ball on the ground for a 4.8 yards average. Tampa Bay’s defense was worn out by time of possession and in OT they got a heavy dose of the run game shoved down their throats Khiry Robinson.

SPECIAL TEAMS: C — The Bucs covered well and PK Patrick Murray connected on a 55-yard FG attempt. P Michael Koenen did well to net 40.5 per punt. Solomon Patton had an 11-yard punt return but was otherwise unimpressive.

COACHING: D — Teams can’t blow 11-point leads in the fourth quarter on the road when a win would get them back into the thick of the division. The Bucs were undisciplined with 15 penalties, they didn’t get off the field on third down, didn’t line up on offensive correctly and had a safety. Another very winnable game goes the other way.