TAMPA, Fla. — A lack of continuity is hurting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Lovie Smith is the third head coach in four seasons, which led to a revolving door of players, assistant coaches and scheme changes.

OK, so what is the Cleveland Browns’ explanation?

The Browns have had three coaches in as many years, yet it hasn’t deterred them from a 4-3 start. Smith’s Bucs are 1-6.

Heading into Sunday’s game in the Dawg Pound, the Bucs are left to ponder this question: Which is worse, their 32nd-ranked offense or their 32nd-ranked defense?

Both sides of the football are a mess, but many of the problems can be traced to the loss of offensive coordinator Jeff Tedford, who took an indefinite medical leave of absence after undergoing a heart procedure in August.

The Bucs were forced to use quarterbacks coach Marcus Arroyo as their chief play-caller, and it hasn’t worked. Tampa Bay has 27 first-half points this season after getting blanked before halftime by the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.

The offensive line is the biggest on-field reason for the failures to execute whatever game plan Arroyo devises.

Left tackle Anthony Collins has not panned out. Neither has center Evan Dietrich-Smith, a free agent acquisition. The Bucs gave up 10 sacks in the past two games.

If there is hope, it is the possible return of rookie running back Charles Sims, the third-round pick from West Virginia who underwent foot surgery in August. Running back Doug Martin is averaging only 2.9 yards per carry, and he might miss Sunday’s game because of an ankle injury.

Defensively, the Bucs are inconsistent with their pass rush and their coverage. To that end, they were sellers at the trade deadline. Tampa Bay traded starting safety Mark Barron, the seventh overall pick in the 2012 draft, to the St. Louis Rams for fourth- and sixth-round picks in 2015. They also sent linebacker Jonathan Casillas and a sixth-round pick to the New England Patriots for a fifth-round selection.

Smith insists the moves are not an indication the Bucs already are moving on to next season.

“No. There’s no truth to it at all,” Smith said when asked if the trades meant the Bucs, at 1-6, were writing off the season. “The moves we made gave us the best chance to win right now, as much as anything. Yeah, we picked up draft picks on both of those players — moved up on one and picked up (picks) on the other. But no, it’s not about the future. Yeah, it’s always about the future, but it’s about our current roster. As I said, you don’t trade players unless you feel pretty good about the other players you have.”

The other players who will fill Barron’s cleats were with the team all along — safeties Major Wright, who played for Smith in Chicago; Bradley McDougald and Keith Tandy. One of those players — most likely Wright — will team with safety Dashon Goldson against the Browns on Sunday.

“We like what Major Wright has been able to do,” Smith said. “Major Wright has played as well as any of our safeties when he’s gotten an opportunity to. And Bradley McDougald has a bright future ahead. That allowed us to make those moves as much as anything.”

Meanwhile, much of the Browns’ success can be traced to the play of quarterback Brian Hoyer, who has blocked out all the noise and distractions that came with the arrival of Heisman Trophy quarterback Johnny Manziel and played solid football.

“He’s been big for us, and I think it’s a real tribute to him,” coach Mike Pettine said of Hoyer. “He was put in some real difficult circumstances coming into the season, he was coming off a season-ending knee injury the year before, really hadn’t taken any live reps up until training camp and was the starter in his hometown, which I think is a lot for a guy to handle. …

“Then to add the whole Manziel thing to it, I think was a lot on his plate, and I think he did have some struggles early, but to his credit, he was very poised, very focused, and once he was named the starter, I think a lot of that stuff just dissipated for him.

“He was getting some live reps, he was feeling confident with his knee, he was practicing with the group that he was going to be playing with in games, and he’s only improved throughout the season. I know the last two weeks he hasn’t been great, even from a statistical standpoint, but he’s made big throws when we’ve needed him to make them, and a lot of times our quarterback’s success here will be a function of how well we’re running the football.”

The Browns’ ground game is down due to the loss of center Alex Mack, struggling against weak teams like the Jacksonville Jaguars and Oakland Raiders the past two weeks.

Pettine thinks the Bucs have more talent than either of those teams, and he is worried about stopping the Bucs’ big receivers, Vincent Jackson and rookie Mike Evans, who was Manziel’s favorite target at Texas A&M.

“What stands out offensively is first off, it’s the biggest receiving group I think we’ve faced all year, tight ends and wideouts,” Pettine said. “We all know what Vincent Jackson can do. Mike Evans was a guy that was very high on our draft boards, and it’s no surprise he’s having some success. Louis Murphy is playing at a high level as well, that’s something that they can give us some concern.

“I went against Mike Glennon a year ago when I was in Buffalo, and he didn’t have a great day statistically, but he found a way to win and made some clutch throws when he needed to. It’s just as I talked about, it’s an NFL team, it’s a prideful group, they’ve got some good players, and we have to expect to see their best.”