The Carolina Panthers visit the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for NFL Thursday Night Football. Kickoff is at 8:25 p.m. ET. Listen to the live radio broadcast HERE (Panthers) and HERE (Bucs).
Tampa Bay remained winless after losing after losing to the Atlanta Falcons last week. Despite the record and short turnaround this week, Bucs coach Greg Schiano is optimistic his team can right their sinking ship.
"You've got to go with the next task at hand," Schiano told reporters, via ESPN. "I want to be clear on this because I don't take lightly 0-6. I've never been 0-6. But we do our best. We're trying our hardest. Our guys are working ... and I have found when you have good people and they work hard and they work smart it'll turn.
"That's what I believe."
Things haven't been easy in Tampa. After the drama and subsequent release of Josh Freeman, Michael Silver of NFL.com reported on Thursday that Schiano's authoritarian style of leadership has lost him the locker room.
"...I've spoken to enough people who've played for Schiano during his two NFL seasons to conclude that he treats his players like children, which is a major reason he has lost his locker room," Silver wrote.
Rookie Mike Glennon is continuing to learn on the fly as the team's starting quarterback. His learning curve isn't made easier by the absence of running back Doug Martin, who's expected to miss almost three weeks with a shoulder injury.
"(The Panthers) are definitely really talented. They're one of (the) top defensive teams in the league statistically with how they're playing," Glennon told reporters.
Carolina, meanwhile, is 3-3 behind quarterback Cam Newton. The third-year pro has completed 63.5 percent of his passes for 1,331 yards, 10 touchdowns and five interceptions; he also has two rushing touchdowns.
Carolina is the 7-point favorite to win, according to ESPN. The over/under is 40 points.
