TAMPA, Fla. -- Remember back in the offseason and the preseason when Buccaneers coach Lovie Smith and general manager Jason Licht talked continually about how they expected to win now?

Those days are long gone with the Bucs at 1-4 and it seems like the Bucs are singing a different tune. It sounds like they're asking for more time for a young football team to come together.

A day after losing 37-31 to New Orleans in overtime, Smith was singing the positives of his football team.

"We had an 11-point lead in the fourth quarter against a good opponent," Smith said. "Start with that. Everybody contributed to that."

True, an 11-point lead in the fourth quarter in New Orleans is an accomplishment, but the Bucs didn't hold onto that lead.

"Looking at the big picture, we had an 11-point lead so we're doing something right," Smith said. "You're bringing up all the negative and I am too. But the glass being half full, we did a lot of good things also. Some things that we feel are correctable, we can take care of. And we feel like we are putting a better product on the road each week."

The Bucs have shown strides since losing, 56-14, against Atlanta. They beat Pittsburgh on the road and they had the close call in New Orleans. But Smith is talking like his football team is coming to life.

"Talking about some of the negative things, though, as a football team, we're getting better," Smith said. "If that makes sense. It seems like each week we go out and put a better product on the football field. I'm disappointed, we had an 11-point lead. But you have to be a pretty good team to get an 11-point lead like that on the road, which we are. We will tighten up these things that I've talked about to a man. And eventually we'll start winning football games consistently."

Maybe so, but fans don't want to hear about gradual progress. They want to see instant success and they haven't seen that so far. But Smith is asking for a little more time and pledging a turnaround.

"For our fans, we'll have a better football team for our fans when we come back home this week," Smith said.