Line shuffle Rick Stroud, Tampa Bay Times, published 4 December 2017 The Bucs discovered Sunday they would be down to their third center, and Evan Smith tried to fill the void. With C Ali Marpet and RT Demar Dotson on injured reserve with knee injuries they suffered at Atlanta the week before, the Bucs planned to start veteran Joe Hawley at center. But Hawley became ill Saturday morning. He made the trip to Green Bay but wasn’t well enough to play. That meant Smith, who was going to start at left guard with Kevin Pamphile replacing Dotson at right tackle, had to slide to center. Though Smith did well helping the running game, he had two critical, costly mistakes. With the Bucs trailing 17-10 in the fourth quarter and on third and goal from the Green Bay 3-yard line, Smith snapped the ball before QB Jameis Winston was ready, and it resulted in a 9-yard loss. The Bucs were forced to settle for Patrick Murray’s 30-yard field goal. Then, after the Packers tied the score at 20 with less than two minutes left in regulation, RB Charles Sims took a screen pass on first down and gained 20 yards to the Packers’ 40. But Smith was called for a block in the back and instead, the Bucs had first and 20 from their 10. They went nowhere. "I think it was a bad call, but the ref threw (a flag)," Smith said. "He saw what he saw. You know, it would’ve been nice if we didn’t get it." Not so special As if the Bucs weren’t having enough trouble keeping teams out of the end zone, the special teams gave up a score. With the Bucs leading 7-3 in the second quarter, P Bryan Anger had pressure up the middle of the formation, and his attempt was blocked. LB Kyler Fackrell was credited with the deflection, and the play set up the Packers’ first touchdown. The Bucs also did a poor job of covering kickoffs. Trevor Davis had four returns for 121 yards, a 30.3-yard average.