TAMPA — A slew of penalties contributed to a 2-14 finish for the Bucs in 2014. Judging by Week 1, not much has changed.
Tampa Bay averaged 7.4 penalties per game in Lovie Smith’s first year as Bucs head coach and officials flagged the home team 12 times in Sunday’s 42-14 loss to Tennessee, costing the Bucs 97 yards.
Ten of the flags came on the offensive side of the ball, wiping out some significant gains.
“It’s a team game, the greatest team game going,’’ said first-year offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter, “so it’s on all of us.