Lavonte David's late shove of Geno Smith will be the play Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans remember most from Sunday's 18-17 loss to the New York Jets.
With good reason, too -- the Jets were dead in the water if David let Smith step out of bounds without incident. But it hardly was the only mistake by a sloppy Bucs team that regressed to its "youngry" roots at MetLife Stadium.
After the game, David maintained he did nothing wrong.
"That's the way our defense is, we just play aggressive, we just play physical," David said, via the Tampa Bay Times. "You're going to get those calls, and you may feel like that's not the right call, but you can't do anything about it. You can't let it change the way you play the game."
Safety Mark Barron was similarly unapologetic about his hit of a defenseless receiver that led to a 15-yard penalty.
"Do I feel bad about it? No," Barron said. "Because I was just playing football. I hate that it happened, and I'm going to hate the letter that comes with it."
Here's the biggest takeaway from Sunday: The Jets were the better, more prepared team. The Bucs committed 13 penalties for 102 yards. Josh Freeman's inability to cope with a helmet radio malfunction was emblematic of the team's struggles. Conflict on the sideline was impossible to miss.
"We've got to be smart about it," Bucs coach Greg Schiano said. "The strike zone is decreasing in the National Football League, and we've got to make sure we stay within the rules."
The Bucs looked rudderless and undisciplined Sunday. These days were supposed to be over with Schiano at the helm.
The latest "Around The League Podcast" recapped every Week 1 game. Click here to listen and subscribe.
