Coach Greg Schiano insists his Tampa Bay Buccaneers play by the rules.
Responding to a report that Tampa's organized team activities have been marred by on-field contact -- in direct violation of the collective bargaining agreement -- Schiano told reporters Wednesday that his practices have stuck to the guidelines "99.9 percent" of the time.
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"It's real clear, the league has made it very clear, what you can and can't do," Schiano said in a one-on-one interview with NFL Network's Rich Hollenberg. "They've made videos available to us, they showed us at the owners meetings, so I don't think it's real complicated. And I think our guys do a good job of it. We're going to stay on the edges of people; we're going to put our hands on 'em; keep our headgear, our shoulders out of it. Because that's really where you get bumped. As you approach the ball-carrier, you tag off."
Schiano acknowledged that a fight last week between rookie defensive end Akeem Spence and center Jeremy Zuttah boiled over into a brawl in practice, but said his staff has addressed repeatedly the no-contact rules with Bucs players.
"We had one incident at the beginning, the first day, where a rookie kind of got a little overzealous with a veteran, and the vet fixed it the wrong way," Schiano said. "They got into a little scuffle, but other than that, I feel confident that we're doing things the way the league would want."
Roy Cummings of The Tampa Tribune was on hand for that practice and argued that Schiano is "on the border of getting investigated," saying, "these guys are out there, they're hitting. ... There (are) no pads on, but I'm telling you, the linemen, these guys are hitting."
Asked about those claims, Schiano brushed them aside.
"I think (it's) maybe a slow news cycle, to tell you the truth," he said. "But I think probably what it stemmed from is the first day that the media was allowed out here, there was that scuffle. But the rest of the (practice) video speaks for itself."
NFL Network's one-on-one interview with Schiano will air on Wednesday's edition of "Total Access," at 7 p.m. ET.
Follow Marc Sessler on Twitter @MarcSesslerNFL.
