The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have once again made headlines for all the wrong reasons. After the team's subpar 0-2 start to the season in two games that they could have won but lost partly due to penalties, Fox Sports has reported that newly acquired cornerback Darrelle Revis could be at odds with head coach Greg Schiano.
Fox Sports reported that Revis is unhappy with Schiano's defensive scheme and his style of play as he prefers man-to-man defense while Schiano likes zone coverage. Revis, who spent his whole career with the New York Jets prior to a trade this past April to the Buccaneers and missed the entire preseason rehabbing a torn ACL suffered in Week 3 of last season, last played with player-friendly head coach Rex Ryan and may be experiencing some rough beginnings with his new coach.
Revis, 28, thrived while playing in the Jets defensive scheme, recording 19 interceptions in 79 games throughout his six seasons with New York. Revis took to Twitter to refute the rumors that he was somehow unhappy with his coach:
What's going on Buc fans. Just to clear the smoke. I'm happy to be a Buccaneer & I'm happy to be a resident of Tampa. — Darrelle Revis (@Revis24) September 17, 2013
I'm excited for this year & I'm excited about this team as we move forward to prepare each week to get a W!!!
— Darrelle Revis (@Revis24) September 17, 2013
The Buccaneers defense has allowed just 34 points in the first two games of the season, which is tied for eighth best in the NFL.
This latest story of a player possibly being unhappy with Buccaneers head coach comes just a day after reports circulated that quarterback Josh Freeman, 25, was at odds with Schiano and was gearing up to request a trade.
Like Revis, Freeman also said he enjoys being a Buc, and insisted Monday that he wasn't looking for a trade after the media broke that news as well.
"No, not at all," Freeman said per NFL.com Monday when asked if he's seeking a new home. "The first I heard of it was literally 10 seconds ago, or right before I walked in here. Without a doubt I am a Buccaneer and am continuing to prepare and try and go out every week and give my team a chance to win the game."
The Buccaneers have had a frustrating start to the 2013-14 campaign as penalties have deprived the team of a couple of wins.
First, it was Lavonte David drawing a bad flag in Week 1 when he hit New York Jets rookie quarterback Geno Smith out of bounds and set up a game-winning field goal by Nick Folk with Tampa Bay just seconds away from a win. Sunday, it was a penalty on the offense that ended up costing the Buccaneers a victory. Freeman's 75-yard touchdown pass to Vincent Jackson was taken away due to and illegal formation penalty on right tackle Demar Dotson. The team ended up dropping the game to the New Orleans Saints 16-13.
The frustration of the players is understandable after a bad start, but both Revis and Freeman have insisted there is no beef between them and Schiano despite reports on consecutive days indicating otherwise.
With Tampa Bay looking to turn the season around when it heads into New England and plays the Patriots in Week 1, the team better hope that any possible problems between the personnel and Schiano won't spill over on to the field.
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