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BY IRA KAUFMAN

Discipline between the lines was a major issue for the Bucs last season. In 2020, discipline off the field looms as a critical component for success.

Tampa Bay led the NFL with 133 penalties during its inaugural season under Bruce Arians. Combine those flags with a league-high 41 giveaways and suddenly that 7-9 finish doesn’t seem so difficult to explain.

Winning off the field takes a new shape

Arians expects many of those mistakes to be cleaned up this fall. He has Tom Brady to establish order and accountability. He also has a large, veteran coaching staff to develop players and put them in positions to flourish.

But in a season like no other in the NFL’s 100-year history, the regimen away from One Buc Place takes on added significance. There’s a virus out there waiting to infect Buc players, coaches and staff — if proper off-field precautions are disregarded.

Arians says he is “very confident” the 2020 season will play out uninterrupted, capped by a Super Bowl matchup at Raymond James Stadium between conference champions.

“The protocols that are in place are extremely safe,” he says. “It’s going to take coaches, players and staff being smart outside the building. Nobody is going to get sick over here because everybody’s got a negative test that’s in the building, so you’re going to get sick somewhere else. We’ve just got to have a lot of discipline this year and I have a lot of confidence we’ll get it done.”

Unlike some other clubs, the Bucs haven’t had to deal with multiple players opting out. That’s good news for a fan base bracing for a special season, but it’s no guarantee the coronavirus won’t threaten to undermine this franchise’s playoff quest.

Twenty-three hundred miles away, a former Buc coach hits the sheets every night worried about errors in judgment that could generate tragic results.

“What you do in the building is being evaluated,” says Jon Gruden. “But you can’t evaluate everything you do off the field. We have great leadership here that understands one mistake can be our demise. One mistake can bring us all down in a real bad way and it’s not just coming to football — it can create a terrible illness. I want to dominate when we leave the building. We want to crush this virus, beat this virus into the ground.”

Unlike organizations in the NBA and the NHL, pro football players have the liberty of returning to their home base at the end of the day. They’re not bubble boys, sequestered in a city and subject to strict protocols off the court and off the ice.

Brady isn’t sleeping at the Buc facility. Rob Gronkowski doesn’t have a cot set up in what used to be the media workroom at One Buc Place. When Devin White leaves the building each day, team officials don’t have drones monitoring his whereabouts.

Tampa Bay’s new “all-in” attitude has been well chronicled. Perhaps the Bucs should display George Allen’s mantra — “the future is now” — on the side of their helmets.

Center stage is not for the virus, explains Ira Kaufman.

But if this franchise is serious about January football, everyone needs to be all in when it comes to guarding against COVID-19.

“We talked about having a commitment to one another,” Arians says. “It only takes one to sink the ship. I kind of trust our guys right now.”

Trust in August could give way to despair in the fall.

“It’s not going to be an equitable, fair season,” says Gruden. “Some teams are going to be hit hard by this virus, some teams might not. Some teams might have fans, some might have cardboard cutouts.”

While the Bucs have yet to announce a policy regarding fan attendance for home games, Arians is promising a good show.

“If we have all our players,” he says, “I like our chances.’

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Ira Kaufman’s column is presented by Bill Currie Ford. Click on Ira to visit BillCurrieFord.com.