TAMPA — New rules for contact leading with the helmet, resulting in penalty and potentially ejection, have created a unique and difficult challenge to play safety in today's NFL.

The Bucs get their first taste of that Thursday night in their preseason opener at Miami, with hopes that four preseason games and the flags that come with those will help players understand how strictly the new rules will be enforced.

"For me, always, I think to be a great player in the NFL playing defense, you have to push up against the rules as far as you can," safety Keith Tandy said Saturday. "You definitely want to see what they're going to call and what they don't."

Bucs coach Dirk Koetter had a full NFL officiating crew at practice for five days last week, throwing flags as they would in games and spending time talking to players and coaches about what specifically will constitute a foul. The league has an 11-minute video detailing the rules changes to show teams, with a focus on the helmet rules and changes to kickoffs for this season.

"I think there is definitely going to be some trial and error, as both the officials and the players adjust to the rule," Koetter said of the helmet contact and flags in the preseason. "It's for the players' own good. It's for the players' safety. We just have to adjust, so we will see how they are going to call it."

Thanks much to Shawn Hochuli and his officiating crew for video and helpful explanations to media on NFL rules changes for season ahead. pic.twitter.com/Ct0Mt5fpUe — Greg Auman (@gregauman) July 31, 2018

Second-year safety Justin Evans, who quickly emerged as an every-down player last season, said he didn't watch last week's Hall of Fame game but will make full use of his preseason reps to understand what he is now allowed to do.

"You've just got to know not to lead with your crown, facemask up, no head-to-head or really anywhere," Evans said. "If you've got your crown, you can't (hit) him anywhere, so you've just got to keep your facemask up."

The Bucs struggled in pass defense last year, allowing the most passing yards in the league, but penalties were not a problem in the secondary. Tampa Bay's defense had just three unnecessary roughness penalties assessed all season, and no unsportsmanlike conduct penalties. The team used three draft picks in the secondary, including a fourth-round pick on Pittsburgh's Jordan Whitehead, who will compete for playing time with Evans, Tandy and likely starter Chris Conte.

Ejections will be reserved for the most egregious violations of the helmet rule, such as when players have a clear path and full opportunity to avoid such contact and still go through with helmet-first hits. The hope is that having an open conversation on the topic now can help lessen the impact the rules changes can have during the regular season.

"One of the main things they told us was that your face has to be up," Tandy said. "A lot of the hits they were throwing flags on, guys were in a normal running motion, and you have a natural forward lean. Your face is up, but it looks down to the ref, and they're taught when in doubt, throw the flag. It's going to be interesting to see how they call it."