Why Mike Evans Is Better And Faster
August 14th, 2016
Evidence of the upgrade the Bucs made at wide receivers coach keeps mounting.
And it’s not just Bucs receivers talking about what’s new and different.
Yesterday, former Bucs scout and Jets linebackers coach and personnel chief Pat Kirwan as at training camp and raved to Mike Evans about what he saw in a receivers/quarterbacks drill.
In addition to the pace of 12 throws per minute, Kirwan loved the quality of the work. Keep in mind Kirwan has visited about a dozen training camps this year during the annual SiriusXM NFL Radio tour.
“Every one of you guys was running those routes hard,” Kirwan told Evans. “And it was almost like there was coaching going on, like leverage points, ‘take this route, take that part,’ I was so darn impressed with that part.”
Evans responded saying, “Coach [Todd] Monken, the wide receivers coach, is really working us to get our pad level down and run full speed all the time even if we’re not getting the ball.”
That really had Joe raise an eyebrow. Did the Bucs really need to be coached up to run hard?
Early in training camp, Joe talked to Monken about what Joe called the “soccer ball drill.” (Video below). Monken was so darn passionate about the details on this drill Joe had never seen before.
Monken explained it’s an adaptation of a common drill, with the grab-and-toss ball element designed to force precision in the movement.
“You’re just working the mechanics of bending to get in and out of breaks,” Monken said. “You’re just putting them in that position, flexion in their ankles, their knees and hips. The ability to bend, get in that position just right so you can break with the motion of grabbing the ball and releasing. … Sometimes you’ll do it with a cone, and I saw someone take it to a ball, to where you have to make the full movement skill.”
Yes, there’s high-caliber NFL coaching of Bucs receivers now, which is new to Evans’ professional life.
That should help a lot, as should Evans’ new body.
“I played heavier my first two years, around 235, 240 [pounds], and now I’m between 220 and 225,” Evans said. “That’s helped me run more, longer and faster.”
August 14th, 2016 at 9:51 am
ME has largely been flying under the radar which is a good thing. When we tee it up in Atlanta he’s going to be READY!!!
August 14th, 2016 at 9:53 am
These dudes are grown men yes, these dudes are professional yes but these dudes still need fine tuning to get the most out of they’re ability. We have the talent now it appears we the coaching to match. Only thing needed now is a fan base that believes, one in which that thinks best case scenario instead of worse case all the time.
August 14th, 2016 at 9:57 am
I don’t think we’ve seen the best of ME yet, he still has alot of untapped potential wich it looks like Mo Ken is coaching it put of him. Nice to know we finally have a experienced WR coach who is not gonna stop until he gets the best out of his players, there alot of young n promising talent in that WR corps, let’s hope Monken can coach them up and develop them along side of Jameis.
August 14th, 2016 at 10:42 am
The weight loss will help Evans I believe. 10 or 15 pounds should prove a positive in his game.
August 14th, 2016 at 10:59 am
I always thought he played too heavy. Nice to see him slim down a bit. I don’t see any advantage to a receiver being that big anyway.
August 14th, 2016 at 11:11 am
This is first year since gruden left that the bucs have a Professional NFL coaching staff
August 14th, 2016 at 11:21 am
new coach bringing in new gadgets! ME13 has had 2 good years in this league! So now your saying he did all that with inadequate coaching! If that’s the case we should expect 1,600 yards receiving, 20 touchdowns and catch 78% of the passes thrown his way! I don’t know why we have to go all extreme to “pump/up” Monken, Evans is already a Beast in this league……..maybe he can work those gadgets on Bell, Dye, Martino, Reedy and don’t forget The Hump!
August 14th, 2016 at 11:25 am
Hasent he been hurt 2 preseasons in a row? Remember, he has only been playing since his senior year at high school, and his 2 years at a&minimum he was in a backyard style offense. Coupled with 2 years of shortened preseason and some questionable coaches, it feels like this guy has been making it pretty much on skill alone. It seems like he is now getting pushed to perfection, and that could be really scary if he allows people to push him.
August 14th, 2016 at 12:51 pm
“Evan’s is alredy a beast in this league”. Agreed.
August 14th, 2016 at 12:55 pm
Funny thing is in Dallas all I hear is the triplet term. Romo,Bryant,Elliot. Many here obsessed wit the 3,4, and 5 WR.
August 14th, 2016 at 1:55 pm
Anyone notice ME13 getting mugged on that “overthrow” by Winston?
He didn’t pout, raise his arms, bitch or complain,… Just ran back to the huddle?!
Good stuff, may help him get more calls!! shows maturity in year 3.
Man, we get hammered on every call, good and bad by the refs. It’s almost a comedy how Bucs just get boned.
So many calls, and from watching many other teams, we get the worst of it!
August 14th, 2016 at 4:27 pm
Im excited to think about us getting a good WR in the early rounds of the draft next year and having a nice young receiving corp with Monken coaching em up
August 14th, 2016 at 4:35 pm
Great article. Love the coaching effort. Even with the drops me has been a beast the last 2 years with over 1000 yds. I was listening to Heiden, the Rams haven’t had a receiver get a thousand yds in 4 years. I hope monkey can help elevate the play of our backups they looked sorry last year I.e. Shepard dye..
August 14th, 2016 at 6:29 pm
Kenny Bell dropped it.
August 14th, 2016 at 6:42 pm
Coaching, please stop tripping over coaching, if a guy has just a little talent, the best coach can’t make him All/Pro!
August 14th, 2016 at 8:59 pm
@Bighoghaynes
I think the single most important difference between the 32 teams is COACHING. The overall talent from team to team is fairly similar, especially since the FA Era. The difference is having coaches who can maximize that talent and put their guys in positions to win.
August 14th, 2016 at 9:34 pm
BigHogHanyes…umm, sure he can. Actually I think thats the point of good coaching
August 15th, 2016 at 7:02 am
Sorry Bighog I agree wit the last two posters.
August 15th, 2016 at 2:14 pm
That’s cool. Just stop dropping passes, especially 3rd conversions. You can be as small or big as you want if you catch us first downs.
August 15th, 2016 at 6:11 pm
Jameis got in his head this offseason just like he did eith GMac. They see there QB working harder then everyone. They then should follow as they are