Unacceptable!
November 29th, 2015
Mike Evans is a great talent who has had some excellent days in the first 27 games of his career.
But Joe must call it as it is, Evans’ issues catching the football are unacceptable. He’s the No. 7 overall pick from last year’s draft.
Evans’ drop of a perfectly-thrown Jameis Winston sure touchdown pass was a game-changer in Indianapolis this afternoon, a soul-sucker you’d expect from Michael Clayton or Arrelious Benn or Maurice Stovall.
When you’re drafted that high, you can’t have trouble squeezing footballs. It’s like Mark Barron being unable to cover receivers after being the No. 7 overall pick in 2012.
What really makes today’s drop bad is because Evans didn’t go up aggressively for the ball like he’s coached to do. He barely even put his hands up, despite staring at the football. Letting the ball drop into his gut like that was poor form, and then to not squeeze it is, well, unacceptable and bordering on criminal.
No. Joe’s not being hard on Evans. His sole job is to catch footballs. That’s why he’s paid big bucks.
Nobody really gives a crap how good of a blocker he is — like Clayton was.
The Bucs are going to have to look themselves in the mirror this offseason, if Evans keeps having issues with drops. You can’t forge ahead with America’s Quarterback and have a No. 1 wide receiver that has issues.
And somebody needs to tell Evans he’s going to get a seat on the bench the next time it even looks like he gives up on a route. That just can’t happen.
November 29th, 2015 at 5:24 pm
I’m getting just as irritated with him giving up on routes as I am dropping passes. He’s going to eventually end up getting some of those balls he quits on intercepted.
November 29th, 2015 at 5:24 pm
Aside from the drops, he didn’t look on the same page
November 29th, 2015 at 5:25 pm
The problem is that you can’t bench talent when there is no one capable of taking his job. If we had another young stud in the background, benching Evans for a series or 2 would be a lot easier.
If we make it to 7-9/8-8 there shouldn’t be any complaints about this season. If this young team makes the playoffs, I want them to earn it.
November 29th, 2015 at 5:26 pm
Sad but true Joe. I don’t know the solution other than to use him as a decoy on 3rd downs or anytime we absolutely need a possession receiver. Right now both Brate and Humphries catch the ball better than ME.
But he’s big and can get open so I don’t wish to totally give up on him.
November 29th, 2015 at 5:28 pm
He is constantly looking for the refs to bail him out with a PI call instead of just catching the ball. Cmon man you have one job!
November 29th, 2015 at 5:29 pm
The whole first half ME13 was really out of control ( especially ) after the plays. It was like watching WWE!!!
November 29th, 2015 at 5:29 pm
Evans will continue to get the majority of throws his way. I can’t blame the loss on him.
November 29th, 2015 at 5:34 pm
Overrated and pathetic. Dropped 3 td’s this year alone.
November 29th, 2015 at 5:34 pm
Hawaiian Buc Says:
November 29th, 2015 at 5:24 pm
I’m getting just as irritated with him giving up on routes as I am dropping passes. He’s going to eventually end up getting some of those balls he quits on intercepted.
This. He’s acting like a diva out there without the consistent results to justify it.
November 29th, 2015 at 5:37 pm
Great points Joe; while the kid seems to be channeling Clayton a lot this season it is obvious he is not an out and out bust like his draftmate ASJ. So why is he lacking so much focus???? He has to know that he has contributed in a big way to several of this season’s losses along with a few spectacular plays. If this was a contract year I wonder if we’d see more concentration from the kid and I wonder what sort of excuses he will lay out about this round of drops?????
November 29th, 2015 at 5:40 pm
Oh joy. We lose one and Realist is back.
November 29th, 2015 at 5:42 pm
The thing that kills me about Evans is that he’s a 6’5 235lb. physical receiver that every time he thinks he is held or interfered with he quickly looks at the ref trying to draw the flag and giving up on the ball instead of fighting for it. Football is not suppose to be for crybabies
November 29th, 2015 at 5:50 pm
BULL-A$$-$HIT!!!! Catch the ball MF!!!!
November 29th, 2015 at 5:50 pm
He and Winstin were off today. Winston missed Evans on two deep balls for scores. Not sure who’s in the wrong but it needs to get fixed quickly.
November 29th, 2015 at 5:53 pm
Still no mention of that sorry D line huh no word about a defense that let a 40 year old do whatever he wanted right? No, let’s sell out on one of the very few bright spots the team has. Thanks Joes.
November 29th, 2015 at 5:54 pm
ME will sooner or later b called out by others on the team. He does not play aggressive other than pushing off n looking for the call against the defender. He plays scared at times n will not sacrifice to catch the ball. Man, JRice, CCarter, n MIrving would have loved to playing with Winston at QB. ME is just a big spoiled brat in which second tier dbs made him look elite in college. He’s immature n a quitter. I’d say bench him n make do with what we have. He will once again apologize n abuse again. Big time players make big time plays… the only thing big about him is his mouth n height.
November 29th, 2015 at 5:56 pm
Couldn’t agree more Joe. That was simply a terrible attempt to catch the ball! Had he caught it…….we probably win the game.
That one play was a killer! If Evans isn’t going to try and learn from all these mistakes he keeps making (passed balls) we need to make some changes. Just because he’s 6’5″ doesn’t guarantee a roster spot. I’m not saying get rid of him….but the fella needs to change something!!!
November 29th, 2015 at 6:02 pm
Pharoh Cooper in the 2nd round!
November 29th, 2015 at 6:25 pm
You guys are out of your mind. You want to run ME out of town? He’s our leading WR, did some tough catches for 1st downs today. The drop was awful but he’s young, motivated and under contract for a couple years. Any other NFL team would sign him today if they could. Pass defense was horrible, Dline was terrible, dumb penalties all around and the OL looked bad.
ME drop was a turning point but so as the dumb leaping/roughness against the holder by Conte. The AV holding call before the strip was game changing too. There is an obvious lack of talent in defense and offense is still a work in progress..
ME will be fine, just let him grow
November 29th, 2015 at 6:35 pm
He’s too much of a talent to run out of town, but his play does raise some questions at this point – especially with OBJ playing at an elite level in NY. Watch his TD today and ask yourself if we made the right pick. Time will tell, but THOSE are the type of plays you expect from #7 overall.
November 29th, 2015 at 6:43 pm
Funny last year when vjax was dropping balls left and right I didn’t hear aany bench him or send a message crap then Joe. I think you even called him vdrops last year. Evans will be fine he had no problem catching the ball last year. It’s a learning development year. Sheesh ppl get a Damn grip
November 29th, 2015 at 6:48 pm
Evans is in good company for drops………with some top tier receivers. He has fewer drops than Edelman, in more targeted attempts.
YOUR STATS ARE WRONG. Evans has 12 or 14 drops this season, depending upon your view of the plays.– JOE
Rank Player Pos Team Rec Drops TargetsTargets % Drop %
1 Amari Cooper WR OAK 51 8 85 60.0% 9.4%
2 Julian Edelman WR NE 61 8 88 69.3% 9.1%
3 Leonard Hankerson WR ATL 26 8 46 56.5% 17.4%
4 Mike Evans WR TB 44 7 93 47.3% 7.5%
5 Brandon Marshall WR NYJ 62 7 106 58.5% 6.6%
6 Ted Ginn Jr. WR CAR 30 7 66 45.5% 10.6%
Receivers have good and bad years just like hitters in baseball. I have not had a chance to see all the games, so I can’t comment on giving up on routes.
Not making excuses, but I imagine there would be several teams glad to have him as a receiver. The team is improving, Winston has things to work on foot work, delivery, and getting rid of the ball rather than being sacked. Evans can be corrected also. Those two are the least of our worries. O-line, D-line, Secondary…….all are much larger issues.
Go Bucs……things are going in the right direction!
November 29th, 2015 at 7:01 pm
Joe, “NOT MY STATS” they came from Sporting Charts.com……take it up with them.
http://www.sportingcharts.com/nfl/stats/drops/2015/
November 29th, 2015 at 7:28 pm
Catching the ball is about focus. Mike needs to watch the ball all the way to his into is hands. If he starts practicing that way…his problem would go away.
November 29th, 2015 at 7:52 pm
High point the dang ball Mike! I would yell at my high schoolers for the same stupid thing when I coached. There are so many times this year when, if Mike worked his way back to ball and high-pointed it, he’d have much more yardage/TDs or at least draw a ton more PIs. On the other hand, Winston has to get better on his deep balls. Dude has missed several this year!
November 29th, 2015 at 9:13 pm
Mike Evans aka the diva
November 29th, 2015 at 10:16 pm
Lovie needs to call him out and the WR coach needs to earn his pay. It’s beyond pathetic at this point with all the crucial drops. Brate, the undrafted TE is more reliable than Bucs 2014 1st and 2nd round picks, combined. Evans is a drive killer. Him and ASJ need an attitude coach.
November 29th, 2015 at 10:26 pm
Yeah im just as pissed as the next man about drop balls,and it’s a problem but we lost,cuz of a veteran who understood that if you pick on the weakest links on our defense,which is our secondary,our oline was atrocious,Winston was off or receivers wasn’t on same page,costly penalties at the wrong moments killing momentum and drives,and the refs just bad every where,Connor Barth was off,Doug Martin gets a A,Dline and linebackers get a B
November 29th, 2015 at 11:07 pm
It’s not just that Evans drops a significant number of balls, that happens to all receivers at times. The issue is that he drops balls on significant plays. Plays that can can games. He does it on a regular basis. Making it worse is that he doesn’t really take responsibility. He talks about doing better, working harder, but he’s still dropping easy balls and looking to refs to whine or finding some kind of excuse.
Evans has talent. He manages to get open a lot. He can make some fabulous changes -when he seems to choose to. He just needs a serious attitude adjustment.
Interesting that so many making excuses for Evans are the same ones who denigrate Jameis for every mistake he makes. How do you justify the concept that the rookie isn’t allowed to make mistakes but the 2nd year guy is?
November 29th, 2015 at 11:51 pm
Its all about focus and practice. Work your way back to ball and fight for it. Mike should watch film of Vincent Jackson and how he carries himself after each play. A true professional. Evans also seems to be superstitious by letting things like a dome stadium effect his catching ability. He did not have these problems in college or last year so it will pass in time.
November 30th, 2015 at 7:52 am
mike evans may be frustrated because Winston has missed him on sideline routes in other games.but that is no excuse for his play. on the first pass to to the corner of endzone ME did not make enough of an effort to catch the pass because he was too busy trying to push off a defender that was not near the ball.Then he goes back to sideline and tells Winston where he wants the ball
thrown.when he broke off the play near endzone all the way back to sideline
he was making a hand signal(blaming it on Winston)whether he was right to break it off or not,his behavior does not help the team.Evans needs to focus on catching the ball and not coaching Winston.