Leading By Example
November 4th, 2016
One Buccaneer came to play at a different level than his peers last night.
And Joe believes that same Buccaneer also has approached the entire 2016 campaign on a plane not shared by any of his teammates.
That guy, of course, is Mike Evans.
Joe’s declared winner of training camp is halfway through his third season and is on track to break Bucs single-season franchise records for receptions, yards and touchdowns. Right now, the numbers read 55 catches for 745 yards and eight touchdowns. Double that through the next eight games and you have all those team marks locked up.
Evans also blocks and has taken massive shots the past two games. Last night’s fourth-quarter blow left him in the NFL concussion protocol.
Evans is a menace to defenses — at 23 years old.
Keep in mind Evans has no other receiver drawing attention away from him. Even when Vincent Jackson was healthy this season, he was invisible.
Dirk Koetter should force the defense to watch every snap of Evans this morning. Maybe something will rub off.
November 4th, 2016 at 10:35 am
Absolutely right Joe. That’s the effort needed to win on a regular basis and no one feels like giving it. Oh sure , a lot of talk from some of them, but that’s all , jus talk. How much yapping does Evans do now? None, his play speaks for itself
November 4th, 2016 at 10:37 am
Undoubtedly, unequivocally, THE best player on the field last night in red and arguably, the best Buccaneer on this team period!!!
What a difference from last year! Top 5 WR in NFL! Good luck covering him!
November 4th, 2016 at 10:40 am
I can tell you from experience that expecting a baby will change your whole outlook on life.
My wife is expecting our first child and it seems like overnight, my thought process changed so that I could do the best I could to provide for my now growing family. I think with Evans married (and now expecting his first child), he’s got a focus on a whole new level.
November 4th, 2016 at 10:40 am
Evans has really turned it around what a beast and his heart is in it..
I guarantee after team watches tape of game last night that both GMC and Lvd will be pointing out to Evans he doesn’t have to PLAY that hard to get PAID
November 4th, 2016 at 10:41 am
The only real Pro Bowler on this team!
November 4th, 2016 at 10:53 am
And now Evans is in concussion protocol so that everyone KNOWS he will miss the one winnable game the Bucs have left on the scheduule vs the Bears. No Evans and who does Winston passs to, Brate????? Good chance Bucs lose 35-10 vs Cutler as every qb who is better than Mike Glennon has carved up this D and I suspect Glennon could do the trick as well. Pathetic football in Tampa right now, be glad that the boys got 3 early wins, 2 via upsets else we’d be on an 0-16 watch along with the Brownies!
November 4th, 2016 at 11:00 am
I love what Evans is doing for this team. Just a shame it’s being wasted on this trash team.
As for Winston, he has been up and (mostly) down but boy did he play his guts out last night.
Also, if we go 4-12 or something I think heads will roll. Koetter and crew were brought in to win. He and Mike Smith were expected to get the most out of this roster, which Lovie could not do. I don’t think firing Koetter is the right move per say, but it seems likely as the teams goals and expectations were made clear very early on.
November 4th, 2016 at 11:06 am
If I’m the Glazers I give Jim Harbaugh 100 million, input on the roster, the keys to Burns Steakhouse. That guy made Kapernick look good and look at the 49 ers without him and Michigan with him
November 4th, 2016 at 11:08 am
And I’ll be the first to say, Koetter ain’t got it, Mike Smith definitely ain’t got it and Jason Licht is still in a corner babbling Aguayo most accurate NCAA kicker, with a thumb in his mouth and a warm, rancid can of Licht Ale in his lap.
November 4th, 2016 at 11:13 am
Pathetic team play this is truly a sorry a@@ team weak as f$@k i live in tx and dont get the games here have to buy the sunday ticket to watch a waste of 💰 for a team not even mediocre.
November 4th, 2016 at 11:17 am
The last time we consistently won was the last time we had a legitimate NFL coach, Gruden
November 4th, 2016 at 11:19 am
ME is a beast. Not only is he young but remember he hasn’t played organized football that long.
November 4th, 2016 at 11:24 am
I think Evans deserves to be counted as one of the top 5 receivers in league. He makes #3 look like a decent QB the same way that he did Manziel.
November 4th, 2016 at 11:29 am
Evans is a MAN. I hope he’s ok, that was a big shot he took.should have been a flag. Evans is the heart and soul of this team, Winston is growing on me as well.
November 4th, 2016 at 11:50 am
It starts with pride. There isn’t any. It’s not like we have a storied franchise and the players hate soiling the rep by loosing. We expect to loose and are gleefully surprised when we win. We have no winning culture. Most Buc fans (including myself) HOPE for improvement but EXPECT the same sh!t every game. There is no Sappish QB killer mentality. No “win one for the Gipper”…win to not embarrass our legendary coaches / former players / dedicated fan base. Nothing. It’s very simple. We pay guys a lot of money that DO HAVE TELENT…they just don’t care. Sure, they can put on a show for the media. This is why a ProBowler comes to Tampa and craps the bed (or to retire) and guys we feel are under talented leave for another team and have a fantastic career. How do you change this? You hire the biggest name coach you can possibly find…keep him for years no mater how sh!tty we are. Purge the vets. Let him build something players and fans can buy into. We are going to suck either way for the foreseeable future but this way we try to change the loosing culture that has permiated for so many years.
November 4th, 2016 at 11:53 am
@Joe
KY
November 4th, 2016 at 11:56 am
terrible pass that Evans got hurt on, Jameis has got to get the ball down so his receivers are not in a defenseless position.
November 4th, 2016 at 12:04 pm
We need speed at the wide out position to help this guy and to help JAMIES! This offense will be better with more talent at the #’s 2, 3, and 4 wide out spots! ME13 is our #1 guy!
November 4th, 2016 at 12:06 pm
Why in the hell was there no flag when he took that shot to the chin from the defender’s helmet? He was the very definition of defenseless… I was stewing when it happened, and even more now that he’s in the concussion protocol, presumably from that very hit.
November 4th, 2016 at 12:23 pm
The Bucs need too many quality players at too many critical positions to be competitive this season. Both starting OT’s are very big and strong…statues.
The film sessions on Monday will be a horror film.
Bench Jameis and ME13 until next season. We should have plenty of high draft picks to get a starter quality WR and a quality DE. We can trade for the rest.
You’ve got to admire the Falcons F/O. They’ve rebuilt this team since firing the Smith/Koetter brain trust and will be a playoff team….again.
November 4th, 2016 at 1:23 pm
DB55 Says:
November 4th, 2016 at 11:53 am
@Joe
KY
——————————————————————————
Good thing I wasn’t sipping my coffee when I read that, or it surely would have exited through my nose. LMAO.
I still think we should have drafted Johnny Football. SMDH.
tickrdr
November 4th, 2016 at 2:19 pm
I am loving the 2016 version of Evans. No complaining to refs on potential interference calls, just hops back up and trots back to the line. Leading by example!
November 4th, 2016 at 10:28 pm
What you Fans keep not realizing Jameis and Mike worked out a lot TOGETHER to create those connections. THEY PLAY OFF OF EACH OTHER. They read each other eyes, body language and thoughts…THEY tell you this all the time! Mike ( the former KY jelly guy) is a year ahead of Jameis and hopefully has overcome his 2nd year slump. NOW can you allow Jameis to have his growing time…while he MANAGE the team
while running for his life. NEWSFLASH…So he fumbled every QB has a fumble, a sack, or an interception in a game. It just illuminated when you lose.
Jameis brings more to the game than the ability to pass…he’s tough, resilent and an awesome scrambler. I will stick with him like he stuck with Mike. Jameis is not the play caller, put him in the no huddle and/or give him a supporting staff. Let’s be realistic!