The NFL’s Very-Deep Ball Leader
October 30th, 2019
It takes little effort to learn who is the clear cut NFL leader in receptions of 40-plus yards this season.
Perhaps you’re thinking this receiver could never be a Buccaneer hauling in passes from America’s Quarterback, Jameis Winston?
Regardless, the receiver’s name is Mike Evans, and he’s the NFL leader with six catches of 40 yards or more this season. Marquez Valdes-Scantling of Green Bay has five and then the list flows down from there. For those wondering, Chris Godwin has none.
“He can’t do it without Jameis throwing the ball really well. And they’ve done a great job connecting on the deep ball,” Bruce Arians said on WDAE radio yesterday.
“I think it’s outstanding. You know, if he’s missing, it’s not by much,” Arians said of Jameis’ deep-ball this season. “There’s some hand-fighting going on down field at times. You know, I thought we maybe had Brashad [Perriman] down field one time. Jameis has been spot-on down the field.”
Arians went on to say the intense offseason focus on improving Jameis’ deep ball is paying off.
“It was a big part of the spring. It’s something we work on every single day. When we’re going full speed, we’re going to throw deep balls. And Jameis has been really good with it.”
Fans might also remember that precision deep throw to Evans in London, more than 50 yards in the air, that was dropped by the best Bucs receiver in history.
Too bad historically bad turnover and fumble numbers are close to taking down Jameis’ career.
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October 30th, 2019 at 12:46 pm
JW connecting on the deep ball with ME and the opposing defenses….lol…
GO BUCS!!!!!
October 30th, 2019 at 12:50 pm
Close to taking down Jameis career in who’s opinion? Everytime Godwin or Evans catches a ball, Jameis is throwing it. The receivers walk on water, but Jameis is a bum?
Bucs management/coaching knows Jameis needs a both a 3rd down receiver and a back that can BOTH run over tackle AND catch screens/wheel routes (Kamara/Elliott/Freeman/Cook) to have an offense with any possibility of protecting the ball. If not, they should know it.
Jameis needs to understand the situation he’s in and protect the ball, for sure. If not he will be gone, sooner than later, and should be. I think chances are he’ll be here next year. He does have rare arm talent. It doesn’t grow on trees.
October 30th, 2019 at 12:53 pm
Winston has rare arm talent ….really???
October 30th, 2019 at 12:54 pm
Jameis is also leading the NFL in deep balls to DBs as well. The dude is NAILING balls over 40 yards this year (and last year, and the year before that, and the year before that, and the year before that, and 28 more times in 2 seasons in college)…
October 30th, 2019 at 12:59 pm
Kind of proves how bad the Tennessee pass D really was after seeing how Evans fared in a couple of previous games.
October 30th, 2019 at 1:04 pm
11-5 here we come!
October 30th, 2019 at 1:09 pm
JW makes great plays and dumb plays, that makes him inconsistent. DO we need a proven inconsistent QB? the answer is no…..Arians can say whatever he wants defending him, buy we have an inconsistent QB for the last 5 years. He is only one on this franchise……I dont think he can be fixed. On the other hand there is not a very atractive market on QB for the next year, so diction will be on our GM who is not very competent…..I guess we need some luck……
October 30th, 2019 at 1:10 pm
I pray we get him a QB that can really take advantage of and showcase his special talents and that he does not get injured during the continuation of this train wreck…9 more games
October 30th, 2019 at 1:10 pm
“Too bad historically bad turnover and fumble numbers are close to taking down Jameis’ career.”
…is “too bad” the right choice of words here?
October 30th, 2019 at 1:11 pm
Jameis throws the ball up for grabs and he is very fortunate to have a hall of fame worth WO in mike evans…evans is top 5 in the NFL, if he had rodgers or mahomes getting him the ball he would easily grab 18tds/year
October 30th, 2019 at 1:11 pm
Not meant to demean Evans effort and the Winston ability to get the ball to him. Many of the Bucs best highlights involve this hookup. To those who call for trading Evans I say no way.
October 30th, 2019 at 1:13 pm
If the rumors are true, everybody better get used to Winston being around. We’ll never win, but hey, Licht and the coaching staff will keep their jobs. Winston is like washing hair. Winston throws a good ball/Winston throws a putrid ball/repeat.
Anybody who thinks this guy is taking the Bucs even to the playoffs is dreaming. Why? His teammates don’t have faith in him and it shows. Put that with his mediocre skills and you can put the best team in the world around this guy and we will sit at home in January.
October 30th, 2019 at 1:19 pm
Troy, no disrespect, Hope those rumors are wrong bro……. I think some players lost confidence on JW…. and that’s bad
October 30th, 2019 at 1:20 pm
Trent Dilfer ended Horace Copeland’s career contorting and coming down awkwardly after catching a poorly placed ball….
October 30th, 2019 at 1:21 pm
Cmon Joe it’s all fine and dandy but if they Move the ball 40 or 50 yards down into the red zone and then kick field goals and fumble it doesn’t do you heckuva Lotta good
October 30th, 2019 at 1:23 pm
I also recall a deep ball to Scotty Miller that the defender knocked away at the last minute…..the ball was perfectly thrown…
i’ll give Jameis some credit for improvement here…..but that’s the only area where I see any improvement.
October 30th, 2019 at 1:26 pm
ME fights for those balls. JW basically throws a hail mary to him when he see’s one on one.
October 30th, 2019 at 1:26 pm
It’s a shame every WR on this team, not named Evans, has magical force field surrounding them that prevents Jameis from completing a long ball to them. Jameis could hit those guys if he was throwing an elephant and the WRs were the size of a barn.
October 30th, 2019 at 1:30 pm
Jamies Throws for 40 Yards then fumbles
Or his next throw is an INT
Jamies also leads the NFL for last 5years in TURN OVERS
So again it’s not his arm strength ITS his inconsistency on the field
BUT the BUCS are 2-5 🤔. Must be Coaches. Wait we have change then 3 times
Must be receivers Wait we have two of the Best
Must Be Defense Wait # 1 in run stop and yes improved but need some help
Ok what’s left Kicker?
Come On
October 30th, 2019 at 1:40 pm
One huge issue with Jameis is his hand size in my opinion. He’s got small hands for a QB. He might want to consider the Bridgewater route and start rocking stickys. Maybe that will help him control the ball more on his passes and help prevent some of his fumbles. I’m grasping at strings here. I really don’t want to start over at QB again. Besides Burrow I just don’t see a guy I like for the next 2 years and that includes Lawrence.
October 30th, 2019 at 1:44 pm
the season is over….. gm needs to go ….. should have traded excess talent for draft picks…. NOPE …. Put some more lipstick on this pig and call it beauiful… we have all seen this MOVIE before …. 2020 needs total rebuild gm on down……
October 30th, 2019 at 1:54 pm
Evans is not the problem at all. He’s the best receiver we’ve ever had.
Evans caught 12 TDs from Josh McCown and mike Glennon as a rookie.
Evans is a playmaker and he was stupid long arms. He is a jump ball machine.
October 30th, 2019 at 1:55 pm
Bradinator…..now that was awesome!!!!
October 30th, 2019 at 1:59 pm
Notice how the article ignores how many deep balls are incomplete to Evans because of overthrows or picks lol. Tied for the league lead in interceptions, might be leading in the slowest release which contributes to his sacks and fumbles. The new coaches have done nothing about his baseball outfield throw delivery which rushers absolutely see on film and drool.
October 30th, 2019 at 2:06 pm
Official record shows winston second to mayfield lol so theres that. You have two quarterbacks that have thrown 4 more than like 3 guys tied with 8 and like 5 other guys tied for 7. Winston hasn’t lit the world on fire and has 3 really good games and 4 forgettable games but damn why is everyone exaggerating? You want winston to be the reason we are losing so badly your blind to the other 21 positions.
I dont get the we are worst than last year talk, did you honestly forget how many times we got blown out in the last 5-6 years.
October 30th, 2019 at 2:07 pm
Bucs fans are poor evaluators. They said JW can’t throw deep. What happened?
October 30th, 2019 at 2:11 pm
Agree Pewter
Hyper focused on the Qb and don’t even realize we are 4-8 when he doesn’t turnover the ball. Says alot about our team we are more likely to win with turnovers than not. Sad
So keep turning over the ball JW we have a better chance to win and I’m serious
October 30th, 2019 at 2:16 pm
…
truly the dumbest fanbase in the world
:: rolls eyes ::
October 30th, 2019 at 2:23 pm
why no mention of djax?
October 30th, 2019 at 2:24 pm
how does such a crappy qb have 2 wr in the top ten and one that leads in long balls… i guess tinker bell must be tossing the ball to them…this fanbase is the dumbest in the world….
October 30th, 2019 at 2:24 pm
Also an accurate pass to Miller….batted away at last minute…..credit where credit due…..blame where it belongs also….
Part of me roots for Jameis……the other part sadly knows it’s likely over for him.
October 30th, 2019 at 2:25 pm
@tbbf
Yup, it’s a Bucs life….
October 30th, 2019 at 2:37 pm
You can’t have so much success with the deep pass if the offensive line is the “worst line in the NFL” like some Bucs fans claim.
October 30th, 2019 at 2:45 pm
Here’s the telling factor. Many of these deep balls are ones where Evans stops and out jumps somebody or just makes a great grab. The other guys just flat run down the field and don’t adjust. That in mind, they do not get hit “in stride” downfield very often. Leads me to believe the Jameis just throws it as hard as he can in that direction. He knows Evans is not going to out run the throw. Evans is not a super fast WR, so he’s just not too far out of Jameis’ effect range. The faster guys, they get too far out for him to accurately hit. He’s got enough arm, just not a lot of accuracy after a certain distance.
October 30th, 2019 at 2:53 pm
unbelievable Says:
October 30th, 2019 at 2:25 pm
@tbbf
Yup, it’s a Bucs life….
Thanks…..I think the sadness of Jameis’ failure is lost on many…….It’s sad to see someone with that much talent go down……
October 30th, 2019 at 3:10 pm
D-Rome Says:
October 30th, 2019 at 2:37 pm
You can’t have so much success with the deep pass if the offensive line is the “worst line in the NFL” like some Bucs fans claim.
claim… come on man you have watched these girls block. they all suck including the very very below average free pass marpet…. when they are not getting violated by defenders they are committing penalties or loafing… i guess for the young pansy arses I should use the term catching their breathe instead of loafing…
October 30th, 2019 at 3:13 pm
Basing this on odds
JW turning over the ball…. 37 percent win rate
JW doesn’t turn the ball over….. 33 percent win rate
October 30th, 2019 at 3:15 pm
BA was joking, right?
October 30th, 2019 at 3:52 pm
Lamarcus says our WR get no separation though .
October 30th, 2019 at 3:55 pm
@Jmon300@gmail.com
Hahahahahahahahahahaha………thanks man, I really needed a laugh. You funny! Delusional….but funny.
October 30th, 2019 at 4:25 pm
Jameis is like someone who makes a really good living, but spends 50% more than he makes , winds up declaring bankruptcy, then can’t get another job because his credit is ruined.
Great talent, lots of great plays, but turnovers are destroying his career and branding him a loser.
October 30th, 2019 at 4:39 pm
Winston was a target the day he walked into the league and its disappointing he didnt even realize. I’m annoyed because as soon as he started getting negative press be went and shat the bed in London. Strange how this team has done that and brings to mind that Dallas game where for some reason they let mr let’s have fun McCoy do the rah rah speech and they got blew out. He’s ok as a quaterback but I want him to take over a game and not eeek it out but just run up the score and put the game out of reach and he cant so he needs to be sacrificed in the purge of losers who cant perform under the bright lights. Sometimes you just have to move on, problem is licht will draft a bust at quarterback.
October 30th, 2019 at 4:55 pm
813…
What’s really sad, is that if Jameis had been a gator and not a Seminole, youd be on here relentlessly defending daily.
October 30th, 2019 at 5:33 pm
Smoothbay
Watch the tape
October 30th, 2019 at 5:47 pm
Seasons not over. Hes got the season to prove his worth. But im allready checking out the new QB class just like the Bucs are. Cut Winston Sign Andy Dalton and draft a QB next year. How hard is it to get it right. 12 FN years ive been hart 💔. Josh Allen was the pick.Greedy Williams. Nasir Aderlie. Mack Wilson. Those would of been my picks in the first 4 rounds. But we have Licht. Awesome! Talking we dont have enough leaders. I thought that was a priority in the draft. White and Edwards. White needs to let lose. It looks like hes trying to not mess up. Like Winston. Mental mistakes. I was hoping we would atleast have 3 wins by now. Still waiting for the light to kick on for some guys.
October 30th, 2019 at 6:30 pm
@ BA … “I think it’s outstanding. You know, if he’s missing, it’s not by much,” Arians said of Jameis’ deep-ball this season. “Jameis has been spot-on down the field.”
I’ve come to absolutely love how BA spins things. Jameis has 12 INTs in 7 games … THREE of those Pick-6s. Mike Evans was catching at a record low 49% through the first 6 games. Our other deep threats, Perriman & Miller, have a COMBINED 6 catches in 27 targets … surely an all-time low 22% connection rate. And Bobo was cut after catching only 3 passes out of 11 targets … 27%.
But yes BA, “Jameis has been spot-on down the field”. Don’t look now, but you’re starting to embarrass yourself with these rather jaded Jameis defenses.
October 30th, 2019 at 6:45 pm
I bet YAC is atrotious since Winston can’t him in stride very often.
October 30th, 2019 at 7:00 pm
DR
BA don’t need no damn analytics….
Everything is great in whatever latitude he’s in.
October 30th, 2019 at 7:12 pm
Everyone better soak in the times we have with Evans.
This dude is the best WR the Bucs have ever had and quite possibly the best they’ll ever have.
He’s a grown man, an absolute beast and has matured into one of the most talented, least Diva-type WRs the NFL has ever seen.
He doesn’t showboat without extreme validity and most often flips the ball back to the refs and runs back to the huddle/sidelines.
Love this guy.
October 30th, 2019 at 7:37 pm
Agree jmarkbuc. I’m starting to wonder though if he uses that same spin in front of the players.
ElioT agree 100% on ME13. He made Johnny Manziel and he’s also made Jameis. Heck, Jameis has now thrown for 16,700 passing yards. Mike Evans has 5,714 yards during Jameis time here (since 2015). That means that roughly ONE-THIRD of the yardage that Jameis has thrown for has gone to Mike Evans. Considering that we average 5-6 WRs, about 3 TEs & 3 RBs … say 11-12 total pass catchers … ME13’s numbers are downright amazing.
And unlike some receivers, he’s done it with a catch percentage of 55% over his career. Imagine what he would have had for yardage if that career catch percentage was up at 64% like Julio Jones or 78% like Michael Thomas.
October 30th, 2019 at 7:57 pm
DR
That ME13 is still in one piece is equally as amazing.
As for BA, surely he can’t believe that anyone believes what he’s saying. This isn’t an expansion team, we’ve been Buc fans a looong time and seen too much to not know BS when we hear it.
I could probably support him more, if he were just honest.
There’s the rub.
October 30th, 2019 at 10:22 pm
That is the least useful stat I’ve seen in awhile. Bombs are fun to watch, but as an indicator of anything, not so much.