So What’s Going On Between Tom Brady And Mike Evans
December 1st, 2022
Not seeing eye-to-eye?
Joe is starting to think the Bucs offense has changed a whole lot more than just how it throws the ball.
Tom Brady has attempted 470 passes through 11 games. That’s in the same ballpark as last year when Brady threw 457 passes through 11 games, essentially one less pass per game.
So why does Joe think the offense has changed under offensive coordinator Byron “Three-and-Out” Leftwich? Well, two guys key to lighting up the NFL the past two years, two future Hall of Famers, suddenly act as if they’ve never played together.
Last week in the Mistake by the Lake, Mike Evans looked at times like a run-of-the-mill scrub receiver. Perhaps it was the way the Browns were defending Evans? Joe isn’t sure.
But how can Brady and Evans suddenly be reading two different books? They should know the offense and each other like the back of their hands. They both should be connecting on routes in their sleep.
That’s why Joe is thinking the offense has changed. That’s the only logical explanation.
Think about this: Brady and Evans didn’t have late-season problems when Brady came here in 2020, and because of “The Sickness” there were no OTAs, no minicamp and no preseason games.
So please, don’t give Joe the tired “Brady blew off 10 days of training camp!”
If one has to blame something that happened in August for troubles in December, that team has much deeper problems than a quarterback taking off 10 days to hang in the Caribbean.
Go ahead and check out Brady and Evans’ body language on throws as detailed by former Bucs backup Dan Orlovsky in the video below. One is speaking German and the other is speaking Latin.
Tom and Mike have always been on same page-not as much recently—why? 👇🏼👇🏼 #NFLLIVE pic.twitter.com/P2je4WGtCZ
— Dan Orlovsky (@danorlovsky7) November 29, 2022
December 1st, 2022 at 8:05 am
I Love Mike Evans as much as anyone, but many times he has got open by pushing off. The NFL has gotten wise to this, and are watching him like a Hawk.
This is what I see.
December 1st, 2022 at 8:13 am
I thought Sunday was one of Mike’s worst games as a Buc.
December 1st, 2022 at 8:15 am
Maybe they should get Evans involved before midway through the second quarter. This offense is as bland as the OC & HC. Every game there’s opportunity to call/audible to a quick slant for Evans which would gain at least 5 yards a clip but it never happens
December 1st, 2022 at 8:20 am
Evans isn’t going to get his thousand this year, doesn’t look like
December 1st, 2022 at 8:23 am
The simple answer is “They aren’t on the same page”…..and until they get “on the same page”, they won’t be “on the same page”
If Joe asks….that’s the answer he would get from both of them.
December 1st, 2022 at 8:51 am
No better time than this week against a team that has OWNED Mike for the most part. Problem is our genuis playcaller can’t develop plays or routes to get the best matchup…he sure as hell doesn’t have a feel for the game and what’s working vs what is not. #Stubborn
December 1st, 2022 at 8:54 am
Nothing is going on between Tom Brady and Mike Evans…
That’s part of the problem.
December 1st, 2022 at 8:55 am
You gave us Bradys pass att comparing last year vs this year but failed to give us Evans targets, and stats this year compared to last year to justify your headline. i’ll go look it up myself lol
December 1st, 2022 at 8:56 am
Browns’ CB, Emerson Jr, is playing like a 1st round pick – he had a great game vs Evans
December 1st, 2022 at 9:03 am
Painfully obvious to see a lack of speed & separation from all route runners on both of those plays. This problem is further amplified with an empty backfield and no threat to run. Bucs need more play action and speed at WR. This is how they get chunk plays back into their diet. Chunk plays are the catalyst for this offense.
December 1st, 2022 at 9:05 am
They were never fully on the same page since day 1. They made it work because they are both elite. When you are constantly in 2nd & long it is inevitable a pass play is coming. The D rushes 4 and drops 7. Brady has always got rid of the ball quickly, the WR’s are either running too deep or just don’t have time to get separation. This has to do with schemes. Pick routes, curls, slants underneath. It sounds simple but in order to do this you scheme around mismatches. That is where BL fails (amount other things), now you have a 3rd & long or short, the team cannot run so the O is forced into the same scenario as 2nd down. DC’s have an easy day when they play the Bucs. All the haters that cry about the missed throws, did you ever take in consideration Brady passes MORE than any other QB in the league? It’s called the law of percentages. Hate ON!!!
December 1st, 2022 at 9:06 am
The passing game problem is simple. No room for Brady to step up. The middle of the line is allowing a push leaving no room to step up when the tackles push the outside rushers behind Brady. His sweet spot is to step up and allow the rushers to be pushed by behind him. Been watching him do this 20+ years. Even when the middle holds their allowing push. Brady’s kryptonite. Always has been.
December 1st, 2022 at 9:09 am
They played him super physical and he wasn’t getting calls so he went into pout mode and gave up on more than one ball
TB was visibly pissed a couple times
A lot of the what are we doings coming from TB
December 1st, 2022 at 9:34 am
Brady is playing scared most plays. Evans is at his best on longer duration plays I think maybe.
December 1st, 2022 at 9:58 am
Maybe our great OC could throw in some trips sets? How about motion Mike into the slot for some quick slants, curls, crossers?
Why don’t the coaches ALLOW Brady to work on 1-on-1’s in practice?
Some, not all, of these problems could be mitigated by creative play-calling.
As for Mike, it’s almost like when he dropped that easy TD a few weeks ago, he’s been depressed about it since it seems like he hasn’t been himself since. To me, it’s either mental, physical, or both.
December 1st, 2022 at 10:04 am
“Mistake by the Lake”
Nice
December 1st, 2022 at 10:15 am
Byron Leftwich. That’s why. Maybe include told bowles if he’s telling dummy to run the same plays over and over. If the d knows what’s coming no wr in the history of the game is gona look good.
December 1st, 2022 at 10:17 am
Any OC who throws pass’s to Brady should be let go. The offense is stagnant because of the play calling. No imagination and no juice. It’s just bland and it doesn’t have to be.
December 1st, 2022 at 10:44 am
Brian Flores or Eric Bienemy.
December 1st, 2022 at 11:06 am
Why is Brady continually trying to force it to Evans? Brady use to be known for spreading the ball around. I think Brady is not making the right reads and in his haste to get rid of the ball is launching errant passes to Evans hoping he’ll make the catches. He could do that with Gronk but now he doesn’t have that security blanket anymore and Evans isn’t that guy. Godwin was last season as well but he hasn’t been on the field for more than half the offensive snaps this season. Brady has 3 decent TE’s that he rarely relies on and that has to change if we want to have a chance from here on out. Jones and Gage are still building a rapport with Brady but need to used more often. It’s Brady and his stubborn “My Way”
December 1st, 2022 at 11:26 am
The deep ball is either overthrown or underthrown. Watch the film.
December 1st, 2022 at 11:48 am
Easy… Brady is missing him.. call what you want. But when the defender is behind mike evans on these deep balls, and mike has to either slow down and make a miraculous catch or even worse watch the ball sail 3-5 yards in front him thats a problem. Sure Mike dropped that ball vs carolina, but that doesnt happen every game. Tom is Missing mike, and alot has to do with tom not practicing and spending movie night with the kids… But no one will ask tom to his face at these press conferences, if him missing Mike Evans a result of him not practicing.. the media would rather say whatever they want to the coaches. The media is scared of Tom.
December 1st, 2022 at 11:48 am
Rand…. No offence, but so little of what you’ve said is accurate. Brady uses the TEs, but Otton lost time as Brate is back and Brate is not that good. He’s never been great and injuries appear to be catching up with him (he’s been decent, but never a top TE in the nfl). Also the rookies needed time to learn and grow so they weren’t too targets, but Otton should start now and when he did, Tom used him more. There has also been a ton of talk about not getting Mike the ball so this idea that Tom is forcing it to him is silly. Many of the missed connections this last game were good reads to throw to Mike, but they weren’t on the same page regarding where that throw would go, and/or Mike stopped trying, and/or Tom missed (depending on the example chosen). Brady has always spread the ball around, for over 20 years. Suddenly you think he’s completely changed and started forcing it to one guy whom many have been saying isn’t being targeted enough, thereby suggesting he hasn’t been forcing him the ball? And no, Brady didn’t see ppl writing this and decide last game to force him the ball. Mike had opportunities to make plays on those targets, and for the 3 reasons I listed above, it just didn’t happen. The notion that Tom is selfish enough to just do things with a “my way” attitude goes against everything every coach and teammate of his has ever said. If you don’t like Tom, just say it lol. Call him out for the misses and for not being on the same page with Mike, but just making stuff up like that is weird.
December 1st, 2022 at 11:55 am
Watched this film 10 times. On all of it, I can’t find one receiver with 1/2 a yard separation. Looks like the receivers and defensive backs are slow dancing they’re so close. And that first pass in the film was a catchable ball and Mike never tried for it.
December 1st, 2022 at 11:58 am
Let’s slow down on the “it’s all on Mike” Bucs fans. Saw Brady over throw him twice on second and long (long like ten yards or less, not deep) late in the game. Brady had plenty of time to drop it in and Mikes hands. Can you guess what the result was late in the game for both those drives??? Byron’s middle name.
December 1st, 2022 at 12:13 pm
Coran
Investigate before your speak.
“He’s never been great and injuries appear to be catching up with him (he’s been decent, but never a top TE in the nfl”
Cam Brate in 2016 was a TOP TE in NFL when he was tied for most TD by TE (8) and broke Jimmie Giles franchise record in 1985.
December 1st, 2022 at 1:46 pm
SOEbucfan (I’m putting off studying so you get a dissertation as a response lol, my bad!)
This comes down to what we define as a “top TE”, and we apparently have different opinions on what those words mean. As the person who initiated their use, I apologize for being so vague. What I mean when I say that he isn’t a consistent pro bowler or all-pro. Isn’t going to the hall. He’s never even made a single pro bowl or all-pro let alone done it consistently. Yes he tied for the league lead in TDs that one year, but hunter henry (who he tied with) played two fewer games, and Gates played 1 fewer and was one behind. Granted he only played 15 (Brate that is) so maybe he gets another one. But even then, he finished 13th for yards and if you add his per game average for that last game he moves up to 10th, over 400 yds behind the leader and multiple players ahead of him, or close behind him having played fewer games (would likely drop to 11th and others would pull away by a fair amount). 2017 he was 10th in yards and 7th in TDs but the people who could pass him or pull away more if they played more games is even worse. Now I get it’s all speculation so let’s bump him to full season numbers, and leave everyone else as is. In his two best years he finished 1st and 7th for TDs, and 10th and 10th in yards. I don’t define that as a “top TE”. His next best season yards-wise is 311. Yes he got 6 TDs again on another year, with 289 yards. Both of those seasons were a full 16 games. During his career, he’s played at the same time as Gronk, Kelce, Kittle, Ertz, Graham, Andrews, 6 TEs that have clearly been better. If it weren’t for ball security you could argue Cook is better. Earlier you could say Rudolph was better. Hunter Henry is injured all the time and has put up better numbers in fewer, injury-prone seasons.
The point is, if there are 6 TEs that are clearly better and more productive than you, and a handful of others that could be argued are better too, you are not a “top TE” in my book. Being generous with the numbers gives him one seasons of MAYBE top 5 production. One more with top ten. No pro bowls and all-pros, I’m sorry he’s a middle-of-the-pack TE overall (10-20).
And breaking a franchise record doesn’t mean you’re top in the league. It doesn’t even DEFINITELY mean you’re the best in the franchise as someone could have one great year and fall off (not totally the case here, but just pointing it out to cover my bases). I just don’t see one potentially great year as meeting my personal definition of “top TE”. Maybe it meets yours, or you look at it in 1 year snapshots. But that just wasn’t what I meant. Sorry for not clarifying to begin with 🙂
December 1st, 2022 at 2:27 pm
Evans seemed more interested in pleading with refs for PI calls than running his route. He’s not able to get separation & he seems Very cautious-not wanting to get hit –very unlike Godwin,who amazes me given his surgery was less than a yr ago
December 1st, 2022 at 2:33 pm
Play calling, play calling, play calling. Byron has no clue about how to put our players in the best position to succeed.
December 1st, 2022 at 3:09 pm
Wow Coran, that’s way to much time and work for Brate.
December 1st, 2022 at 5:00 pm
Evans and Brady have never been a happy couple. This was hidden by the presence of Gronk, better chemistry with Godwin, AB, etc. opening things up. This season, the lack of chem is more obvious with the bad atmosphere overall, worse play calling, worse OL, worse everything.
Evans mentally out of it, sullen, giving up on plays.
Anyone who has watched Brady over the decades knows that when you are off, you go into his doghouse and he targets others who are on the same page with him. He unfortunately doesn’t have that luxury this season.
December 1st, 2022 at 6:22 pm
steele
Gonna have to disagree with another mishap of information post. Evans and Brady were certainly happy couple when Evans broke franchise single season TD(13) in 2020 only to break his own in 2021 (14).
December 1st, 2022 at 9:13 pm
I would never call Brate a top-5 TE, because TE involves both blocking and catching
BUT… There was a 3 year window where Cameron Brate had more TDs than any other TE in the league… so he was definitely very effective in the passing game.
He’s clearly past his prime though, and the nagging injuries have slowed down his game. He used to have great hands, but not any more. So on top of not being a great blocker nor super big / fast, he’s just okay now.
Still has the veteran instincts, which I suspect is why Otton and Keif don’t have more playing time.