Richard Sherman Points A Finger At Tom Brady
January 3rd, 2023
Back when the Bucs were on Thursday Night Football against the Ravens, an argument broke out on the Amazon postgame set between former Buccaneers Richard Sherman and Ryan Fitzpatrick.
Stud receiver Mike Evans led the Bucs that night with 6 catches for 123 yards on 11 targets as the Bucs lost 27-22 to drop their record to 3-5.
Sherman, an Amazon analyst, insisted that was nowhere near enough targets for Evans. He barked that the Bucs need to pump a bunch more passes into Evans because it’s an effective strategy. Fitzpatrick argued the point and said Tom Brady doesn’t play football by forcing throws and he won’t do it. Sherman passionately pushed back and said Brady needs to. Fitzpatrick countered by insisting it won’t happen.
“This offense is broken,” Fitzpatrick said. “I don’t see a fix anytime soon.”
They were both right.
After that Ravens game, Evans never got more than 11 targets again — until Sunday, a day in which Evans says Brady told him he’d be firing balls his way “no matter what.”
It worked. Evans had the second best day of his career with three touchdowns and was a master of the long ball.
Sherman spoke on his podcast yesterday and seemed to wag a finger at Tom Brady. “It looked like Tom Brady finally understood that, ‘Hey, sometimes you can just throw it up to Mike Evans over and over and over again. And it will work,” he said.
Sherman went on to repeat what he’s said previously, that Brady and Evans lost their steady rapport this season, but he does believe it can come back as quickly as it disappeared.
Joe believes forcing a few too many balls to Evans surely is a better strategy than more runs up the gut.
January 3rd, 2023 at 10:45 am
”Joe believes forcing a few too many balls to Evans surely is a better strategy than more runs up the gut”
Well said Joe. If only leftwich could see through his own fog.
January 3rd, 2023 at 10:51 am
3D tried pretty much the same thing the week prior and got picked twice, Evans has to be open
January 3rd, 2023 at 10:52 am
3D? Lol
January 3rd, 2023 at 10:53 am
No. What wasn’t working was the fact that 90% of Brady’s throws were five yards down the field or less and defenses countered by playing super physical and aggressive on short routes knowing that the ball was coming out super fast and that most of Buc throws are already coming no matter what based on presnap reads. Brady leads the league in least amount of time to throw but that isn’t due to pressure, that is due to play design. Up until this last game, the No Risk It, No Biscuit Offense wasn’t being used. Whomever’s fault that was… Brady or Leftwich, it doesn’t matter, they are both to blame. Brady can always call off a play in the huddle or audible to another at the LOS. You can’t open up short passing game by unless you stretch the field. I’ve been saying this for weeks and weeks.
January 3rd, 2023 at 11:23 am
Point the finger at the OL. They finally stood up consistently during a game. Long routes take time to develop. The QB needs time. Also, forcing it to Mike can have bad results. You get the picks by Brady. Mike also will give up on his route sometimes.
January 3rd, 2023 at 11:26 am
Agree 1000 Joe, I’ve been screaming from my seat in the southwest corner and on this here website all this all year.
TRHOW THE BALL TO MIKE EVANS
IT’S NOT THAT HARD
January 3rd, 2023 at 11:35 am
It is an effective strategy. Get Evans the dang ball!
January 3rd, 2023 at 11:41 am
A run up the middle usually nets zero….
A long throw to Mike might net zero….or it may be complete….or there may be a DPI penalty…
I like the odds to Mike better.
That first down run is has been a wasted down….
And….how many times have we given Tom a play action on 2nd and short….or do we constantly try to run for the first down?
January 3rd, 2023 at 11:46 am
When Brady signed with the Bucs, I bought Madden 21. Lol Brady throwing to Evans was like having a cheat code. Just chuck it at him, he comes down with it
January 3rd, 2023 at 11:48 am
See what happens when Mike Evans doesn’t drop passes? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
January 3rd, 2023 at 11:51 am
“It looked like Tom Brady finally understood that, ‘Hey, sometimes you can just throw it up to Mike Evans over and over and over again. And it will work”
^^^^It looked like Tom Brady knew to make sure Mike Evans keeps his consecutive 1,000 yard season streak alive
“Joe believes forcing a few too many balls to Evans surely is a better strategy than more runs up the gut.”
^^^^LOL 100% agree Joe
January 3rd, 2023 at 12:03 pm
It wasnt Brady just chucked it up to Evans. Two things happened, Brady had time and Mike created separation. Minor points Brady threw it well and Mike caught a lot.
January 3rd, 2023 at 12:06 pm
Teams put a safety over the top on Evans. Why did Evans get open ? No safety on one. Brady held the safety with his eyes on the other two. Evans seemed to have more intermediate routes that set up the bombs.
January 3rd, 2023 at 12:14 pm
What I want to know is what happened to the back corner fade that Evens is known for ? Brady and Evens were money on the left side and it has completely disappeared.
January 3rd, 2023 at 12:16 pm
All you DC’s and OC’s out there, did any of you ever consider Bowles doesn’t want that? Mike is 95th in the league in separation, was he hurt, was it the routes BL called? Who knows. You can’t just audible out of a designated run play with an inexperienced oline and beside the personnel may not warrant it. It dumbfounds why Carolina never brought a safety over. If you believe Mike is going to be open like that with Diggs covering him, you’re insane. Mike is NOT always open. Sure I’d love to see more of it but I’ll take a 0 gain rather than a int any day.
January 3rd, 2023 at 12:50 pm
Brandon … ‘Up until this last game, the No Risk It, No Biscuit Offense wasn’t being used.’
Seems like a lot of JBFers believe that, but I can’t see where it’s true. Brady only threw 5 deep balls Sunday, and completed 3 of them. Is THAT your criteria for ‘No Risk It, No Biscuit’? That’s 5 deep balls in 45 passing attempts (like 11% of his passes & only about 7% of the Bucs offensive plays).
BTW, Brady has thrown 5 or more deep passes in 13 of our 16 games. Did those all qualify as ‘No Risk It, No Biscuit’? He’s thrown his max of 9 deep passes in 3 games (Falcons, Panthers 1st game & Browns; we lost 2 of those).
I think a better criteria for ‘No Risk It, No Biscuit’ is the INTERMEDIATE throws (10-20 yards downfield). That’s where Brady excelled in 2020 & 2021 IMO. And being able to hit in that area is what largely opened up the deep passing opportunities. And guess what’s been missing this year … yup, the INTERMEDIATE passing game. Brady really misses his TE Gronk, as well as AB. And for much of the year he missed having a 100% CG14, as well as a healthy Gage. Those guys thrived in the intermediate area.
January 3rd, 2023 at 1:09 pm
I want to see more CREATIVE use of Evans.
The lack of adjustments, wrinkles, different looks, etc throughout the season is a big part of why this offense has struggled in 2022.
Bucs (Leftwich) are largely just running the same plays they have been for the last 3 years. Defenses usually know what’s coming because we aren’t giving them different looks often enough.
An evolving offense adds wrinkles to the standard looks. Like every week…. And thus catches the defenses off guard because they THOUGHT they knew what was coming but you did something very different instead out of that same look.
How about putting Evans in the slot presnap more often – and see how they adjust. If a safety steps up to cover him because you caught them in base defense – then its already mis-match city before you even snap the ball.
From there lets just see some quick slants. two steps – bam – hit Mike on the run and let him rumble for some yac up the middle of the field…
And lets get Evans on the move pre-snap more often as well (motion).
These are the kind of things that create potential advantages for your best receivers.
Frankly – any defender other than their best CB is or should be considered a mis-match if he is 1 on 1 with Mike Evans……
C’Mon Lefty – you can dooo eeet.
Spend the next 2 weeks installing a bunch of wrinkles and wrinkles on top of wrinkles. Don’t show anything but Vanilla plays vs the Falcons. In fact – use that game to reinforce ALL your tendencies on tape – while secretly working behind the scenes to change up those same plays/looks for the playoffs…..
Do THIS successfully and we have the talent to win another Super Bowl!
Coaching is highly responsible for our 8 losses in 2022 which NO ONE wanted or expected. But improved and corrected coaching can also be the reason we go on to win another Super Bowl while we still have the greatest QB who ever played the game under center….
January 3rd, 2023 at 1:10 pm
I do not think the protection was much improved last week. I think Brady made an extra effort to hold onto the ball longer to let the plays develop. He’s going to have to do it again to be successful. Hopefully he put his happy feet away for the rest of the season. Always a good choice to feed Evans the ball.
January 3rd, 2023 at 1:15 pm
^ Well said Pickgrin! I feel like I’ve been shouting about this all year long (and even into past seasons).
Leftwich changed nothing in the scheme, playcalling or game plans. Just doing the same ish over and over and thinking it will miraculously start working one day…
Good coordinators add new wrinkles, attack opposing weaknesses, use misdirection to scheme guys open, etc. But we have Leftwich…
In terms of our 8 losses, I would place the blame squarely on Bowles and Leftwich for 3 of them, and on the players for 2 of them. The other 3 times we simply got beat.
January 3rd, 2023 at 1:43 pm
Yes. They were both right. You are absolutely right, Joe. Brady should have done this earlier too, it’s a fact. But I think that Fitzmagic has the little edge here. It makes so much more difficult to throw deep when your offensive coordinator does not adjust and lures the linebackers and safeties closer to the box, or does not adjust pass protection schemes by any means necessary.
January 3rd, 2023 at 1:51 pm
More of …
1. More up tempo
2. More play action
3. More long balls
Less of …
1. Vanilla runs up the A gap
2. Runs on first down (see More #2)
3. TE in the end zone
January 3rd, 2023 at 2:16 pm
Emotions play a big part in any NFL game. That’s why coaches are always looking for bulletin board material. The Bucs were playing with some fired-up energy against the Panthers, especially Brady. That’s the big difference. That energy is contagious. I remember watching multiple Bucs games this season where the players were like trudging around just going through the motions. It was hard to watch. Brady played those games like he was depressed, or like a creaky old grampa. You’re gonna lose if you don’t bring that energy, that will to win and dominate, that cocky confidence. Yeh, throw to Evans more. It’s gonna work. But man!, bring that effin energy like the Bucs brought against the Panthers. That’s just as important.
January 3rd, 2023 at 2:25 pm
Well said, Pickgrin. You see a lot of offensive coordinators moving their best receiver around to create mismatches. The Bills moved Diggs around and they had him matched up against a LB! It’s a total mismatch. Brady is a master at identifying mismatches and exploiting them.
January 3rd, 2023 at 3:43 pm
LOL, Johnny Manziel literally made a career out of throwing balls in Mike Evans vicinity, and watching the results.
More often that not, Mike Evans will win these battles for the ball.
So, I totally agree that more balls thrown to Mike Evans is a more effective strategy that always running up the gut on first down.
January 3rd, 2023 at 5:00 pm
It was good to see the connection between Brady and Evans again! It did seem to work well on Sunday. Of the 12 targets that Mike had, I would not say that Brady just threw any of the throws up for grabs. On the 3 touchdown passes I would say that Brady dropped those 3 passes right in Evans hands in stride.
January 3rd, 2023 at 6:25 pm
I would think giving Brady the option of play action on 1st and 2nd down would be far more successful than just running it up the middle. If Brady can keep the defense guessing he will spread the ball around successfully. The offense has been far too predictable this year. Getting Jensen back would be a huge advantage even if he is only at 75%. Give Brady time and he will get the job done.
January 3rd, 2023 at 6:46 pm
“Joe believes forcing a few too many balls to Evans surely is a better strategy than more runs up the gut.”
Just Evans? What about Godwin, Julio, Gage, Scotty, Cade, Ko and R-White???
Brady has one of the best receiving squads he’s ever had to launch a nonstop passing attack to…..
But, NOPE, Leftwich just wants to run it up the gut a few million times for no gains.
Blows and Leftwich has destroyed the team.
Brady and this receivers have been ready and willing all season to blow games wide open and rack up wins, but they haven’t been allowed to do that.
January 3rd, 2023 at 8:49 pm
Seeing how Brady has been to 10 SB and has had multiple game winning drives in the biggest moments in sports. I would say his football IQ is probably far superior to anyone commenting on this blog so really the only thing that matters is that he can make it work and win in the playoffs which he has obviously shown he can do.
January 4th, 2023 at 1:39 am
I think Brady has been wanting to go to Evans for a while. Two things stopped him:
• Time to throw
• Leftwich not calling in player for Evans
Tom Brady saying I’m throwing you the ball no matter what translates to’I no long care what play is called in. We’re doing this our way from now on.
January 4th, 2023 at 4:01 am
Evans is playing better now. He was not winning on go routes for a lot of this season. Brady lofted them for him and they’d fall harmlessly with him nowhere near because he couldn’t get around the defender. Just throwing it up for Evans doesn’t work if he can’t win on his route enough to get to the ball. Evans seems to be out of his mid-season funk. Godwin is the healthiest he’s been all year and getting back to being Brady’s reliable tight window target over the middle, the true engine of this offense. Gage also looked really spry in his few touches this last game. He’s been injured most of the year. The OL is also playing it’s best ball and Jensen may be back for the playoffs. Fingers crossed, every thing is coming together, just need the play calling to keep improving! At least we stopped leaning on screen passes vs. the Panthers!