Skip Bayless Wants Justice For Mike Evans
September 19th, 2023
Why don’t folks see Mike Evans?
It really blows Joe’s mind.
Mike Evans is one of the best receivers in the game. It’s really that simple. Yet when you listen to national sports talk radio or read various websites, rarely is Evans’ name brought up.
(But man, you sure as hell read a whole lot about Odell Beckham.)
After Evans hung 171 receiving yards on the bungling Bears on Sunday (averaging a sick 28.5 yards a catch), infamous sports TV hollerer Skip Bayless has had enough.
Bayless took to Twitter (the site currently known as “X.”) and wanted to know why Evans is so dissed week after week, year after year by fans.
Bayless is absolutely on the mark.
Here is some evidence of why Evans is one of the best in the NFL and is grossly overlooked.
Evans has eight games with 170+ receiving yards. That’s the second-most in the past two decades. Who has more? Only Cheetah Hill, and he has one more. Cheetah Hill.
Also, with his touchdown on Sunday, Evans tied Antonio Brown, Calvin Johnson and Brandon Marshall (83) for the 25th-most receiving touchdowns in NFL history.
Additionally, Evans (10,662) surpassed A.J. Green (10,514) and Keyshawn Johnson (10,571) to move into 43rd all-time in career receiving yards.
Evans is one of the best receivers in NFL history. Yet some folks think he’s little more than Justin Watson. Why?
Joe suspects it has something to do with fantasy/fake football. How friggin’ sad, man.
September 19th, 2023 at 7:09 am
Honestly I hope it remains our little secret that he is the best receiver…..so SHHHHH
September 19th, 2023 at 7:12 am
Mike Evans has the misfortune of playing for the Bucs instead of one of the major market teams like the NY teams, Patriots, Dallas, LA, SF, etc. Everything about the Bucs is dissed, except for when they are just coming off a Super Bowl win, and/or when they have the GOAT under center. Otherwise, meh!
Of course if a player is on the roster of one of those major market teams, then he also comes under a lot more scrutiny and criticism for any dropoff in performance whatsoever, no matter how temporary. “What have you done for me in the last five minutes?” is the standard.
Fortunately for Mike Evans, this is a league with salary parity via the salary cap. So he can earn market money whenever he comes up for a new contract. Which he will again between now and free agency in 2024. Either the Bucs or some other team will pay him market money. As for fan adulation, it’s doubtful that he or any player really cares much about that.
September 19th, 2023 at 7:19 am
Speaking of Justin Watson…..he’s doing quite well at KC…….too bad he didn’t meet Brady’s approval…..it would be good to still have him on the roster.
Another good late round pick by Licht.
September 19th, 2023 at 7:23 am
I don’t care who it is at receiver, if they don’t resign Mike Evans the offense will take a step back. Trey Palmer is good but I don’t think he’s going to be on the level of Evans even at his best.
September 19th, 2023 at 7:29 am
so skip is transferring his love from tommy b over to mighty mike…
he’s gotta do something now that his wingman has bounced
September 19th, 2023 at 7:30 am
Curse of the Bucs that’s why. Like Lavontae David he doesn’t run his mouth, brag, boast, look for the closest camera(lookin at you Raschad White) wear ridiculous fashions or any of all that crazy stuff. He comes to work. Most people love flashy things and he’s not that. Bad thing for him as well there are some really dumb Buc fans who think he should be traded or all they talk about are the ribs he does wrong here or there like he can’t get YAC or separation or he drops every other pass thrown his way. It’s a Bucs life for Mike
September 19th, 2023 at 7:34 am
Combo of the market / Bucs losing history / fantasy football / playing next to Godwin and other elite talents the last few years.
With Brady he averaged only like 70 catches / 1000 yards because he also had Godwin/Gronk/AB and the RB’s getting a lot of catches. And it all worked for 2 seasons of offensive dominance.
September 19th, 2023 at 7:38 am
I agree with everyone who pointed out it’s a Bucs image issue and not a Mike Evans issue. For years, people saw a bad Bucs record and didn’t look at Evans. Only those in our division see Evans as a great player. My cousin who is a falcons fan and a friend who is a panthers fan both have evans on their fantasy team and love him.
September 19th, 2023 at 7:44 am
Mike Evans and Lavonte David we are literally sacred to me…
We need to do whatever it takes to make sure these 2 never put on uniforms for another team…I don’t care what we have to do to make it happen…
September 19th, 2023 at 7:55 am
ME13 actually won our fantasy league last year with his epic performance coming on championship week. The guy said he started him every week even though he had what was considered a bad fantasy year.
You just can’t sit the guy because you never know when that kinda game is coming.
I think not being a true possession receiver is what the media gets hung up on.
September 19th, 2023 at 8:25 am
Pay him!!!!
September 19th, 2023 at 8:28 am
@joebucsfan, Mike Evans is definitely a beloved buccaneer and one of the greatest WE AS FANS HAVE SEEN HERE IN TAMPA…A lot of scrutiny or a major reason why he’s NOT mentioned in the top 10 is quite simple. The perfect example is because this past Sunday he had a beautiful catch on a post route and got walked down from the back by multiple defenders! This doesn’t take away from his talent BUT almost ALL CONSIDERED ELITE WR mentioned in the top ten would’ve took that catch for 6..i could name 10 WR you’d take as well over Mike RIGHT NOW! Point blank period he’s reliable and maybe the greatest teammate ever. He’s just not as flashy and exciting to be mentioned with the rolls Royce’s and Lamborghinis of the league. He’s more of base model Cadillac Escalade and there’s nothing wrong with that!
September 19th, 2023 at 8:45 am
Simple. ME13 is a Tampa Bay Buc. What until he gets voted into Canton. Watch quite a few overpaid bloviating sports yahoo heads explode.
September 19th, 2023 at 8:51 am
Not in a HUGE media market (only 1 sports radio station), not many media members cover the games in person, on a team that hasn’t won much outside of a few seasons have not helped raise his profile at all.
September 19th, 2023 at 9:12 am
He plays for Tampa Bay. Nobody sees him play on TV, and the home stadium is usually half full of the opposing teams fans.
September 19th, 2023 at 9:23 am
I don’t think market size matters that much anymore and the Tampa market has become one of the largest.
Everyone knows who Patrick Mahomes or Travis Kelce are yet they are in a smaller market (34th largest in the nation) while Tampa is the 11th largest in the nation.
I think the reason you do not hear a lot about Mike Evans is because he does not act like many of the top receivers that get them so much attention. He is a good guy that just wants to have a nice family life, win games and be a good teammate. To the media he is boring.
September 19th, 2023 at 9:41 am
If he wins another ring, he might go down as a too 5 wr of all
Time. He’s still only 30 years old. Jerry Rice had more yards after 30 years old than before.
September 19th, 2023 at 9:47 am
Agree with a few above – it’s a Bucs thing. Go on YouTube and find postgame shows of the Bucs/bears and the Bears have a gd NBC Sports post game show and a few other shows that are Bears centric. The Bucs – not a lot to find other than very generic stuff, local nobody podcasters. Fair or not we don’t have a footprint. If evans did this as a cowboy he’d be revered in incomprehensible ways
September 19th, 2023 at 9:51 am
Ocala
“To the media he is boring.” Agree and ironically the more boring he became the better he played and the more success he had. Do we really want the young Mike who continually argued PI calls and got on the refs spit list? Do we need to be distracted by fights with Lattimore? I loved Mike’s passion and enjoyed seeing it but was it really effective.
Now Mike is as another poster pointed out…pulling a Jimmy Brown..walking back to the huddle or sidelines. I honestly can’t tell when he’s really hurt or not.
Mike is a MAJOR weapon. Talented, and now mature and totally poised.
September 19th, 2023 at 10:27 am
Dre is right. Evans is great but there are a lot of great ones, presently. Most of them more explosive.
September 19th, 2023 at 10:28 am
Sorry Ocala
Yes, the size of your market/fanbase does matter. Mahomes and Kelce get national recognition from a smaller market because, they are WINNING. If KC wasn’t winning, they wouldn’t get the love they get.
Bucs records with Evans here
2014 2-14
2015 6-10
2016 9-7
2017 5-11
2018 5-11
2019 7-9
2020 11-5
2021 13-4
2022 8-9
3 Winning seasons in 9 seasons is not going to make a lot of out of market fans or media pay attention. Yes, it’s a team game but if you want to be noticed outside of your fan base you gotta win and win consistently to be noticed.
Not winning isn’t Mike’s fault as A LOT of the blame falls on Licht for drafts and free agency mistakes and poor roster building. But if you want Evans to get attention the team has gotta win.
September 19th, 2023 at 10:56 am
It’s the Tampa Bay market Joe. You don’t talk about someone that 80% of your audience could care less about. You talk to your audience.
September 19th, 2023 at 11:36 am
Pewter Power Says:
September 19th, 2023 at 7:23 am
I don’t care who it is at receiver, if they don’t resign Mike Evans the offense will take a step back. Trey Palmer is good but I don’t think he’s going to be on the level of Evans even at his best.
________
Trey Palmer would have out ran the defenders for a TD.
YAC for ME?
Not so much.
Look, ME is very, very good/great, but he’s got his limitations.
He’s big. He’s got a great catch radius and he makes mediocre QBs look great.
Remember his struggles with Brady early on?
Why was that?
Because he’s not the best route runner and he’s a little bit lazy. Brady didn’t have problems connecting with anyone else….
I also question his conditioning, but hey, it was hot last Sunday and he’s 30 so maybe I’m being a bit harsh.
Is he the best Bucs receiver of all time?
Statistically?
Absolutely, with the all-time lowest win percentage team in NFL history!
But to break the bank for a feel good ending to his career is stupid.
I’m a Bucs fan.
Winning and sentimental BS don’t go hand in hand.
Great teams know when to let go.
September 19th, 2023 at 11:53 am
The guy just had 171 yards . Doosh you are a idiot.
September 19th, 2023 at 12:00 pm
With fans like Doosh no wonder Mike gets no Respect.
September 19th, 2023 at 12:11 pm
He doesnt get the run because he is rarely the featured player on the team, and he doesnt fuss about it. Annually, towards the end of the season we all know he is going to be fed the ball to get that 1000 yards. Why dont we play like that all season?
September 19th, 2023 at 12:16 pm
Just does his job. he ain’t out there dancing every time he makes a play and acting the Diva. He plays for us, not the Cowboys, Chiefs, or Jets. he should go to the Hall. IDK what anyone else thinks, he’s a Top 5 WR. Pay the Man!
September 19th, 2023 at 1:11 pm
It really is about the touchdowns. If Mike continues to keep catching touchdowns from Mayfield he will be in the Hall Of Fame. He just needs 2 more seasons of 10 TD’s a year and 1000 yards and he has just stamped his ticket.
September 19th, 2023 at 2:35 pm
He’s not a diva, doesn’t have a big mouth, and is a classy dude. Which translates to a lack of media coverage, unfortunately.
September 20th, 2023 at 1:21 am
“Joe suspects it has something to do with fantasy/fake football. How friggin’ sad, man”
It also has to do with people like Bayless and his talking head partners. If it does not fit the execs mold it is withheld. Also it was noted many years ago that Tanpa gets very little respect as a whole from all the National folks.
If Mike were in New York, Atlanta or any number of other places he would be way more talked about.
Our first SB win we where an after thought in about a week.
Go Bucs!
September 20th, 2023 at 1:39 pm
Evans is one of the best. Just cause he’s not in your face, doesn’t mean he’s not great. I’ve watched him do well every year. He deserves a great contract from the bucs, but looks like they are probably gonna lose the best they have.
It’s definitely a bucs problem. They don’t make a lot of headlines, and are out of conversation due to mediocre performances over the years. They are only talked about when they are a top notch team.
If I had time for fantasy, I’d draft Evans every year as my top WR.
September 21st, 2023 at 5:03 am
FINALLY !..SKIP BAYLESS HAS SAID SOMETHING THAT ACTUALLY MAKES SENSE ! MIKE EVANS HAS BEEN NOTHING SHORT OF STALWART HIS ENTIRE CAREER & DESERVES A RAISE & A LONG TERM CONTRACT WITH THE BUCCANEERS SO HE CAN EVENTUALLY RETIRE AS ONE OF GREATEST BUCCANEERS IN THE HISTORY OF THE FRANCHISE ! HIS RECORDS & CAREER SPEAKS FOR ITSELF !..TRADE INJURY PRONE RUSSELL GAGE (ONCE HE’S FINALLY HEALTHY AGAIN )& YOU”LL HAVE THE MONEY TO PAY HIM.(MIKE EVANS )”TREY PALMER” IS A SOLID #3 RECIEVER & HE’S JUST A “ROOKIE” ! ( SO WHAT IF WE HAVE (2) 20 MILLION DOLLAR RECIEVER’S ! THEY’VE BOTH EARNED THEIR MONEY..PAY MIKE EVANS ! WE HAVE THE BEST MOST CONSISTENT PASS CATCHERS IN THE LEAGUE..LET’S KEEP IT THAT WAY ( CHARLIE JOINER PLAYED TOP NOTCH FOOTBALL FOR 18 YRS IN THE NFL & LOOK AT ALL THE PLAYER SAFETY RULES THAT HAVE BEEN PUT IN PLACE SINCE HE RETIRED ! ?..COME ON !, MIKE EVANS IS A TEAM ICON AS WELL AS BEING A STANDOUT OFF THE FIELD IN TAMPA BAY..MAKE HIM A LIFER ! SOLIDIFY HIS SALARY & MAKE SURE HE STAYS A BUCCANEER FOR THE REST OF HIS CAREER, HE’S “EARNED” IT ! ( GLAZERS )