“Baker’s Petty In That Way”
January 10th, 2025
Yeah, a little sizzle is lost from Sunday’s pending Mike Evans-Marshon Lattimore clash at The Licht House in Round 1 of the NFL playoffs.
Lattimore, the Commanders cornerback, is likely to shadow Evans all around the field and the two angry rivals are sure to do plenty of spirited hand fighting. But Lattimore is no longer wearing the colors of the slimy Saints.
That Saints-Bucs hatred was the foundation of the annual Evans-Lattimore feuds and Washington seems to be a rather classy club that’s hard to dislike.
Still, the Lattimore-Evans intensity is alive and well, and former Bucs cornerback Richard Sherman (2021) is confident it will get a little nasty on Sunday night.
Joe was intrigued to hear Sherman’s take because he was in that elite cornerback club with Lattimore, who used to be elite, but also played with Evans and covered him during his years with the 49ers and Seahawks.
While the Commanders and Bucs don’t have deep conflicts, Sherman said this week Commanders teammates will have Lattimore’s back and things could heat up quickly.
“I’m sure they’re going to have Lattimore follow him,” Sherman told Up & Adams. “He’s going to continue to try and get under Mike’s skin.”
Sherman also said he expects Baker Mayfield to embrace the Evans-Lattimore heat and feed off it. “Baker’s petty in that way and I like that about him,” he said.
Joe’s just worried about distractions. Evans had weeks of distractions chasing 1,000 yards in the regular season. It would have been nice if Evans could have gotten a clear-headed week, but that’s not in the cards.
Lattimore is returning from a hamstring injury, so Joe sure hopes the Bucs test that early and often. Is this the week the go-ball shot to Evans returns to the gameplan?
January 10th, 2025 at 3:20 pm
The Bucs will win this game. Look for them to pull away in the 2nd half after a nail biting first, very similar to the Saints game.
January 10th, 2025 at 3:27 pm
Baker should be, and I’m sure is, focused on doing whatever it takes to win.
He’s got his brother’s back but I don’t think the rivalry with Lattimore will be a factor.
Double Mike and hopefully J-Mac, our backs and tight ends will make you pay. Leave him one on one and Mike will hurt them. Like usual.
January 10th, 2025 at 3:37 pm
I think after Evans got suspended that time, he kind of cooled his heels around Lattimore only getting him on PIs more often. Mike used to be really good at that.
January 10th, 2025 at 3:51 pm
Does anyone think AB had anybody’s back but his own. Fameis not as bad as AB but still totally irresponsible and careless about his team’s reputation.
This team is now loaded with TEAM guys. Such a cliche but TEAM guys are not only generally (not always) more effective it’s far easier to cheer for them.
Baker has his teammates backs and they have his and each others. It’s fun to watch an actual TEAM.
January 10th, 2025 at 3:53 pm
One team went out and got better at the trade deadline, one team did not. The bucs may pay for sitting on their thumbs at the trade deadline
January 10th, 2025 at 4:22 pm
Baker needs to play smart, feed Bucky and hit the open receiver no matter who it is. It’s about winning not stats, Evans 1000 yards were a distraction and you could tell it was by the way the offense started off. Defense needs to lock in and we should win easy
January 10th, 2025 at 4:23 pm
Im expecting mike evans to be a ghost this sunday he just can’t beat that fool
January 10th, 2025 at 4:27 pm
I’m pretty sure that Lattimore will be singled up on Evans. He’s handled that match up pretty well in the past. J-Mac probably gets the “over under” blanket coverage and Luvu follows Otton.
January 10th, 2025 at 5:14 pm
The answer is for Evan’s not to get into hand fights, but to juke Lattimore and run vertical routes. Lattimore can’t run with Evan’s, especially just coming back from a hamstring injury. Make Lattimore pay on the deep routes.
January 10th, 2025 at 5:46 pm
The distraction I am worried about for Baker is Daniels. Daniels is a true superstar playmaker at qb. He changes drives on multiple plays by improvising. Baker is a very talented, very gutsy play action qb…period. If he feels compelled to duel with this guy and starts “pressing” he is going to turn the ball over and ruin our only real advantage- 5 plus yard running and time of possession.
January 10th, 2025 at 5:49 pm
this really hasn’t been much of a face off since 2020. Evans hasn’t dominated from stats perspective but he’s had the upper hand. when you include pass interference yards, it’s been 1 sided since the 2020 game… which is probably why it was ok to trade him. it’s just not the same battle that it used to be.
January 10th, 2025 at 5:55 pm
They both have bad hammie’s should be a fair contest.
January 10th, 2025 at 5:59 pm
B. I can see your concern. But “ruin our only real advantage?” You can’t mean that. He threw 41 Td passes. 4100 yards. Yes we need to try to control time of possession and run the football. But telling us that that’s the strength of our team? I’m not buying it. But I’d sure like to believe we could run it every play and score 7 after an 8 minute drive. If we run it as much or more than we throw it we oughta win this thing.
January 10th, 2025 at 6:12 pm
But yes B. Daniels may be a superstar in waiting. And if he is going nuts scoring on us do you reckon Coen will be going heavy on the run game? If Baker has to gunsling it out to beat Daniels I’d rather it be him than anyone else. Didn’t he roll 70 yards at KC to tie it at KC in the rain and cold this year? How about putting it on his back with his arm just last Sunday? The more I read your post B. the more I think that you B. are a Baker hater. Like half the idiots who blamed Baker for the loss to the Lions last postseason.
January 10th, 2025 at 6:33 pm
It was Baker’s fault that game in Detroit!! I like Baker but the strong suit on this team is the run game and they don’t use Sean Tucker enough!! Baker is still evolving and this Bucs team needs EVERYTHING he brings to the table running the ball himself included!
January 10th, 2025 at 6:57 pm
Evans averages like 51 yards and 0.3 TDs per game when facing Lattimore.
Plenty of other options should be open if Mike is covered. I would def test Lattimore with a couple go routes though. Of course if he gets behind Mike, we know he’ll just give at his knees or hammies and take the DPI call…
January 10th, 2025 at 7:26 pm
Lattimore owns Evans. He always disappears when he has him matched up. Don’t like it. I just hope Baker is smart and doesn’t force passes to him when he isn’t open which I’m guessing will be more often than not. Hope I’m wrong but history isn’t on Evans side when these two match up.
January 10th, 2025 at 7:32 pm
I still remember Evans torching Lattimore in the season opener many years ago when Fitzmagic had his record setting 2 game run. Mike hadn’t done much against him since. Hope Sunday is like the Fitzmagic game.
January 10th, 2025 at 7:51 pm
Joe: ” Is this the week the go-ball shot to Evans returns to the gameplan? ”
I hope Coen doesn’t listen to Joe, we don’t need Baker trying to throw the long ball with less than 41% chance of completions. Throw 15 yarders at a 60% clip.
January 10th, 2025 at 8:29 pm
Appreciate your passion, Kenton. By no means a Baker hater, but I’m a Cleveland fan from my childhood as well (don’t laugh) I have followed this guy and this guy is great, he has won our hearts- but he is not Drew Brees. The stats you cite are great but let me add we are the #1 YAC team in the league (double check me, Joe?). He is my QB after throwing long on 4th and 7 to a rookie WR and completing it, hell he’s the new Brett Favre, but he is not Joe Burrow. If it comes down to straight drop back, read the defense and slinging it the man throws picks.
January 10th, 2025 at 8:59 pm
give me a hammy on lattimore thats 90% and ME13 will own that. It only takes a slight decline to have a big dropoff from elite.
January 10th, 2025 at 9:02 pm
Thanks B. My earlier post I meant 4500 yards. Oh yeah and over 71 percent comp. rate. Look up Baker’s record against Burrow. In Baker’s lifetime Cleveland never won a playoff game until he went to Pittsburgh and hung 48 points on them. He wasn’t born yet when they won one in 1994. Pity those thankless Cleveland fans. Now they have a 3 win team and a castrated coach. Serves them right. He’s not Drew Brees. I much prefer Baker’s game. And the comparison to Favre doesn’t really do him any favors. Baker is a total team player and he’s found a team that suits that. Favre won 1 Super Bowl in his career. Brees won 1 Super Bowl in his career. Let’s see if Baker can do that.
January 10th, 2025 at 9:40 pm
B,
Way too poetic about Jayden Daniel’s who had a nice rookie season but he will not be the best QB on the field Sunday night. Expect Baker to throw for 3 TD’s 300yards and Bucs score 35. Washington scores 17. They can’t win a shootout with Mayfield. Not even sure that Daniel’s was the top rookie QB. Could argue that Bo Nix had a better season.
January 10th, 2025 at 10:06 pm
I think Mike learned a lesson a couple of years ago when he got suspended for a game or two.
I’ve watched closely since then and Mike tends to hustle right back to the huddle while Lattimore runs his mouth at Mike’s back.
One thing’s for certain…
If Mike and Lattimore get into a scuffle, Baker will jump in. If Baker jumps in, the entire O Line will be right behind him. Things will get ugly quick.
There’s merit in the idea of having Mike jet down the field on a couple of go-routes early in the game, just to test out Lattimore’s hamstring and see how it holds up.
Thankful for J-Mac and the return of Cade. We have a couple of other downfield threats if Mike gets double-teamed all day.
January 10th, 2025 at 11:03 pm
The good thing about this year is it has been revealed that Tampa has the foundation of a great team for a long time, at least 10 years. There are positions, of course, that need to be improved upon and can be done a little each year but the foundation is there. Running and passing are there. Bucky is scary good. Baker is proving himself to be the real deal. Both him and Bucky are so much fun to watch. OL is getting better with each game. Need to keep Godwin who has it all, out and out stud-if Tampa wants to be truly great they HAVE to keep Chris Godwin. No telling what having him and Mike both all year would have resulted in. We had KC beat in the rain!!! Last minute drive, we were hot, should have went for 2.
We finally have a quarterback worthy of replacing Tom, the greatest of all time. Out of ALL the quarterbacks that have played the game only 3 of them have ever thrown for 41 tds and 4,500 yards, with a 106.8 rating AND a 71.4% completion percentage. Aaron Roger’s, Drew Brees, Joe Burrow and now there’s a fourth quarterback, Baker Mayfiel. Yes, Tampa has their team for the future. Hopefully, we have a good start on the future this year. Whatever happens it is exciting the be a Bucs fan, again.