Mike Evans was reportedly not happy with the number of targets he has been receiving this year. He has been targeted 5.77 times on average this season. In 4 games already out of 9, he has been targeted less than 5 targets. It’s not necessarily Tom Brady or Mike Evans’ fault. There’s a lot of talent on the Bucs offense, meaning there are a lot of mouths to feed. With that talent, someone was bound to get fewer targets, it happens. Tom Brady had this to say about the issue via ProFootballTalk:
“He’s a spectacular player and I think from my perspective, it’s just me giving him opportunities to touch the ball, catch it and figuring out different ways based on the different styles of defense that we’re getting that enable him to touch it,” Brady told reporters regarding Evans. “He’s an incredible player when he gets it and he’s an incredible player before he gets it. [We’re] working hard at it and again, I wish I’d be making every throw exactly the way I want. The only thing I can say is we’re trying to get it right, trying to figure out how to get everybody involved and put together a lot of different pieces that have never been together – including myself.”
Tom Brady also mentions the lack of experience the two of them have together as a reason for to lack of targets for Mike Evans.
“I think the great advantage in football in continuity,” Brady said. “I’ve learned a lot over the years [and] continuity in the NFL is so important with coach [and] quarterback [and] what you’re trying to be as a team. A lot of situations you’re in over years and years – we just haven’t been in those together. I might’ve been in a lot of situations, Byron [Leftwich] has been in a lot of situations, [Bruce Arians] has been in a lot of situations [and] the receivers here have been in a lot of different situations, but we’re just trying to make it happen together.
You’re going up against other teams that have the continuity, and that’s the disadvantage. But we have to try and make up for it as best we can. The only way I know how to do it is to work at it and work even harder. Every day that goes by, you have to work harder and harder and never take the foot off the gas pedal. Then, just make the improvements we’ve got to make and go out there and compete. If it’s not good enough, it’s not good enough [and] you have to do better. But, there’s no part of me that thinks, ‘Yeah, let’s ease off. Let’s not work quite as hard today because we’ve been overworking.’ I just think [to] get after it more.”
Tampa Bay Head Coach Bruce Arians feel different. He says the lack of targets is because of Evans’ injuries and Brady not having enough time in the pocket to go through reads on offense. Bruce Arians’ idea to get Mike Evans more involved?
“Just throw it to him,” Arians said. “The key is where the quarterback reads it out. Some guy may be open on this side, but the coverage tells him to go to the other side. It’s just a matter of we have plenty of weapons – throw to the guy that’s open.
It sounds like the Buccaneers are trying to get Mike Evans involved. It sounds like they’re going through a rough patch in that aspect. The Bucs are frauds though. They have all those weapons but somehow only put up 3 points against the Saints? They won’t be Super Bowl Bound regardless of how many targets Mike Evans gets.
