Mike Evans Moves The Chains
June 25th, 2025
First down maker.
The mark of a good offense is one that doesn’t wait for third or fourth downs to get another series of downs. Now Joe doesn’t have the data, but in the recent past, the Bucs have done a very good job of converting on first and second downs.
Former NFL general manager and former coffee fetcher for Bill Belichick, Bill Walsh and Al Davis, Michael Lombardi, always used to say the best offenses play like they are in Canada.
The CFL has no fourth downs. They play with just three. So NFL offenses need to pretend they are in Canada, Lombardi would claim.
Joe knows one thing: Mike Evans plays like that. The future Hall of Famer was one of the top players in the NFL last year at converting first downs. Some 71 percent of Evans’ catches last year ended up moving the chains. That was seventh-best in the NFL last season per The 33rd Team.
What makes this feat impressive to Joe is that last year’s offensive coordinator, Liam Coen, largely played a dink-and-dunk offense.
This is why the man will be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame someday.
June 25th, 2025 at 5:12 am
I rewatched the last game of the season where we beat N.O. for the division title, and got Evans his 1000 yard season. We trailed most of the game, but never quit, and made the plays we had to. It showed a lot of grit, and belief they could get it done, and they did. It says a lot about their head coach. Todd kept that group together. What really stood out to me were how many players on defense that day are no longer with the team, and some who are might not be to start this season. Not to mention key players like Winfield, Whitehead, and Dean were out with injuries. There was a real talent issue on the field that day defensivly. I look at the draft, and getting a FA like Reddick to replace the useless JTS should really help. Bucs have made the right moves this offseason to improve their roster. It’s now or never for Todd. I think we’re in for a good season, and Todd will be a big reason why.
June 25th, 2025 at 5:38 am
I’m not sure what that says about Mike. 70 percent is astounding to me either way. We had a great offense. We had a great QB. We have a great third down play caller. All of that plays a factor I think. Someone said (forgot who) last year that we try not to get to third down. Makes sense.
Go Bucs!
June 25th, 2025 at 6:03 am
Mr. Evans doesnt take a day for granted….he works and makes our offense a lot easier. Another contract coming up maybe? We’ll see. Thats Mike’s call.
June 25th, 2025 at 7:17 am
Mike is one of the best! Hopefully on the Bucs for 2 to 3 more years.
June 25th, 2025 at 7:45 am
I look at that list and ask who would I take first for my team. Evans. Also excellent thought process on not waiting for 3rd or 4th down to convert.
June 25th, 2025 at 7:52 am
That’s the percentage. I would like to see the total numbers as well.
June 26th, 2025 at 2:21 am
Josh Grizzard was the coordinator on 3rd down last year. Bucs were #1 in the NFL on 3rd down conversions. Mike had a lot do do with that. Yes Coen did dink and dunk a lot last season. Grizzard will be adding more vertical plays this year. Mark my words on that. Dont be surprised to see Palmer still on the team after the final cuts. My source says Grizzard wants a little more of a vertical game Palmer is still the fastest player in the NFL He was clocked at a speed in a game last season that broke Tyreek Hill’s number. I think it was 22 or 23 mph which is insane! He isn’t the best blocker but man does he have speed and you don’t have to be able to block when you have that kind of speed because even though every defense will know that when he’s on the field the Bucs are likely going deep.That alone will tie up at least one safety. It’s like dungy use to say if you can execute your plan it doesn’t matter if the other team knows what your about to do. In this instance (throwing deep, fly route) I agree . If Bucs O-line stays healthy it should be even better than last year. Barton really started to dominate late in the season. I for one am looking forward to the new wrinkles that Grizz is planning to implement. The sky is the limit with this offense. Bucs had a lot of injuries on defense last year. I would not be surprised if the defense jumped into the top 12 . If that happens…… Well let’s just say very scary. I fully expect the Bucs to be in the top 4-5 teams in the NFL. Won’t be surprised if they are in the NFC championship game. I’m in awe of how well this team is being run I’ve been a fan since 1977. Still one of the youngest teams in the NFL. Licht is brilliant. I’ve commented multiple times that Bucs opposing QBs were able to get rid of the ball substantially faster than the league average. The pass rush didn’t have enough time to get to the QB because the secondary wasn’t holding up long enough. That’s why Diaby was top 5 in pressures. He and the rest of the D-linemen will have a little better more time this year to get to the QB . Gonna be fun to watch. As always Go Bucs!!!
June 26th, 2025 at 2:25 am
Heyjude,
If Bucs win it all were likely gonna see a few guys on the team and the coaching staff retire.
June 30th, 2025 at 10:26 am
I agree with HODAD however, that mid season slump the last two years has got to stop.
If it continues like that there will be a game that sends us to a losing record !