The Tampa Bay Buccaneers fell to the New Orleans Saints 38-3 on Sunday Night Football. After everything was said and done, a clearly dissatisfied Bruce Arians had a simple message for Tom Brady: target Mike Evans more
One of the most talked about topics after the game was how Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore had once again locked down the Bucs’ most talented wide receiver.
Better luck next year https://t.co/Dox6xiDwpN
— Marshon Lattimore (@shonrp2) November 9, 2020
Evans finished Sunday’s loss with four receptions for 64 yards and no touchdowns. It wasn’t a horrendous showing, obviously, but it wasn’t particularly strong either. Many were quick to attribute it to Lattimore being the superior player once again, but Arians disagreed.
“Mike was open a bunch in that ballgame,” Arians said. “He just didn’t get targeted. That’s all. He was open. Mike was open.”
Specifically, Arians noted that Brady needed to do a better job finding his receiver.
“Part of it’s scheme, part of it’s reading out some things that Mike was open on and just finding him,” he said. “[Brady] is still learning the offense in some spots, but we’ve got to do a better job.”
Big year for Paul George. https://t.co/REbRZuUAOC
— Game 7 (@game7__) November 7, 2020
Arians’ thoughts were echoed by people watching the game unfold at home, namely legendary NFL cornerback Charles Woodson.
“I wonder what Mike Evans did to not get looked at in this offense,” he tweeted.
This is not the first time the Bucs head coach said something along these lines. Three days after the Saints emerged victorious against Tampa Bay in Week 1, Arians had a similar critique for his new quarterback.
A peace offering from Kawhi to Snoop. https://t.co/SzdYcXdUBi
— Game 7 (@game7__) November 7, 2020
“We got to do a better job when we play the Saints of getting Mike in different positions,” he said at the time.
“I think we let him sit there on the backside too much last week and it’s something we’re going to have to address when we play them later on again. . . . I never want to come out of a game without 10 targets to Mike, at least.”
Brady finished the day with 209 yards and three interceptions on 22 of 38 passing. After the outing, he did his best to explain why he threw the ball away at such a high frequency.
This is gonna be fun. https://t.co/0FojKZcCSx
— Game 7 (@game7__) November 9, 2020
“Speaking for tonight, one was tipped on a screen pass,” he said. “You hate to have those happen, but the guy made a good play. Then, on fourth down, I kind of threw it up in the air. The other one, I definitely saw something and kind of predetermined what I thought was going to happen and made a bad play. So, I certainly have to play a lot better.
“Turning the ball over against good teams never helps. We just didn’t play the way we were capable of playing. Everyone’s got to do a lot better, and it starts with me. Get back to work tomorrow morning and try to make it a better week.”
Obviously Arians wants Brady and Evans to get on the same page – quickly. Will it actually end up happening, though? Time will tell.
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Charles Kruger has been credentialed to cover two Super Bowls, four NBA Finals, and one World Series. A 20-year veteran in the sports world, he has sources spanning the NBA, MLB, NFL, UFC and NASCAR. Currently residing in Los Angeles, Calif., he is Game 7’s go-to source for rumors surrounding the Lakers, Clippers and Dodgers.
