Matt Harmon is mad as hell and he’s not going to take it anymore.
So what is the Yahoo! football analyst upset AF about? The slander of Bucs stud receiver Mike Evans.
Harmon neither understands nor knows why the vast majority of folks don’t consider Evans a top-five receiver. Forget about how consistent he is getting 1,000-yards receiving each and every year. It goes beyond that.
Perhaps similar to the way some Bucs fans are hungup on Donovan Smith after he was unjustly labeled by the PFF tribe coming out of Penn State, some folks think Evans is just a jump-ball receiver like he was catching bombs from Johnny Football at Texas A&M. And that label stuck?
Harmon is sick of those non-Bucs fans dissing Evans and demands the nonsense stop now. So Harmon is on a crusade to educate NFL fans far and wide that Evans is one of the game’s elite receivers.
If you still think Mike Evans is just some big jump-ball receiver it’s time to let go of that bad take.
Typing for something called “Reception Perception,” Harmon did a deep dive on Evans’ advanced stats and route running. He found that Evans has few equals.
His ability to deceive cornerbacks and fluidly sink his hips to snap back to the quarterback is just so impressive. He simply doesn’t get enough credit as a top-level route runner.
All this talk about his separation chops is great but we can’t forget Evans still has a trump card trait. His 85.7% contested catch rate is one of the top results among all players sampled for RP last year. He’s a dominant 50/50 ball receiver.
With the state of the Bucs pass-catching corps in the wake of Chris Godwin’s injury and Rob Gronkowski’s retirement, Evans has a strong chance to be one of the most productive receivers in the NFL. It wouldn’t surprise me one bit if he pushed for a historic type of touchdown-scoring season.
Harmon is another one who believes Evans will not only pick up the slack in the Bucs passing game, but ball out big time this fall with Chris Godwin out potentially for months, Russell Gage’s health a wild card and Rob Gronkowski retiring-maybe, in addition to the absence of furniture-tossing, bicycle-throwing, V-card-forging quitter Antonio Brown.
Yes! Hopefully Mike can stay healthy. If he can I hope he catches 25 TD’s this year with 15 coming in the red zone.
Also a pass interference MAGNET
I know the truth. I don’t need all these people that put Josh Allen or Aaron Rodgers as the number one QB. Mike is quiet and humble, so he doesn’t get attention from media of some d-bag in a larger fan base. I guarantee the opposing teams are aware of his abilities and where he stands.
Just saying things Bucs fans have known for years. The love will come pouring in if Mike gets +1000 the next two seasons. He’ll be second to only Rice in total 1,000 yard seasons.
1,000 YARDS is not some epic number Buc fans believe it to be. Mike needs to consistently be in the 1200-1300 range to get the recognition fans are seeking for him. Through 8 years he’s only been top 10 in yards 3 times.
Hitting 1,000 yards by 35 yards in 21, 6 yards in 2020, 1 yard in 2017 and 51 yards his rookie year is not impressive. He’s consistently good but rarely great.
Anyone who thinks he’s top 5 doesn’t watch much football outside of the Bucs
@It’s A Bucs Life
It’s not JUST about the yardage, it’s the level of consistency and hitting that mark every season of his career and you left the 75 scores out of your rant, but that factors in as well. We’re talking about a WR that’s not turning 30 until August of 2023, being HOF worthy. Also, for the sake of comparison if we’re talking top 5 WRs over a 5-6 year time span, you can’t make that list WITHOUT Mike Evans. So all the younger, en vogue WRs wouldn’t but that’s whose considered “better” than Mike Evans when they haven’t been in the league long enough to do what Evans is doing. Evans ranks 4th amongst active WRs in Yardage and he’s tops in terms of receiving scores? please, what other criteria matters determining who’s a top 5 WR if not scoring and accumulated yardage?
Locked in for the HOF. Especially now that he has a ring.
@Its a Bucs life . Have you ever heard Tom Brady’s answer when asked who the best player he’s ever played with ?
I’d much rather have 1,000 yards and 13 TD’s than 1,500 yards and 3 TD’s
He doesnt get the recognition because he isnt a flashy, jackwagon like most of the diva receivers. He is a statistic machine, so all of this nit picking over the numbers is laughable. Team first player, best player, consistent for almost a decade, and on team friendly deals. Shackle the other top receivers with Glennon, McClown, Fitzmagic, and Jameis and lets see how they would have produced, and in particular on teams with historically bad passing defenses.
@itsabucslife you are crazy he did it even when the QB wasn’t the best the reason he isnt getting the recognition he deserves simply was that the bucs weren’t a good team for a very long time(lovante David also suffers from this) but he was always elite and still is. The consistency he has shown no matter who is the backfield is apart of what makes him special are you even a buc fan geez go bucs.
BucsLife – your mom must have dropped you on your head a lot as an infant. And a toddler. And a teenager. What a moron.
Hope he is getting his Hamstrings ready.
When healthy, one of the greatest. Would love to see him avoid those leg injuries that pop up every season. He has improved tremendously on getting behind defenses last couple of years. His days as a “jump ball” WR have evolved into a WR that catches the ball on the move.
Due to his size, you don’t see the yards after contact but that is something that isn’t going to change as he is long legged. He does remind me of a slightly slower version of Randy Moss.
SMDH @ It’s a Bucs life. Funny that you say some people don’t watch enough football. Better to laugh at you than attempt to ridicule you.
It’saBucsLife…Seriously, dude? Go through Evans career QBs. And with Brady, he still breaking multiple records each year with a plethora of other pass catchers.
I think what hurts Mike Evans is yards after carch. Very rarely does he have any.
BucsLife deserves all the ridicule she gets.
LOL. Thanks for mentioning that, Dooley! I’d like to see the stats on who has the most PI’s against Mike. You can always count on a few per game. I have been amazed at how he gets so many.
I’ll still wager any amount he doesn’t get in.
He’ll be 15-20 after some other WRs pass during the 5 years he is retired.
The streak is worthless. No one cares that will be voting.
He is very good even great but not HOF worthy
If Mike played in dallas or new york he would be the second coming of Jerry Rice. The (mostly) buffoonish national sports media have their little cliques and they tout their guys over far more deserving players. Our players have always had to be above and beyond lesser players in order to get any recognition. Look no further than the newest crop of supposed hall of famers that will be inducted this year. Every single one of thier careers pales in comparison to Barbers. A few years back when Brian freaking Dawkins made it in before Lynch and Barber, I knew the fix was in. I mean, Dawkins was a nice player, but Ronde had better safety stats whle playing corner than Dawkins did playing safety. It is what it is and life ain’t fair, but it still pi$$es me off. The nerve of these clowns!
It’s a Bucs life
Sorry dude, you could not be more wrong. You are looking at other receivers you say… What you’re looking at our guys several inches shorter and faster. That’s what people envision. In today’s NFL they envision a speedy receiver flying out to the open, going deep and never being caught. Evans is not that type of receiver. In fact there are several types of receivers. You and many others just have a perception that only one type can be a top-five receiver. I’ll take a possession guy who catches most everything near him and scores more touchdowns than anyone else over most of them
Wow was going to pile on Buc life, but everyone already ? him.
Mike C Says: “Wow was going to pile on Buc life, but everyone already ? him.” . .
LOL. Whatever needs to be said, already said.
T Rex, I would take that bet
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