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Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds answers your questions from the @PewterReport Twitter account this week in the Bucs Mailbag. Submit your question to the Bucs Mailbag each week via Twitter using the hashtag #PRMailbag.  Here are the Bucs questions we chose to answer for this week’s edition.

QUESTION: If Mike Evans returns for the Giants game do you think he’ll have enough games to hit 1,000 receiving yards this season?

Bucs WR Mike Evans – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

ANSWER: It will be incredibly difficult for Mike Evans to hit 1,000 yards receiving – even if he’s available for the final seven games of the season. We’ll find out this week if the future Hall of Famer is healthy enough to return to action against the Giants in Week 11 or if he’ll have to miss another week due to his hamstring injury. Evans had 26 catches for 335 yards and five touchdowns through the first seven games of the season before missing the last three games with a hamstring injury. Evans was averaging 47.8 yards per game and would need to average 95 yards per game to get the 665 yards necessary to hit 1,000 yards this season.

The problem is that over his 11-year career, Evans has only averaged 74.6 yards per game over the 161 games he’s played in. At age 31, Evans would need to average 21 yards per game more than he’s ever averaged to push his streak of 1,000-yard seasons to 11 seasons. That’s much easier said than done, especially since Evans has not even had a single 100-yard receiving game this year.

Complicating matters is that upon his return, Evans will be a marked man. And there is some peril in trying to do so. Evans will see plenty of double coverage when he returns to action. Forcing the ball to Evans can lead to drive-killing and loss-inducing interceptions. Just ask Jameis Winston, who threw a ton of touchdowns to Evans from 2015-19, but also had plenty of passes intended for No. 13 picked off throwing into a crowd.

Bucs offensive coordinator Liam Coen can’t wait to get him back into the game plan and quarterback Baker Mayfield can’t wait to throw him the ball. At the same time, Coen is focused on moving the ball, scoring touchdowns and putting up enough points to produce wins. This is about making the playoffs as a team, not about achieving personal milestones – as it should be. I don’t think Coen is going to necessarily force feed Evans the ball with the sole purpose of getting him 1,000 yards.

If it happens, it happens. But time and the necessary math is working against Evans. It’s not impossible to do, but it appears a bit improbable right now unless he explodes out of the gate when he returns and has a few monster games, which he’s still capable of producing as long as his hamstring doesn’t flare up again.

QUESTION: The Falcons have now lost three of their last five games, including back-to-back losses to the Saints and Broncos. Do you think the Falcons implode enough for the Bucs to catch them and win another NFC South title?

Bucs HC Todd Bowles and Falcons HC Raheem Morris – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

ANSWER: After losing four of their last five games, including four straight losses, the 4-6 Bucs fell two games behind the Falcons in the NFC South. It was really a three-game lead when you count the fact that Atlanta swept Tampa Bay and has the head-to-head tiebreaker in this situation. But during the Bucs’ bye week, the Falcons lost at Denver, 38-6, on the heels of getting upset by the Saints, and Tampa Bay gained some ground. Atlanta is now 6-5 and Tampa Bay is 1.5 games back – 2.5 when you factor in the tiebreaker.

It’s really simple for the Bucs at this point. If they win out, they’ll need the Falcons to lose a couple more games to finish one game ahead at the end of the season. An 11-6 Bucs team would win the division if the Falcons wound up 10-7. If Atlanta, which has a bye this week, goes 3-3 down the stretch to finish 9-8, then Tampa Bay has to go 6-1 to finish 10-7 in order to win the NFC South for a fourth straight year.

What seemed unlikely a few weeks ago now seems hopeful as long as the Falcons continue to … Falcon. Atlanta’s remaining schedule looks quite challenging as it has three more teams that have winning records in the Los Angeles Chargers, Minnesota and Washington.

Tampa Bay has just one team with a winning record on its remaining schedule – a Week 15 trip to Los Angeles to play the Chargers. The biggest questions are whether or not head coach Todd Bowles can fix the team’s porous defense and if the Bucs can get healthier – and stay healthy – down the stretch. Thanks to two recent losses by Atlanta, the door to another NFC South title in Tampa Bay has been opened.

Falcons’ Remaining Schedule

Week 12 BYE
Week 13 Chargers – 7-3
Week 14 at Vikings – 8-2
Week 15 at Raiders – 2-8
Week 16 vs. Giants – 2-8
Week 17 at Commanders – 7-4
Week 18 vs. Panthers – 3-7

Bucs’ Remaining Schedule

Week 12 at Giants – 2-8
Week 13 at Panthers – 3-7
Week 14 vs. Raiders – 2-8
Week 15 at Chargers – 7-3
Week 16 at Cowboys – 3-6
Week 17 vs. Panthers – 3-7
Week 18 vs. Saints – 4-7

QUESTION: Am I the only one who thinks the best O-line for the next month includes Graham Barton at left tackle and Robert Hainsey at center?

Bucs C Graham Barton – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

ANSWER: I understand the logic in your question, as Bucs rookie center Graham Barton was an all-conference left tackle at Duke over the last few years. With Pro Bowler Tristan Wirfs sidelined with an MCL sprain for the next few weeks, it’s a logical question to ask. I’m all in favor of starting the five most talented offensive linemen – in theory. And I believe backup center Robert Hainsey is not only more talented than swing tackle Justin Skule, but he also has more starting experience.

The problem is that Barton has played all year at center, dating back to training camp and OTAs and rookie mini-camp before then. Outside of a few reps at guard, Barton hasn’t practiced tackle since he played at Duke last fall. Could he do it? Yes, I think he could, and there’s a chance that Barton is the team’s emergency swing tackle in case Skule gets injured because Hainsey could fill in at center.

But the team has invested a lot of time in Barton developing as a center this year and believes he has Pro Bowl potential at the position. I agree with that line of thinking, and moving Barton to tackle for a few weeks while Wirfs is out would stunt his growth at center.

Remember that Skule has started four games this year at right tackle when Luke Goedeke was out and he got better with each game he played. I like the fact that he’s already had some playing time this year and that Skule is actually a better left tackle than he is a right tackle. We’ll see how Skule fares in place of Wirfs and how quickly Wirfs can rehab and return to action.

QUESTION: Todd Bowles has at least a three-game losing streak every season. In 2022 he was a favorable call away from losing six straight games. Good coaches don’t do this every year. I believe the Bucs will rally this season and probably end up 9-8. Will Bowles be kept at the expense of losing offensive coordinator Liam Coen?

ANSWER: This seems to be the biggest Bucs question I get each week – what will happen to offensive coordinator Liam Coen in the offseason? NFL teams are expected to be very interested in hiring the young, hotshot play-caller if he continues to work his magic with the Bucs’ banged up offense down the stretch.

Tampa Bay was surprised that last year’s offensive coordinator, Dave Canales, left for Carolina to be the Panthers head coach after just one season. The team lucked into the fact that Coen is actually a better, more imaginative rookie play-caller than Canales was a year ago. At age 39 and being a product of the Sean McVay coaching tree, Coen will get a head coaching opportunity sooner rather than later.

The only question is whether that will lead Coen out of town or if he stays in Tampa Bay to replace the 61-year old Todd Bowles – either after this season or eventually. I spent a good deal of time addressing this Bowles-Coen situation in Friday’s SR’s Fab 5 column on PewterReport.com. So go ahead and check out that column for a more detailed answer.

QUESTION: Why haven’t we signed that linebacker the Seahawks cut ?

Bucs ILBs Lavonte David and KJ Britt and 49ers RB Christian McCaffrey – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

ANSWER: There’s a reason why the Bucs didn’t sign former Seahawks linebacker Tyrel Dodson and it’s because he was never a free agent. Seattle cut Dodson because the team wanted to go in a different direction and Miami claimed Dodson off waivers. That means he didn’t actually hit free agency and the Bucs didn’t have a chance to sign him.

It’s unclear if Tampa Bay put a waiver claim in for Dodson or not, but there’s no doubt the Bucs could use more help at linebacker. Dodson will be a free agent at the end of this year after signing a one-year, $4 million deal with Seattle in free agency. He’ll get a chance to audition for the Dolphins in the meantime.

There are a few good linebackers in free agency next year, but the 2025 NFL Draft is expected to be weak at the position. A weak linebacker draft could drive prices up in free agency because of the supply and demand issue. Tampa Bay has a pair of free agent linebackers in K.J. Britt and Lavonte David. It’s unlikely that Britt returns next year, and we’ll see if David wants to play another season at age 35.