Evans Eatin’

With Chris Godwin out of the lineup due to a mild concussion, almost every other receiver in the Tampa Bay offense dropped a pass on Sunday, leaving Brady short on reliable targets outside of Mike Evans. Even Evans dropped his first target of the day, but rebounded to grab seven passes for 104 yards and a touchdown.

Evans’ first big play of the day was a 50-yard completion from Brady on the Bucs’ second drive of the game, the play that really sparked their offense into a first half hot streak.

The Panthers drop into a Tampa 2 zone defense on 2nd-and-14, with the field safety widening off the hash to leave a lot of space in the middle of the field. Evans takes his route about 20 yards vertical before bending inside, forcing the linebacker to get more depth in his drop than he can handle. Brady throws a perfect pass over the defender and Evans is off-and-running for a huge, 50-yard gain.

Right after the Antoine Winfield, Jr. strip-sack that set the Bucs up at the Panthers 23-yard line, offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich went right to the end zone in an aggressive play-call that was executed beautifully by Brady and Evans. Evans tries to hit Jackson with a double-move, but the third-year cornerback doesn’t fall for it, staying on top of the route.

As Evans accelerates downfield, Jackson anticipates a fade and turns his back to the receiver, overplaying the vertical route. Brady quickly converts the pass to a back-shoulder throw and Evans easily reels in the pass for a touchdown. Jackson had to watch it on the Jumbotron after getting turned around on the play.

These throws get forgotten in a long NFL game, but this third-and-5 conversion to Evans required one heck of a throw from Brady due to tight coverage and Evans not having a ton of room before he hit the sideline. Terrific work from quarterback and receiver to time up perfectly. Nice to see that duo building rapport.

Through two weeks, Brady has shown no attachment or inclination to throw to any one player over another, getting five receivers, three running backs and two tight ends targets already. Yes, Evans was clearly the top dog for the Bucs this past week, but Carolina curiously left him one-on-one a lot in the game, and Brady made them pay.

If defenses are going to roll coverages to Evans and/or Godwin this season, Brady will have zero hesitation giving guys like Miller or Justin Watson or the tight ends opportunities to make plays. If those guys continue to play well, Tampa Bay’s passing game will be really hard to stop.

Offensive Notes

Bucs RT Tristan Wirfs – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

• I thought four of the Bucs’ five offensive linemen played extremely well against a clearly over-matched Panthers defensive front already missing Kawann Short. Cappa’s ascension at right guard continues to be under-discussed, and Wirf’s play at right tackle through two weeks is rare for a rookie. He’s got big tests coming in Weeks 4 and 5 against L.A.’s Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram, and Chicago’s Khalil Mack, but so far so good for Wirfs.

• I’m officially worried about Smith at left tackle. Tougher match-ups are coming, and he does not look ready. He gave up several pressures on Sunday, including a couple on inside spins to Brian Burns, and got beaten around the edge by Efe Obada on Brady’s touchdown pass to Evans, nearly allowing a strip-sack. He’s the weak link right now on the Bucs offense.

• Gronkowski might not be doing a lot in the passing game, but it’s only Week 2, and Brady is spreading the ball around pretty good right now. He got open several times on Sunday, but more importantly is the massive upgrade his blocking has been compared to what the Bucs had last year at tight end. Howard is also blocking much better, which Tampa Bay desperately needs if it is going to continue to run out of heavy personnel.

CLICK ON PAGE 3 TO SEE LEDYARD’S BREAKDOWN OF THE HIGHS AND LOWS OF THE BUCS’ SECONDARY PLAY ON SUNDAY