It is the first time this season that the Bucs will face an opponent that they have already played this year. As the Bucs prepare to square off against the Carolina Panthers, a question that crossed many minds is what happened with Mike Evans in that game?

If you’ll recall, Evans had just one catch for 16 yards despite having 10 targets at Carolina, all while James Bradberry defended him. Monken gave some reason as to why Mike had such a down game, but also went onto say that Mike his having his best season in the NFL.

What has Evans done so well to make his game better? Monken gave further detail.

After not turning the ball over last game, the Bucs will look to continue that trend on Sunday. They have only had two games all season where they didn’t have turnover, week one at New Orleans, and last week. Todd Monken went into how Jameis Winston did a good job of limiting turnover mistakes that have previously plagued him.

One caveat that is different to this Bucs-Panthers game of course, is that Jameis Winston will be the quarterback. Winston was not the starter when they met in Carolina and now gets his first crack at them this season.

Winston has been entirely focused on Carolina, choosing to focus more about their next opponent, then break down how well did in his last game.

The fourth year quarterback has had a lot of time to think about this year, from his suspension, to his benching, and getting a second chance to start. Even more than that, Winston is now a proud father of a baby boy that was born in July.

He discussed how much the birth of his son has changed both his look on life, and how he plays on the field. When Jameis Winston plays, he plays for his son. He’s thankful and blessed to be in this league and provide for his family.

Jameis has been looking be picture as well. His new child has given him perspective that has changed him off the field. It’s clear how much he cares about his son.

During the locker room time, we got hear from S Justin Evans as he returned to practice. Evans confirmed he will be good to go for Sunday, and has put plenty of attention on how to stop Carolina’s biggest weapon, RB Christian McCaffrey.

Evans spoke about the dynamic runner and receiver.

While Evans is back to practice, one player who isn’t is Demar Dotson, though the starting tackle has missed practice before in other weeks and still played. Head Coach Dirk Koetter discussed how practice is in important, but can be a bigger factor for younger players to get practice time like Caleb Benenoch, then veterans like Dotson that have been around the block.

On that topic of practicing, M.J. Stewart might be getting closer to returning to the practice field as he recovers from a foot injury. Koetter said this is the best Stewart has looked in weeks when running.

Koetter has spent every year of Jameis Winston’s NFL career with him, first as an offensive coordinator, then as a head coach. Since he’s been around him so much, Koetter was asked about Winston’s leadership, and Koetter explained what kind of leader he is, and the leader he has become.

The Bucs will look for some payback after losing to Carolina at their home. Now that Winston is at quarterback and the game is on the Bucs field, it may look slightly different this time around. With Carolina dropping two straight and the Bucs having some uncertainty about their future, the stakes are much higher.