Tampa Bay Buccaneers WR Mike Evans Bordering On Arrogant Or Does He Just Have A High Standard?

Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans thinks he is one of the best players in the game today, but he is smart enough to recognize that he is not playing as well as he should. Sunday against the Giants he caught eight balls for 152 yards, but he was targeted 19 times and was credited with five drops on the day. In fact, he has the second highest drop rate in the league this season at 17.9 percent (10 drops).

So is he holding himself to a high standard or being arrogant when he says 150 yards is a bad day for him?

This is what Evans had to say to a local reporter:

"My bad days are 150 (yards)," adding: "It's very hard having a historically bad day when it should have been a historically great day."

Most wide receivers would love to have 150 yard days. They are not exactly common; even for the best in the game. Evans has only had three games with 150+ yards during his entire career.

So was it a sign of arrogance that he says a 150 yard day is a bad day? I'm going to say no.

Evans thinks of himself as one of the best and expects himself to play accordingly. I think what he is actually doing is recognizing that his day should have been even better had he caught the five balls that he dropped. If he acted like he thinks he is playing like a superstar than maybe it would be arrogant, but instead he has recognized that he needs to play better.

"I proclaim myself to be one of the best receivers in the game and I'm not showing it," Evans said, per SportsTalkFlorida.com. "I've got to be better for this team, I've gotta put in the work and I'm gonna come back."

It is not unusual for a young player to experience some struggles at this point in his career. The true test for Evans will come over the next few weeks. Do the drops continue or  does he clean up his act?

Tampa Bay fans will certainly be hoping for the latter.

Loading...