There was a minor dust-up in Sunday's game, one that shouldn't go unnoticed, but not for the reason it might get pitched. During the fourth quarter of what ended up being a comfortable win, Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans became very animated on the sideline after the defense failed to make a third-down stop.
It was something we're not used to seeing out of Evans, which made it hard not to read into at least a little bit. When the team's best offensive player is getting worked up over something a struggling defense did, the dots feel like they connect themselves.
That wasn't the case, at least not to the degree it was made out to be. Evans wasn't pleased, that much is impossible to deny, but head coach Todd Bowles set the record straight about how big of a deal the outbust was and how it's actually not a bad thing.
Todd Bowles comments on Mike Evans' sideline outburst at Buccaneers defense
While speaking with the media this week, Bowles defended Evans and went so far as to endorse his sideline outburst as motivation for the rest of the team to avoid being yelled at.
“He was into it. He’ll yell at defensive guys. Offensive guys, defensive guys that’s what you want. It’s not church here, we’re not going to be standing there getting ready to sing a song," Bowles said.
This might not be what some were expecting, especially the portion of the fan base to which Bowles seemingly always does wrong, but it's the only right answer. Evans did nothing wrong by showing some animation on the sideline, and if anything, it's the sort of fire that the Bucs absolutely must harness and use to heat their playoff run.
What's also notable is that Bowles mentions how Evans gets after offensive guys as well, which seems to be the one side of the ball that gets cut a few more breaks in the discourse than the defense does. Evans expects greatness, and anything less than that is unacceptable which is where the outburst came from.
That's exactly the type of player Bowles or any coach would want on his sideline and it's why he's embracing what happened rather than pushing back. It simply isn't as big of a deal as it seems or might have been made out to be, and if anything is the surest proof of life we've seen out of the team yet.
In back-to-back season the Bucs have fallen into a losing streak, the kind that lesser teams would allow to tear it apart. Once again Tampa Bay is showing fight when other might have folded, which is how we should be veiwing Evans getting fiery on the sideline. The Bucs are back in first place, have control over their own destiny, and cleary have a fire in their belly that shows everyone still care deeply about what happens this season.
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