Bucs’ Bruce Arians Puts Saints Star on Blast for Getting ‘Owned’

Getty Bruce Arians had some complimentary words for Mike Evans.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers may not have defeated the New Orleans Saints in Week 8, but Bruce Arians was impressed by at least one of his players.

According to the Bucs head coach, Mike Evans — who had two receptions for 48 yards and a touchdown in the game — “owned” Saints cornerback Marcus Lattimore.

Arians said as much during an appearance on Bucs Total Access on Thursday, November 4.

“Mike was open a bunch,” Arians said. “Chris [Godwin] was having such a big game, as a quarterback you get a little enamored and you stay away from a guy. Mike really owned him (Lattimore) in this game.”

At first glance, the statistics don’t appear to be too impressive. Obviously, Evans had a huge 41-yard touchdown pass late in the third quarter. But outside of that play, his impact wasn’t felt in on the stat sheet.

However, stats can be misleading. On one particular play early in the second quarter, Evans was open deep after beating Lattimore on what should have been a 44-yard touchdown.

The problem is, Lattimore grabbed Evans’ arm and prevented him from catching the ball. Unfortunately, there was no call.

Arians also made note of this on Bucs Total Access.

“It was a shame because we were wide open for a touchdown and [Evans] got grabbed,” Arians said. “Again, no call. That knocked him off just enough. That would’ve been another big 50-yard touchdown. So I thought Mike played really well.”

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Arians Could Be Trying to Boost Evans’ Morale

While Evans clearly had a big play during the game — and probably should have had another — it’s hard to say that he “owned” Lattimore, as Arians describes it.

At the end of the day, Evans walked away with just two grabs, which was rather consistent when it relates to his history matching up against Lattimore. The Saints cornerback is well-known for shutting down Evans, one of the top receivers in the game.

Prior to matching up versus Lattimore in Week 8, Evans had just nine catches on 20 targets (45.0 percent completion rate) in eight regular season games against the Saints cornerback, according to Pro Football Focus (via Mike Giardi of NFL.com)

Basically, this could be Arians’ attempt at trying to boost the confidence and morale of his top receiver. Considering the Saints are a realistic threat to the Bucs down the road — combined with Evans’ history against Lattimore — having a confident Evans is absolutely key if Tampa Bay is to knock off New Orleans in Week 15.

Arians Leaves Door Open on Gronkowski’s Return

Rob Gronkowski made his long-awaited return against the Saints. But it just didn’t last too long.

The veteran tight end appeared in just six plays and was targeted just once before exiting the game due to back spasms.

While Arians has gone on record as saying that Gronkowski shouldn’t have played in Week 8, he is leaving the door open for his return against the Washington Football Team on Nov. 14 in Week 10. The Buccaneers have a bye week in Week 9.

“It was just going to be red zone stuff,” Arians said on Bucs Total Access. “He jumped out there, got in on a running play and his back spasmed up. It’s just residual from the ribs. So, he got a week off and hopefully he’ll be ready for Washington [on Nov. 14].”

Gronkowski had been sidelined after suffering multiple rib injuries and a punctured lung in Week 3 versus the Los Angeles Rams.

The Buccaneers will hope the bye week helps as their starting tight end looks to return to the lineup healthy in Week 10.