Enjoy a few more rounds of Mike Evans vs. Marshon Lattimore

TAMPA – Baker Mayfield knows about the fights between Mike Evans and Marshon Lattimore.

He knows tackle Tristan Wirfs is tasked with keeping the Bucs receiver from tackling the Saints cornerback after a play is over.

He knows that Evans was sent off once and served two one-game suspensions for blindside Lattimore twice after a play, causing him to lose more than $100,000 in fines.

But Mayfield may be just like the rest of us. “I don’t want anything to be held back,” the quarterback said when asked about the feud.

Say what you will, this fight is in its eighth season and it's one of the best in the NFL.

It's Ali Frazier. Or at least sometimes Tonya Harding versus Nancy Kerrigan.

At this point, Evans is simply a better player than Lattimore. Even in his 11th year, he is the Bucs' greatest offensive weapon and offensive coordinator Liam Coen wants to get going early and often.

A series of injuries have hampered some of Lattimore's skills, which made him the 2017 Defensive Rookie of the Year and a four-time Pro Bowl player.

But that makes Lattimore even more dangerous. If they leave him alone with Evans, he will likely hold onto the phone, be overly physical with him, and possibly provoke him.

It doesn't take much bait to trigger Evans. He believed Lattimore hit running back Leonard Fournette and pushed quarterback Tom Brady in 2022. So he crashed into Lattimore, sparking a brief melee that led to his ejection.

In 2017, Evans saw Lattimore tackle quarterback Jameis Winston after a play. Winston wasn't even in the game, just on the sidelines. In that case, Evans hit Lattimore from behind and the league later suspended him for one game.

For the most part, Lattimore has held his own against Evans, whose only 100-yard receiving game came against the Saints when he had seven catches for 147 yards and a touchdown in the 2018 season opener.

At 31, Evans said he has grown over the years and knows he can't hurt the team.

But don't expect the physical battle to stop at the line of scrimmage. Like Mayfield said, Evans won't hold anything back.

“As long as it’s, you know, in the piece,” Evans said. “I've done a poor job in the past and managed to go through the play when I shouldn't have. But I'm more mature now and our team is focused on winning the ball and you can't win the ball if you get thrown out and things like that.

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“But I definitely want to have that fire and be physical, and a little chirping never hurts. But you definitely have to be smart.”

Logan Hall breaks out

Look who leads the Bucs in sacks.

Defensive tackle Logan Hall, the Bucs' second-round pick (33rd overall) in 2022, is off to the best start of his NFL career. He has three sacks, including two in Thursday night's game in Atlanta.

“The difference between the Logan we're talking about now and the Logan before is the fact that he's making plays now and he wasn't making plays before,” running game coordinator/defensive coach Kacy Rodgers said. “He’s kind of the same guy. He did his job, but he didn't produce that much as far as directing plays.

“But now he’s doing his job and making plays. The thing is, you just see the growth that happens with young players. But you see the growth. We have to keep going in the right direction.”

A lot of the pressure the Bucs face comes from the interior line with Vita Vea and Hall. Calijah Kancey is expected to play his first game on Sunday while recovering from a calf injury.

Hall gained a lot of weight in the offseason and improved his technique.

“I just try to enjoy the game,” Hall said. “Play fast. Everything won't be perfect. I think fun was the main thing for me.

“I use the same movements. I would say I’ve gotten better in my technique, but the technique remains the same.”

But is his performance sustainable?

“He is coming. We always knew he was a good athlete, but it took some time for him to get his pass out,” said head coach Todd Bowles. “He talks to (Vea) a lot, he talks to Kancey a lot on the sidelines about how he's supposed to attack these guys and what he wants to do to them – less swimming technique and more hands for strength, and then he uses his moves at the end and his athleticism.

“I think it’s sustainable. I think him coming every week and him seeing it now gives him more confidence and we're just looking forward to him getting better.”

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