Tom Brady has had a vastly successful NFL career. With seven Super Bowl titles, he is undoubtedly the face of the sport. But this season has been a series of ups and down. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have been struggling to get wins from the outset.

One particular duo has come under scrutiny. For the past three seasons, Brady and wide receiver Mike Evans have had a decent working connection. After winning a Super Bowl together, there shouldn’t be any second-guessing about whether the two are compatible. But lately, they have given the NFL world reasons to believe that something is amiss. In the Buccaneers’ embarrassing loss to the Cleveland Browns, Evans only had two catches despite being targeted multiple times by Brady.

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There’s no doubt that Evans is in peak form, but his performance has been sub-par. Evans became the first Bucs player to reach 10,000 receiving yards. But the number of incomplete passes that are racking up when he is targeted is alarming.

Tom Brady and Mike Evans’ dwindling connection

Television sports personality Stephen A. Smith offered his thoughts on the matter on his show ‘First Take’. In relation to the Buccaneers’ performance, he said, “I think it was pretty bad, I don’t want to use the word devastating because they’re in the AFC South [sic] and they’ll make the playoffs anyway but any belief that you had in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers has drastically evaporated.” Smith also commented on Brady and Evans’ lack of chemistry. “You’re looking at Mike Evans who was targeted about seven to eight times and has gotten about two receptions, just two receptions for 31 yards and you’re wondering how in God’s name are him and Tom Brady still not on the same page,” he said. But Smith did not put all the blame on Evans.

While saying that Evans looked nothing like his former self this year, he also mentioned that part of his slump has to do with Brady. Smith referred to the ‘distractions‘ the QB had for the better part of the season’s first half. By those distractions, he’s perhaps referring to Brady’s tumultuous personal life. The quarterback’s divorce from Gisele Bündchen was in the spotlight for a very long time. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will have to be in their best form regardless of the past. Currently, they have the top spot in the NFC South. But, they risk choking during the postseason against better teams because of their inconsistency. Do you think Brady and Evans’ lack of chemistry will become a bigger problem?

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