Mike Evans is slowly turning into a very good NFL receiver

One of the few bright spots this season has been the play of rookie receiver Mike Evans, who suited up on Sunday despite being in the second week of recovery from a groin injury that was initially projected to take as much as four weeks.

Evans is averaging four catches for 52 yards per game, and has two touchdowns so far. That's a solid performance for a rookie receiver, and on part with the rookie years of players like Andre Johnson (61 yards per game), Calvin Johnson (50 yards per game) and Larry Fitzgerald (49 yards per game). And he's doing so despite not seeing the ball thrown to him quite as often as he probably should.

For a perfect illustration of Mike Evans' quality play, check out this GIF from the Pittsburgh Steelers game, courtesy of Brett Kollman (@BrettKollman) of Battle Red Blog.

This isn't the first time something like that has happened, and it won't be the last. I won't blame Mike Glennon too badly here -- we don't know what his progression was, or if he was even asked to look that way. But it's telling that Evans is wide open with no effort whatsoever.

Similarly, Anthony Becht's film session over at Buccaneers.com this week focused on the things Evans did well in the game, and the ways the Bucs got him the ball. He's slowly but surely turning into a quality NFL receiver, and should get better and better as he gets a better understanding of the nuances of the NFL.

There are plenty of positives for the Bucs this season. They just don't have anything to do with actually winning games.