“You want that guy”: Stefon Diggs through the eyes of his former coaches

[2003Contenders]

31 minutes ago, Phil The Thrill said:

Lofton had a checkered past.  We’ll leave it at that.

Yep. And I love Andre but he could be a bit of a diva at times too.

[Chandler#81]

57 minutes ago, Phil The Thrill said:

Lofton had a checkered past.  We’ll leave it at that.

Does it need be said then, trouble-maker?

[Hapless Bills Fan]

56 minutes ago, Binghamton Beast said:

We had two Hall of Famers that weren’t. Reed and Lofton.

 

Lofton for reals had a past.
 

https://www.nytimes.com/1992/01/19/sports/pro-football-the-decline-and-return-of-james-lofton.html

 

https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1986-12-19-8604040767-story.html

There was talk at the time that there had been other incidents which were hushed up

 

 

[Mr. WEO]

2 hours ago, folz said:

 

 

 

I'm not worried at all about Diggs in that sense. Plus the media blows everything out of proportion. Remember before the draft, how Josh was being treated like a horrible, racist person because of some old tweet. I think we can all see how far off base that was about Josh. I think Diggs and the Bills are a perfect marriage.

 

 

 

What did they blow out of proportion?  The guy made his thoughts clear, blew off practices and meetings for which he paid $200,000, he tantrumed on the sideline to his OC during an early season game, he threw his helmet at the sideline after no targets in the 1st half of a playoff game.

 

What were you referring to?

 

 

[ndirish1978]

3 hours ago, QB Bills said:

I didn't read the article, but I imagine it mirrors what's been said about all diva wide receivers at some point. "The guy only acts like a dick because he's super competitive". Blah blah blah..

 

Truth is, Diggs has been a head case on more than one occasion recently. If the Bills can control that, then I'm sure we'll all consider this a great trade. If he continues to B word and moan, giving up a first round pick for him won't be looked upon so fondly.

 

Having said that, he's a great talent and depending on Allen's progression, could catapult the offense into making the Bills a legit contender. 

 

If you didn't read it then don't comment.

[QB Bills]

8 minutes ago, ndirish1978 said:

 

If you didn't read it then don't comment.

But I already did. You actually read my comment and replied to it too.

 

This rule of yours should have been declared at the outset so the rest of us plebs could have known how to best act. 

[Beast]

37 minutes ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

Lofton for reals had a past.
 

https://www.nytimes.com/1992/01/19/sports/pro-football-the-decline-and-return-of-james-lofton.html

 

https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1986-12-19-8604040767-story.html

There was talk at the time that there had been other incidents which were hushed up

 

 

So, he was charged and acquitted of a crime. He was cut because it was a different day and he played in a tiny community. 

 

I’m not sure how that equals “Diva”, though we may have a different idea as to what that term means?

Lofton always seemed to me like a complete team player.
 

[JOE IN HAMPTON ROADS]

Maybe the Diggs rumors came from the same place as Allen's ill-advised tweets?

 

I see a pattern ... 

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

8 hours ago, Buffalo Barbarian said:

 

sounds great but he better not need 15 touches a game to feel appreciated.

 

 

As a fan I would appreciate him getting 15 touches per game 

[MJS]

11 hours ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

I like Kirk Cousins from what I know, but he strikes me as a bit cerebral and insular - he got the Redskins to give him his own office off the locker room, ferpetesake. 

 

Wow, I didn't know that.

39 minutes ago, Over 29 years of fanhood said:

As a fan I would appreciate him getting 15 touches per game 

Yes, and variety is key. A tap pass or two, a couple screens, a couple deep passes, and the rest in the short to intermediate range. Don't just have him run deep every play.

[Buffalo Barbarian]

3 hours ago, Over 29 years of fanhood said:

As a fan I would appreciate him getting 15 touches per game 

 

Teams would lock him down which would open other guys up, who hopefully capitalize, but does he grow frustrated with a lack of production and then blame Allen or offense for his failure??

 

 

[folz]

6 hours ago, Mr. WEO said:

 

 

What did they blow out of proportion?  The guy made his thoughts clear, blew off practices and meetings for which he paid $200,000, he tantrumed on the sideline to his OC during an early season game, he threw his helmet at the sideline after no targets in the 1st half of a playoff game.

 

What were you referring to?

 

 

 

I'm not saying they misrepresented what he did at the time that it happened. It was more about them representing him as a prima dona, diva, me first player at the time of the trade. Every article I read threw in a caveat like "if the Bills can keep him happy" "if Diggs doesn't act up, play the diva, not buy in, get frustrated with Josh Allen's inaccuracies," etc., etc.

 

Was he frustrated and did he want out of Minnesota? Yes. Did he maybe handle the situation poorly last September? Yes. But I just believe the frustrations came from wanting to win, not because he is a selfish, prima dona receiver who is always acting up. He was not alone in his frustrations. At the time, in the same game that Diggs got frustrated and then followed it up by missing those meetings/practices (a 16-6 loss to the Bears in week 4), Thielen was also visibly upset on the field and later called Cousins out in the media. And three of the four Diggs incidents you mentioned all happened during and after this game (over a 4-day period). And then, even though everyone knew he wasn't happy in Minnesota, he was a quiet and good soldier the rest of the season (until throwing his helmet in the playoff game---but is that so unforgivable?) and he produced for them all year. In his 5 years in the league, he didn't have any other issues, was a hard worker, a good locker room and team guy. I just don't think that it is any type of chronic diva behavior that he will bring to the Bills.

 

So, what happened last year? Was it just a me-first receiver wanting the ball more because he's a diva? Or was it something bigger?

 

Well, in 2018, Diggs and Thielen averaged 9.3 and 9.56 targets a game, respectively, and had 1,021 and 1,373 yards on the season. Then... 

 

           "Zimmer overhauled Minnesota’s offense this year (2019) to focus on the running game, bringing in zone-blocking wizard Gary Kubiak as an adviser

            and installing a game plan that calls for passing as infrequently as possible. They are executing that plan. The Vikings are attempting the fewest

            passes per game in the league (24.75), are the only squad that has thrown fewer than 100 passes in four games, and are one of two teams with

            more run attempts than pass attempts. On the passes Cousins is throwing, he isn’t providing much value. He’s 32nd of 33 qualifying quarterbacks

            in ESPN’s total quarterback rating, essentially tied with the Jets’ Luke Falk."

https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2019/10/3/20897444/minnesota-vikings-stefon-diggs-trade-rumors-kirk-cousins-adam-thielen

 

Also from that article,

 

         "Cousins is the least aggressive quarterback in the league with just 8.1 percent of his passes going into tight windows (defined as a defender being

          within 1 yard of the receiver when the ball arrives)...So not only are the Vikings not passing often, but Cousins isn’t trusting Thielen and Diggs to come

          down with the ball like the offense did with Keenum and Shurmur."

 

         "Minnesota’s run-focused game plan is curious considering the team gave Cousins an unprecedented fully guaranteed three-year, $84 million contract

          and signed Diggs, Thielen, and tight end Kyle Rudolph to healthy extensions in the past 18 months. Minnesota is one of 11 teams that spends over 10

          percent of its salary cap on receivers and is spending the second-highest percentage of its cap at quarterback in 2019. The Vikings’ front-office plan

          and their on-field strategy are akin to two halves of a brain that cannot speak to each other. Making matters worse is that Cousins has failed to deliver

         in the handful of moments he’s been asked to."

 

          Referring to that Bears game: "Midway through the third quarter of Sunday’s game, Diggs and receiver Adam Thielen had fewer combined targets than

          fullback C.J. Ham."

 

         “Everybody’s frustrated right now,” Zimmer said this week when asked about Diggs and Thielen. “When you lose and you don’t play well enough to win,

          everybody’s  frustrated. Wasn’t just those two guys.”

 

To me, it was an entire team philosophy issue and not just with Diggs. It wasn't Stefon just saying I want more balls so I can be on more highlights. Diggs and Thielen were the strength of that team and they weren't using them at all and in the process losing to the Bears 16-6. He wasn't saying give me the ball, he was saying we need to use our passing game to win. And it was the one and only time in his career that he did something like that. It wasn't consistent behavior.

 

I'll end this extremely long post with a quote from a different article that is a really good read on the topic and very fair (as far as looking at both sides of the issue).

 

         "Diggs had never been given any type of lazy label like “diva,” nor had he been a “culture” problem until Week 4’s 16-6 loss to the Bears in which the

         offense was abysmal and the Vikings lost to Chase Daniel. Losing that game was peak frustration, even though he’s put up impressive numbers that

          day (seven catches for 108 yards)."

 

         "Now Diggs will have to deal with the diva label and the notion that he’s bad for his new team’s culture. Labels are lazy. "

 

https://www.skornorth.com/vikings-2/2020/03/what-happened-between-the-vikings-and-stefon-diggs/

 

[Mr. WEO]

5 hours ago, folz said:

 

I'm not saying they misrepresented what he did at the time that it happened. It was more about them representing him as a prima dona, diva, me first player at the time of the trade. Every article I read threw in a caveat like "if the Bills can keep him happy" "if Diggs doesn't act up, play the diva, not buy in, get frustrated with Josh Allen's inaccuracies," etc., etc.

 

Was he frustrated and did he want out of Minnesota? Yes. Did he maybe handle the situation poorly last September? Yes. But I just believe the frustrations came from wanting to win, not because he is a selfish, prima dona receiver who is always acting up. He was not alone in his frustrations. At the time, in the same game that Diggs got frustrated and then followed it up by missing those meetings/practices (a 16-6 loss to the Bears in week 4), Thielen was also visibly upset on the field and later called Cousins out in the media. And three of the four Diggs incidents you mentioned all happened during and after this game (over a 4-day period). And then, even though everyone knew he wasn't happy in Minnesota, he was a quiet and good soldier the rest of the season (until throwing his helmet in the playoff game---but is that so unforgivable?) and he produced for them all year. In his 5 years in the league, he didn't have any other issues, was a hard worker, a good locker room and team guy. I just don't think that it is any type of chronic diva behavior that he will bring to the Bills.

 

So, what happened last year? Was it just a me-first receiver wanting the ball more because he's a diva? Or was it something bigger?

 

Well, in 2018, Diggs and Thielen averaged 9.3 and 9.56 targets a game, respectively, and had 1,021 and 1,373 yards on the season. Then... 

 

           "Zimmer overhauled Minnesota’s offense this year (2019) to focus on the running game, bringing in zone-blocking wizard Gary Kubiak as an adviser

            and installing a game plan that calls for passing as infrequently as possible. They are executing that plan. The Vikings are attempting the fewest

            passes per game in the league (24.75), are the only squad that has thrown fewer than 100 passes in four games, and are one of two teams with

            more run attempts than pass attempts. On the passes Cousins is throwing, he isn’t providing much value. He’s 32nd of 33 qualifying quarterbacks

            in ESPN’s total quarterback rating, essentially tied with the Jets’ Luke Falk."

https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2019/10/3/20897444/minnesota-vikings-stefon-diggs-trade-rumors-kirk-cousins-adam-thielen

 

Also from that article,

 

         "Cousins is the least aggressive quarterback in the league with just 8.1 percent of his passes going into tight windows (defined as a defender being

          within 1 yard of the receiver when the ball arrives)...So not only are the Vikings not passing often, but Cousins isn’t trusting Thielen and Diggs to come

          down with the ball like the offense did with Keenum and Shurmur."

 

         "Minnesota’s run-focused game plan is curious considering the team gave Cousins an unprecedented fully guaranteed three-year, $84 million contract

          and signed Diggs, Thielen, and tight end Kyle Rudolph to healthy extensions in the past 18 months. Minnesota is one of 11 teams that spends over 10

          percent of its salary cap on receivers and is spending the second-highest percentage of its cap at quarterback in 2019. The Vikings’ front-office plan

          and their on-field strategy are akin to two halves of a brain that cannot speak to each other. Making matters worse is that Cousins has failed to deliver

         in the handful of moments he’s been asked to."

 

          Referring to that Bears game: "Midway through the third quarter of Sunday’s game, Diggs and receiver Adam Thielen had fewer combined targets than

          fullback C.J. Ham."

 

         “Everybody’s frustrated right now,” Zimmer said this week when asked about Diggs and Thielen. “When you lose and you don’t play well enough to win,

          everybody’s  frustrated. Wasn’t just those two guys.”

 

To me, it was an entire team philosophy issue and not just with Diggs. It wasn't Stefon just saying I want more balls so I can be on more highlights. Diggs and Thielen were the strength of that team and they weren't using them at all and in the process losing to the Bears 16-6. He wasn't saying give me the ball, he was saying we need to use our passing game to win. And it was the one and only time in his career that he did something like that. It wasn't consistent behavior.

 

I'll end this extremely long post with a quote from a different article that is a really good read on the topic and very fair (as far as looking at both sides of the issue).

 

         "Diggs had never been given any type of lazy label like “diva,” nor had he been a “culture” problem until Week 4’s 16-6 loss to the Bears in which the

         offense was abysmal and the Vikings lost to Chase Daniel. Losing that game was peak frustration, even though he’s put up impressive numbers that

          day (seven catches for 108 yards)."

 

         "Now Diggs will have to deal with the diva label and the notion that he’s bad for his new team’s culture. Labels are lazy. "

 

https://www.skornorth.com/vikings-2/2020/03/what-happened-between-the-vikings-and-stefon-diggs/

 

 

 

Look, every player wants to win.  The problems with Cousins's performance in the beginning of the season are well documented.

 

But, as frustrated as all of the Vikings were, how many skipped meetings and practices because of their "frustration"?  How many were fined $200,000 for their "desire to win"?  How many Bills acted out this way at any point in the season when the offense regularly struggled to score points (same scenario as in Minny)?

 

Diggs acted out when things were bad in the beginning of the season when Vikes were struggling.....and at the end of the season during a playoff game (which they won).

 

So, yes, it is yet to be seen "if the Bills can keep him happy"---it says so in the quotes by others in the article YOLO posted at the top of the thread.  How many other Bills players does the coaching staff have to be sure they "earn" their trust?  Did the Bills have to earn the trust of Cole Beasely?  Brown? 

 

All people commenting on Diggs, even i support, suggest he needs some sort of special handling....because his actions have made it clear he does.  He created all of this.  The press is simply reporting the obvious.

[Hebert19]

I think he will bond with allen very well because they are both alpha dogs that will do anything to win.  Cousins will check down when they need 10 yards and that's what diggs will appreciate the most about allen...he will run for 10 yards.  Throw it past the sticks and will do whatever it takes to win.  I'm excited to see these 2 fire up the O this year.  

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

8 hours ago, Buffalo Barbarian said:

 

Teams would lock him down which would open other guys up, who hopefully capitalize, but does he grow frustrated with a lack of production and then blame Allen or offense for his failure??

 

 

Watch him play. He’s not going to be locked down very easily. He is super versatile can separate anywhere on the route tree.
 

he can beat you deep, Make contested deep catches, win slants, generate RAC from bubbles,  jet sweeps.

 

he is one of if not the most complete wr in the game right now imo. 

11 hours ago, MJS said:

 

Wow, I didn't know that.

Yes, and variety is key. A tap pass or two, a couple screens, a couple deep passes, and the rest in the short to intermediate range. Don't just have him run deep every play.

he can do it all. 

[Alphadawg7]

21 hours ago, QB Bills said:

I didn't read the article, but I imagine it mirrors what's been said about all diva wide receivers at some point. "The guy only acts like a dick because he's super competitive". Blah blah blah..

 

Truth is, Diggs has been a head case on more than one occasion recently. If the Bills can control that, then I'm sure we'll all consider this a great trade. If he continues to B word and moan, giving up a first round pick for him won't be looked upon so fondly.

 

Having said that, he's a great talent and depending on Allen's progression, could catapult the offense into making the Bills a legit contender. 

☝️☝️☝️ This is such a gross exaggeration of the “issues” with Diggs.  Where do you guys come up with such an extreme description of “issues”?  I mean he went out and played to a high level all year.  He carried the offense when Theilen got hurt for a chunk of the season.  He had been no where near the level of a “problem” some posters here keep making him out to be.

 

What I fear is going to happen, is that every word, gesture, etc this guy does as a Bill is going to be so grossly over scrutinized so some people can point at him and say “See, told you he’s a problem and it was dumb to trade a first for him”.  
 

Diggs is a stud.  He’s gonna be a stud here.  This is a great trade for both him and us.  We needed badly a player with the same level of fire and competitiveness that Josh has.  These two are going to be great together.  

[Logic]

17 hours ago, QB Bills said:

But I already did. You actually read my comment and replied to it too.

 

This rule of yours should have been declared at the outset so the rest of us plebs could have known how to best act. 

 

Completely ignoring the substance of a post, then insisting on injecting your sage wisdom on the subject anyway.

 

Very “2020 American” of you.

[\GoBillsInDallas/]

On 3/28/2020 at 10:36 AM, YoloinOhio said:

“You want that guy”

 

 

[ColoradoBills]

I didn't lose any sleep of the "Ed Oliver is problem child" comments and I'm not losing any sleep over Diggs.

 

I'll leave this in McDermott's hands.

[MJS]

9 hours ago, Alphadawg7 said:

☝️☝️☝️ This is such a gross exaggeration of the “issues” with Diggs.  Where do you guys come up with such an extreme description of “issues”?  I mean he went out and played to a high level all year.  He carried the offense when Theilen got hurt for a chunk of the season.  He had been no where near the level of a “problem” some posters here keep making him out to be.

 

What I fear is going to happen, is that every word, gesture, etc this guy does as a Bill is going to be so grossly over scrutinized so some people can point at him and say “See, told you he’s a problem and it was dumb to trade a first for him”.  
 

Diggs is a stud.  He’s gonna be a stud here.  This is a great trade for both him and us.  We needed badly a player with the same level of fire and competitiveness that Josh has.  These two are going to be great together.  

Yeah, Diggs basically did nothing besides miss a couple practices and NOT deny to the media that he asked for a trade. He's like a freakin angel compared to many other diva WR's (all of whom fans have been clamoring to trade for).