Former Cardinals player sees a lot of Larry Fitzgerald in Stefon Diggs’ drama with Bills
Larry Fitzgerald and Stefon Diggs have a reputation for keeping things respectful and mostly devoid of diva-esque impulses as far as receivers go. However, in the wake of the Buffalo Bills wide receiver's apparent airing of grievances, one former Fitzgerald teammate revealed on ESPN's "First Take" why he saw plenty of carryover between the two stars.
Here's how Sam Acho, a former Bills and Arizona Cardinals player, put it while speaking on the program:
"I played with Larry Fitzgerald (during the) first part of my career. Early in my career, I asked him, 'How do you be great?' He said his mindset (was that) 'it's disrespectful to put me one-on-one, period. I need at least at least two guys on me, and I still want the ball.'"
"Stefon Diggs has that same type of mentality," he added.
Watch Sam Acho talk about it from 3:20 onwards:
Stefon Diggs gets Von Miller-like treatment
Much like a star pass rusher, a star NFL receiver's career arc often falls into the same pattern as a defensive pass rusher. Early on, both positions overlook a player and simply assign them one-on-one coverage. Eventually, the star breaks out as a game-changing player throughout one or more seasons.
Eventually, teams start to build their game plan around beating the pass rusher or receiver, devoting extra resources in the form of double teams. However, where it differs between the two positions is that there's an opportunity for a sack or a tackle for loss on each play.
Receivers don't have that luxury since there is only one ball and one pass on each play.
In other words, even Stefon Diggs relies on getting selected by the quarterback to get the catches to get the statistics for the fame and the massive paydays. As such, they need to get their quarterback's attention, and the method chosen by players creates different results.
For some, the salesman-like attitude leaks into their personality. For others, it takes more of an attention-seeking impact, creating an urge to hold attention for as long as possible in most, if not all, social interactions. Players that fall into the latter bucket choose different options for getting the attention of the team.
All work no play.
Some are direct and raise problems with coaches or players, while others elect to take action before speaking. Most fans saw the latter happen with Diggs, while rumors say he tried the former option first.
At this point, one can only speculate about what happens this preseason and where the offense will stand in Week 1. Was this an isolated thunderstorm or something more?
If any of the above quotes are used, please credit "First Take" and H/T Sportskeeda.