The Death of a Bromance: Diggs/Thielen Exchange Goodbyes on Social Media
Joe Johnson
|
Vikings receiver Stefon Diggs is only a few days removed from forcing his way off the team that believed in him enough to draft him/paid him a massive contract despite:
- Never making the Pro Bowl
- At the time of the signing of his deal having eclipsed 1,000 yards,
- Having missed multiple games per season (again up until that point).
- His apparent jealousy of having to share the spotlight with Adam Thielen.
While the last point above regarding Thielen I s me… I don’t want to say speculating, as it’s not just making an educated guess but instead connecting the dots.
If you’ve paid any attention to Diggs’ cycle of social media nonsense. You are probably won’t be surprised that Diggs did what he always does after crapping on the … what does he call it below? SKOL Nation (or something)? As he and Thielen just posted some pleasantries about one another on Instagram.
Or rather, Thielen did and Diggs replied. That speaks volumes.
First. Diggs is yet again trying to have it both ways. He wanted out of Minnesota, so any talk about missing/appreciating/not defining narcissism almost to a T is just him trying to limit any negative Impact HIS behavior might have on his brand.
Now that Diggs has forced his way off the team Antonio Brown style, it’s safe to say that his inability to share the limelight with anyone was the impetus for his behavior and so any posts about Thielen and their inside jokes is more infuriating than heart warming (especially because he responded to Thielen, not the other way around).
Not to say I’m surprised, even though, every time Diggs would act out like a petulant child (that is somehow worth tens of millions of dollar) on social media, he’d follow it up with some half-assed deflection or explanation (“Somehow I didn’t have a shirt (side note: Haha. WHAT?!?) so I borrowed a Cardinals one from my brother who has no connection to the Cardinals”).
Then he’d post some emotionally manipulative post on Twitter or Instagram of him and Thielen riding a tandem bike or sharing a malt with two straws.
So, it’s a bit surprising he wasn’t proactive here.
I’ll just cut to the chase and show you what I mean (images courtesy of Bleacher Report):
Thielen also sent out a post that’ll make you even more misty eyed than I’m sure you already are (because of the pink eye we’ve all received from the fecal matter Diggs threw in our face).
If Diggs felt any of that he wouldn’t have done what he did. Some of you are right. His behavior completely changed after Cousins arrived, but not for the reason(s) you think.
Diggs had over 100 catches in 2018, the first year Cousins was here (which almost 20 more than his peak of 84 in 2016. These weren’t dink and dunk passes, either, as he was half-a-yard short of his average yards per catch.
Then there was 2019.
His catches went down significantly. but he had the highest yardage total of his career by reaching over 1,100 yards. Just look at his year-by-year stats (courtesy of a small new start-up company that probably won’t make it, called Google. Which I believe is Dutch for phone book):
Hmm…
Almost half his career total for yards came after Cousins joined the team. His 15 touchdowns since 2018 match the 15 he had the three seasons prior. He massively increased his average yard per catch total in 2019, with nearly 18 yards (17.9 to be exact) against his max of 13.8 as a rookie.
Keep in mind that this was all done by Cousins with next to no time in the “pocket”, or whatever you’d call the lack of a pocket the 27th ranked line gave him (a pouch?).
So, maybe he should post something about Cousins?
Bur I said above that Diggs’ behavior changed after Cousins arrived and I believe that after the miracle that was the… Minneapolis Miracle, Diggs’ always apparent ego grew so big that it had its own gravitational pull.
Then, the 2018 season started with new Vikings quarter Kirk Cousins developing more chemistry (at the time) with Adam Thielen than him. How could that be? Didn’t Cousins hear about Diggs’ miracle?
Forget, again, that Diggs has had 45% of his career catches in the two seasons since Cousins arrived. Or any of the above stuff. Diggs just couldn’t handle not being the focal point, and it’s not like he and Thielen really started as equals. Thielen developed over time, where as Diggs was clearly the guy right away after he was drafted.
I know what some of you are thinking (and are going to tell me on social media). It doesn’t matter, I guess. Why analyze this situation further?
Tell that to a mortician.
He did thank fans/“SKOL Nation” on Instagram and Twitter, although he also posted some more cryptic nonsense about tables turning and “bridges burning” as if he wasn’t the person Turning the table so the side with gas and matches can ignite that bridge.
While I’ll miss what he can do on the field, man am I glad that I won’t have to cover his platitudes that he uses to legitimize and justify his incredibly selfish behavior.
I mean. Name any other WR who FIVE years into their career has yet to make the Pro Bowl, missed multiple games over his first few years and again… Well, I’ll let Diggs from after his post Minneapolis Miracle 5-year extension (that paid him like a top 10 receiver):
“I want to be here. I love being here,” Diggs said. “I love being a part of this organization. They took a chance on me early.”
Funny how things change, eh?
He’s not wrong. For once. They did take a chance in every sense of the word. So, this is how he repays them?
Yuck.