Why is Diggs coming off the field on Third Downs?

[BarleyNY]

Just now, dollars 2 donuts said:

Rubes I came in here a few minutes ago because I saw this on X. Wondering if anyone has any further information. 
 

 

So that’s the multi-million dollar question. Why is he taking himself out?

 

Injury? I just can’t see that. Why would he choose to take himself out in the highest leverage situations if it were that? Also his usage on the field makes little sense if he’s injured.

 

An upset Diggs acting out because he’s upset with the coaches? Possibly. But if this is it, then it is highly likely that the crap will hit the fan this off-season. Until then they’re still married. It is worth watching his usage tomorrow and in the playoffs. I’d think he’d ball out and try to win a championship this season since he has to be here anyways. 

 

Coaches decision? This would mean it’s not Diggs taking himself off the field and the tweet is incorrect. I doubt this is the case unless the coaches are trying to piss off Diggs or his play has severely declined. The former doesn’t seem likely and the latter certainly seems a huge stretch. Diggs is still the best WR on the roster by a wide margin. 

 

I don’t know the answer, but it’s a concerning situation. Not much to do but see how things play out. 

[RunTheBall]

We can all see that Diggs has been taking himself off the field a lot over the last 5 or 6 games outside of the plays where Brady doesn’t have him on the field. There are only 2 reasons he would remove himself from the game

 

1) He’s dinged up

2) He’s quitting on the team

 

Anyone here think Diggs is quitting on the team? IDK, I’ve seen nothing but professionalism from him during his time in Buffalo. Yeah, he’s got some WR diva in him no doubt, can be demonstrative on the sidelines, and there’s been some friction behind the scenes, but I can’t wrap my head around Diggs just quitting on his team. I could be 100% wrong, and god knows I don’t want to believe Diggs is a quitter. I think we will know a lot more after Sunday night.

 

 

 

[dollars 2 donuts]

3 hours ago, BarleyNY said:

So that’s the multi-million dollar question. Why is he taking himself out?

 

Injury? I just can’t see that. Why would he choose to take himself out in the highest leverage situations if it were that? Also his usage on the field makes little sense if he’s injured.

 

An upset Diggs acting out because he’s upset with the coaches? Possibly. But if this is it, then it is highly likely that the crap will hit the fan this off-season. Until then they’re still married. It is worth watching his usage tomorrow and in the playoffs. I’d think he’d ball out and try to win a championship this season since he has to be here anyways. 

 

Coaches decision? This would mean it’s not Diggs taking himself off the field and the tweet is incorrect. I doubt this is the case unless the coaches are trying to piss off Diggs or his play has severely declined. The former doesn’t seem likely and the latter certainly seems a huge stretch. Diggs is still the best WR on the roster by a wide margin. 

 

I don’t know the answer, but it’s a concerning situation. Not much to do but see how things play out. 

 

agreed on the “what is it?” And well put above.

 

Man, Barley, in my would I can’t…CAN’T ever believe he is a just dawg it guy.  It simply isn’t in his DNA.

 

This all plays in, though, to the issues of our passing game. 
 

I DO agree with the GMFB crew/ Schrager…Bills won four games, but they are torching things up and they did struggle…come on now, in earnest, struggled against 2 poor teams.

 

need to get it right on Sunday or potentially else.

 

 

Edited January 6 by dollars 2 donuts

[Kaenon]

We saw Diggs get hurt a couple times this season.

First catch or drop on that bubble screen on our first drive ...forget what game that was.

Maybe someone can help me out.

He was also helped off the field a different game too.

[BarleyNY]

28 minutes ago, dollars 2 donuts said:

 

agreed on the “what is it?” And we’ll put above.

 

Man, Barley, in my would I can’t…CAN’T ever believe he is a just dawg it guy.  It simply isn’t in his DNA.

 

This all plays in, though, to the issues of our passing game. 
 

I DO agree with the GMFB crew/ Schrager…Bills won four games, but they are torching things up and they did struggle…come on now, in earnest, struggled against 2 poor teams.

 

need to get it right on Sunday or potentially else.

 

 

 

Thank you. That’s what’s so difficult about this situation. I never would have thought Diggs would do something like pull himself out of games in high leverage situations. It’s not like him. Likewise it’s career suicide for coaches to pull him. Unless Diggs feels that things just gotten to a breaking point nothing really makes much sense. Regardless I guess we just have to see how it plays out. 

[Jimmy Harris 69]

Without a doubt the guy is hurt. They are being coy so that every DB in the league doesn’t drill the affected area when he is tackled. This is a super competitive, egotistical superstar who gets millions for yards, catches and TDs. The only thing that would limit his usage is his body. Guys play through all kinds of serious injuries that create limits on the practice field and on Sunday. We’ve heard McD talk all around it, it won’t be addressed fully until the off season. Then there will be a collective ahhhhh, he played with that???

[loyal2dagame]

Did Diggs get arrested in OP in the last few weeks for VTL infractions?  

[Scott7975]

The last 3 games his snap counts have nose dived.  Undisclosed nagging injury IMO.  I don't buy into conspiracy theories of a haha we don't need you type of thing.  They aren't going to do that to a captain of a football team.  Diggs body language also does not support this as he is constantly hyping the team.  You can see on film Diggs taking himself out sometimes.

 

I also think some of it might be the Bills trying to on the fly become "multiple on offense."  I think they want to have more answers than Diggs because they need to. You can't rely on just one receiver to be the whole offense. So, they are working on that as the season goes on.  Part of the reason why Dorsey was fired was he wasn't getting this done.

[Billzgobowlin]

My guess is they have more packages without Diggs to keep him fresh and that Diggs run blocking is sub par jmo

[billieve420]

Have to believe it is injury related. The one thing you could count on even when team struggled on offense was the Allen-Diggs connection. If issues had started after training camp and lingered all year then maybe I could buy into other possibilities.

 

I can't believe a competitive player like Diggs would want off the field if he wasn't banged up and the team is trying to manage an injury.

[Johnnyp566]

He’s hurt. No doubt. 

[Beck Water]

1 hour ago, Johnnyp566 said:

He’s hurt. No doubt. 

 

I seem to recall you having a sometimes source.  Am I mistaken on that?

[oldmanfan]

Probably hurting more than we know.  Could be he’s starting to show some age too.

[GaryPinC]

On 1/5/2024 at 4:57 PM, vtnatefootball11 said:

 

It misses the point of the entire post, why is Diggs being schemed off the filed on the most crucial third downs in must win games?

Let's say Diggs has a core injury or problem involving the back/chest.  Painful and impacts his ability to breathe.  Diggs wants to keep playing but the Bills will use him primarily as a decoy to draw coverage and lower the risk of making his injury worse.  I could think of two reasons why he comes off on third down:  He needs to catch his breath or he comes off so Allen has another legitimate receiving target on the most important downs.

 

[vtnatefootball11]

On 1/6/2024 at 2:16 PM, Scott7975 said:

The last 3 games his snap counts have nose dived.  Undisclosed nagging injury IMO.  I don't buy into conspiracy theories of a haha we don't need you type of thing.  They aren't going to do that to a captain of a football team.  Diggs body language also does not support this as he is constantly hyping the team.  You can see on film Diggs taking himself out sometimes.

 

I also think some of it might be the Bills trying to on the fly become "multiple on offense."  I think they want to have more answers than Diggs because they need to. You can't rely on just one receiver to be the whole offense. So, they are working on that as the season goes on.  Part of the reason why Dorsey was fired was he wasn't getting this done.

 

I agree with your bottom paragraph completely.  This doesn't have to be some huge conspiracy.  It could be that the Bills are trying to make sure they can develop ways to win without him (and maybe also he has a nagging injury as well, injury alone doesn't explain it given his odd usage).  That is a little bit of a "we need to show we can win without relying on Diggs" though, not saying the Bills are shoving that in his face, but Bills coaches/Allen may be making a conscious effort not to overuse him and give other receivers chances in big situations.  Maybe Diggs supports this as well and is trying to protect his body (and emotional investment) long term.  Him coming out on crucial third downs (including by design from the Bills staff) is still very odd though, given his competitive nature. Still have yet to hear a great explanation for it. 

 

Edited January 7 by vtnatefootball11

[vtnatefootball11]

14 hours ago, GaryPinC said:

Let's say Diggs has a core injury or problem involving the back/chest.  Painful and impacts his ability to breathe.  Diggs wants to keep playing but the Bills will use him primarily as a decoy to draw coverage and lower the risk of making his injury worse.  I could think of two reasons why he comes off on third down:  He needs to catch his breath or he comes off so Allen has another legitimate receiving target on the most important downs.

 

 

But if his injury is that severe then why are the coaches calling multiple screens (and even handoffs) to him that ensure he takes hits? Why not act a decoy on the most critical passing downs and take two defenders deep with you and clear out the underneath for someone else?  Not to mention, what are the bills risking draft picks/fines to cover the injury up even after being asked about it by the media and scrutiny now on it?  There is more to this than just an injury. Not saying it's some huge conspiracy, but speculating that there could be some discontent that has brewed since the clear display of frustration in the offseason is not crazy, it's an objective question to ask. 

[Thrivefourfive]

I’m going to agree with McCourtney’s perception of things, and just thought dump on it. Diggs numbers during the win streak are the worst stretch of his Bills career. Go figure. 
 

If Diggs was all-in and the Bills were all-in on him, then this team would look even more impression right now. These mind games that go on with this franchise are inching towards counterproductive, but we’ll see. 

Just watch tonight… as Diggs turns it up, and the professional relationship between he and the Bills is restored gets the Bills offensive is FIRED up. Going to be the the talk of the league all week heading into the Playoffs. Could be a BIG storyline — Bills, Super Bowl favorites…
 

I just hope the Bills are mature enough to allow Diggs back in. They do need him to win a championship. They can decide his future afterwards, and I doubt JA17 would have much objection to letting him go and coming up with a plan to re-shelf the top deck of the WR group. 

14 hours ago, GaryPinC said:

Let's say Diggs has a core injury or problem involving the back/chest.  Painful and impacts his ability to breathe.  Diggs wants to keep playing but the Bills will use him primarily as a decoy to draw coverage and lower the risk of making his injury worse.  I could think of two reasons why he comes off on third down:  He needs to catch his breath or he comes off so Allen has another legitimate receiving target on the most important downs.

 

1. Then why is he playing on less significant downs, causing him to need a breather on the most important down? Doesn’t make sense.

 

2. If he’s hurt enough to not be a legitimate target on third down then he’s too hurt to suit up, period. Four straight weeks of being injured but still active? 
 

Sorry, you’re dreaming here. 

[BarleyNY]

Notably Diggs has been in on every 3rd down play in the first quarter. 

[Old Coot]

23 hours ago, GaryPinC said:

Let's say Diggs has a core injury or problem involving the back/chest.  Painful and impacts his ability to breathe.  Diggs wants to keep playing but the Bills will use him primarily as a decoy to draw coverage and lower the risk of making his injury worse.  I could think of two reasons why he comes off on third down:  He needs to catch his breath or he comes off so Allen has another legitimate receiving target on the most important downs.

You may be onto something here.  Has Diggs had COVID or another lung injury that's affecting his stamina?

 

But remember: Nobody knows anything.

[peterpan]

Apparently Gabe Davis has been taking all Diggs playing time.  Stephon played a ton in the second half and did well.  Need to get him out there!