Stefon Diggs’ motivational tactics are harsh but effective with Patriots teammates
FOXBORO Stefon Diggs doesn t mince words when he s motivating his Patriots teammates After Mack Hollins had the ball punched out of his hands by Jets cornerback Brandon Stephens midway through the fourth quarter of Thursday night s - Patriots win Diggs walked up to his fellow veteran wide receiver and reported sarcastically Well it s nice to expletive catch the ball Related Articles Patriots HC Mike Vrabel provides injury update on Milton Williams Best and worst What we learned from Patriots - win over Jets Patriots star defender ruled out of Jets tournament with ankle injury Robert Kraft gives lot of credit for Drake Maye s success to Josh McDaniels Patriots debut Nor easter NFL Rivalries Uniforms Thursday night vs Jets Hollins enjoys it It shows that Diggs holds him to a high standard He believes it helps him perform better and he dishes it right back Because we re both at the age we are the expectation is that it don t matter what happens on a play Make it Hollins revealed The same way I was giving him crap when he should have caught the ball when he got hit he s gonna give it to me Hollins and Diggs have no time for motivational platitudes Hey you ll get it Nah Hollins mentioned Make it So what was Hollins message to Diggs after a drop You ll never get that play back Like I ll never get that play back Hollins commented I gotta go make specific more I gotta make various other ones Diggs has been a phenomenal teammate since joining the Patriots on a three-year contract this offseason in free agency He s constantly pushing his teammates young and old offense and defense to make plays And he celebrates their successes He s also built impressive chemistry with quarterback Drake Maye since the spring when he was still limited while recovering from a torn ACL suffered last year It s just football OTAs to training camp to practice throughout the year Diggs commented Just kind of learning one another and finding our spots and doing what he feels reassured with and just doing my job It s not so much just obviously you get content over the class of time but just doing everybody s doing their job Maye didn t need time to get secure with Diggs The veteran wide receiver has been playing in the NFL since Maye was years old growing up in North Carolina That trust was built up presumably when I was in middle school when he was playing in the league Maye disclosed It was long ago guys like him and Hunter Henry and Mack You trust those guys for what they ve done in this league and I just try to give him chances Diggs led the Patriots with nine catches on targets for yards in Thursday night s win It was his third -yard performance of the season and the th of his NFL career With catches for yards and three touchdowns this season he s back on pace for yards over games It s been an incredible season for a -year-old wide receiver coming back from a serious injury Just getting back to a rare form and getting to where I want to be physically and mentally Diggs commented So I m just thankful to be around we got a lot of weapons on offense So when I get to make selected plays out there I left one out there Just getting opportunities And wanting to be myself and be another pillar on this squad I just feel like just taking advantage of my opportunities is going to be key Because you never know when you will get them Got a lot of playmakers on this gang The Patriots pursued a lot of wide receivers over the last two years They signed after the initial wave of free agency and were fortunate to land him He s been everything the association needed out of a veteran wide receiver and more
