The Patriots Celebrate 3-28 in Style by Introducing Stefon Diggs. And They Ever BACK!
Bear with me if I've mentioned this before, but in the field of logic there's a thought experiment known as The Thesesus' Ship Paradox. It originated with the historian Plutarch who noted that after the general and his men returned from Crete after slaying the Minotaur and escaping the Labyrinth, the people of Athens vowed to preserve the ship for posterity. To do so, they gradually had to replace every oar, plank, mast and sail, until eventually none of the original parts were still part of the boat. Begging the question, is it still Theseus' ship? If not, when did it start becoming something else entirely? When the first piece was replaced? Or when the last one was?
That tedious historical analogy probably no one but me is interested in applies to the Patriots Dynasty, now that Ju'Whaun Bentley is officially gone:
... leaving long snapper Joe Cardona as the only player still on the roster from the championship teams. I'll leave the question of when exactly it stopped being the Dynasty to greater philosophers than me, and turn my attention to the here and the now. To today's introduction of the best receiver this franchise has had since Julian Edelman was defying fate, physics, and all logic to make the 3-28 comeback a reality.
Today we formally got to meet Stefon Diggs, New England Patriots Wide Receiver 1. And boy howdy, he did not disappoint:
He was nothing less than what you look for to lead a largely unaccomplished wide receiver room and collaborate with a young, emerging franchise quarterback. He came across as professional. Experienced. Prepared. Determined. Funny. Impossible not to like. The absolute 180-degree polar opposite of the image some have tried to project on him as an overbearing, high-maintenance diva who's worried about his touches or whatever. Just to hit some of the highlights:
On his meeting with Mike Vrabel:
His impression of Drake Maye and the comparison that's been made so many times:
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On being the leader of a relatively young group of wideouts:
On the mental approach he's developed over a 10-year career:
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On Patriots fans:
On his recovery from an ACL tear:
There was some more, but you get the picture. For a relatively bargain, team-friendly deal that the Pats can get out of after one year if things aren't working out, they've signed a guy who is not only an elite route runner with great hands who can create the sorts of matchup horrors for opposing defenses we haven't seen in Foxboro in forever, but also a pro who has a lot to prove. And who is looking forward to collaborating with a big, athletic, strong-armed young QB like he did in Buffalo. What else could anybody ask for?
Now let's quit wasting time and Cue the Duckboats already.