Darren Waller meets with the media | Miami Dolphins

Darren Waller meets with the media | Miami Dolphins

just has this team come to grips now that life without tour begins as you guys get ready for this weekend’s game. Tell about Tariq. Tyreek, I’m sorry. Uh yeah. Yeah. Um tough tough to accept, tough to swallow. Uh you know, just a great teammate, one of the greatest one of the best players the game has probably ever seen, you know. So, uh yeah, it’s tough to just see that we won’t have him anymore. The game that you had at two touchdowns, how did it and I remember you saying that it’s like riding a bike. Was it like riding a bike out there? Uh, a little bit. Yeah. I mean, just the um like from the first third down of the game, just being able to line up and beat man coverage and um and win and yeah, just it’s like your your body and nervous system kind of remember what it feels like to get out there and compete. So, it was like that was a good way to start, I guess, get back into a flow a little bit. So with Tyreek out now, do you see more opportunities for you based on what happened Monday night? Um, yeah, but I think it’s more opportunities for everybody. U, like I said, you’re talking about a guy that’s one of the most unique players we’ve ever seen. So I don’t think one person could come close to replacing what he does. I think it’s it’s a whole unit thing. Uh, a lot of guys are going to have to, you know, chip in and uh, that’s what I think is beautiful about this game, you know, and the next man up opportunity. So I think it’s going to take all of us. Darren, I know you talked yesterday on the podcast about the quad thing. Could you explain to us how that happened and was it a strain? Was it partially torn? Um, yeah. I mean, I’m I’m really just focused on uh this week and moving forward to the game. Uh, but it was it was a it was a strain and um, you know, just ran into some difficulties of just trying to feel uh, good enough to return to practice. uh you know those kind of things you know you get into close to the mid-30s you probably don’t uh you’re not if it’s four to six you’re probably looking at the six more cuz might have to take a little longer but it was just a strain and I’m grateful to be back and have gotten over that and just being able to contribute. How do you feel physically coming out of your first game in a while? Uh pretty good. Uh, I’m grateful for the the plan that the coaches and the athletic training staff put together um for me to uh you know be effective but also not um put too much uh on my body. So, I’m feeling good heading into this week. A player of your caliber who’s been a coal and accomplish so much. Obviously, there’s never going to be a lack of confidence issue at all, but was it nice or a good feeling to know, hey, I still have this elite level play in me after not playing for, you know, a year now? Yeah, I think I mean I think naturally it’s human to have some uncertainty having not um just been in the line of fire with the with the bullets flying uh at full speed. So uh yeah, it feels good to get back in the mix and know that you know you’re still capable of contributing and being uh one of the guys on offense that the team can uh lean on. What have you learned about Jer since you got to know him? Um, I think he’s somebody that’s really just grown in like some some of the smaller details of his game. He’s he’s so naturally gifted and explosive. Um, but you can tell he’s really digesting and applying um little details that you see um veteran players start to continue to elevate their game after already being successful. So, it’s really cool to see him mature in that way. How how do coverages change when any player goes from a secondary level target to a primary level target? Um, I don’t even know, man, to be honest. Uh, do you think he’ll see more double teams? Do you think they’ll see more? Yeah. Yeah. I mean, naturally, yeah, cuz I mean, you just get straight up so much uh split safety cover two with 10 and 17 out there. But with him, uh, yeah, of course, they’re going to try to put somebody over the top of him, lean people his way. Uh, yeah, he’s definitely going to get a lot more of that. probably going to put more people uh in the box on early downs, I would imagine. So, um yeah, it’s definitely going to they’re definitely going to try to take him away for sure. Sorry if you hit on this earlier in the interview, but what was it like to just feel that adrenaline again and to hear the crowd, you know, uh for you know, big plays through the biggest plays of the game there? Yeah. uh almost euphoric uh overwhelming at at almost uh but in a positive way. You know, it’s just the energy is unmatched and it’s I think that’s what makes the game so exciting and just uh you know, those are just memories that you’ll never forget. Man, it’s awesome to play football in front of a crowd and a rapid fan base. Can a game like that just change the course of a season for a team who fans maybe you guys were down and out? Could this be on a upward trajectory now? Yeah, I mean I feel like it’s always just how you respond um in the moment. You don’t have to make things um uh too complicated. Uh just continue to focus on being one and0 uh every week and being one and0 every week starts with having days like a good Wednesday practice. You know, just keep things as simple as possible. Score will take care of itself. In baseball, managers ask their relievers on game day, how many innings do you got in you? How many pitches you got? You see where I’m headed with this. Yeah. Did they ever ask you, “All right, Darren, how many steps do you feel like you gotten this week?” Um, well, uh, kind of goes back to what I was talking about the the plan that they had for me and they’ve kind of they’ve done a great job of communicating uh how they want to uh build it up and ramp it up more. So, uh, I’m grateful that I’ll get to uh, uh, throw a few more pitches this week and uh, have it only increase. So, uh, yeah, I’m excited about being out there a little bit more. Do do you think it’ll be a small jump from 16 offensive snaps or you think it could be pretty significant jump to score? Um, I think it uh as far as the exact number uh I don’t know, but I do think it’ll be a jump for sure.

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