How Waller Is Getting Ready for the Season

After his first legitimate practice appearance as a member of the Miami Dolphins, Darren Waller said he still had to "knock the rust off."

But the veteran tight end said he understands why he was placed on the PUP list in the first place and stayed on it for most of training camp.

"You can’t always predict how your body will respond from having time away," he said. "Mostly it’s just my body responding well and in some ways it didn’t, so it was just like being cautious in that way to I guess look at the bigger picture as opposed to maybe rushing in to get ready for the very beginning. Just taking that into account, I appreciate the care they’ve given me here, all the support staff. It’s looking good for me Week 1 and going forward."

Head coach Mike McDaniel seemed confident this was the right time to activate Waller. On Monday, McDaniel said the Dolphins were making sure the timing was the right before taking the listing off Waller.

Waller said he felt good while acknowledging the process of readying himself for a return.

"It’s not going to be something that you just walk back into," he said. "In some ways it’s like riding a bike, but in a lot of ways, there’s a physical demand, there’s a mental demand, emotional demand, that you’ve got to get back used to and I respect that that’s a process and that’s a grind. You know that’s not going to be easy but at the same time, I’ve got a lot of people, a lot of guys in here, a lot of coaches, people upstairs, downstairs, that are supporting me and encouraging me to just keep pushing thorough.”

New Team, Same Tricks?

What may help Waller learn the Dolphins' system is his familiarity with the concepts he ran for five years with the Las Vegas Raiders. The offense's use of the West Coast attack proliferated by Hall of Fame coach Bill Walsh and his protege and former Raiders coach, Jon Gruden, is recognizable.

Waller told reporters it is a case of same but different.

"It’s different like, ‘Oh, you guys call it this word as a opposed to this word,’ but as far as concepts, as far how plays work, as far as progressions, things like that there’s a lot of similarities which makes it a little bit less stressful to take everything in," Waller said.

Waller told reporters that the team is "carving out time together" and staying close through activities in and out of the building. He said he feels it is what "allows teams to take the next step."

"I feel like the talent is there across the board with the team and seeing how the chemistry is growing together and how guys are challenging each other in positive, healthy ways and they’re responding to those challenges," he said. "I think it’s really cool to see and I feel like there’s a lot of good that fans can expect from this team all season.”

All the Right Moves

Waller's success in South Florida is dependent on his ability to connect with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, or vice versa. From his first practice to Week 1, Waller emphasized the importance of finding a rhythm.

"Just getting reps, getting time under tension, knowing how he’s getting the ball off when he hits his drop," Waller said. "What that looks like for me, whip my head around and having that ball come in which I felt like was a great start today. It’s just time, just continuing to grind at it and those things start to become second nature.”