Darren Waller Rejuvenated

jgtengineer

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RedPete said:
Coming out of GT, imo Darren dropped too many passes to make it as a pro. (Drops in the Senior Bowl too). How awesome to see how far he’s come, turning his weakness into the strongest part of his game!


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He's sober now.

Battled it the entire time he was at tech and his first bit in the pros too.
 
Jacket05

Jacket05

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CuseJacket said:
At this point Waller deserves his own thread, both for his performance and his story

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I always thought he had so much potential but just not focused when he was at Tech and now I know why. It was also interesting to hear from Steve Smith saying that even when they played together he had no idea of everything going on. It just goes to show you that you never know what people are going through and we need to not be so quick to judge people by their performance on the field.

It is great to see Waller get everything together and ball out like he is. I hope he has a long and successful career moving forward.
 
UgaBlows

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GTRanj2 said:
Didn't think option players couple make it in the NFL. Especially at TE or WR. So happy for this guy. Was a monster in the GT FSU championship game. Looks like learning to play hard and block well is also paying off for him.
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Why did you have to go there?
 

InsideLB

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CuseJacket said:
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Note when the interviewee says Gruden puts a lot on Waller mentally and Waller handles it really well.

IMO this is an advantage Tech kids have in the NFL. They know how to handle a workload and be challenged mentally. From James Butler, Morgan Burnett, Calvin, Demaryus Thomas, Waller, Shaq Mason. You just hear they are smart and coachable. It's one thing to be a great athlete, but handling the mental part of the game well is also really important. GT gives players an edge with respect to this.
 
GaTech4ever

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InsideLB said:
Note when the interviewee says Gruden puts a lot on Waller mentally and Waller handles it really well.

IMO this is an advantage Tech kids have in the NFL. They know how to handle a workload and be challenged mentally. From James Butler, Morgan Burnett, Calvin, Demaryus Thomas, Waller, Shaq Mason. You just hear they are smart and coachable. It's one thing to be a great athlete, but handling the mental part of the game well is also really important. GT gives players an edge with respect to this.
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Additionally, Waller was actually a participant in classes at Tech (unlike most football players).
 

Poodlehead

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Our seats are in the West stands 10 rows up behind the Tech bench, very easy to observe the players and what they were doing and acting like. Waller
always seemed like kind of a likeable but goofy kid, playing around, not paying attention to the game, snapping towels etc. Very glad to see that he has matured,
sobered up and is now succeeding in life.
 
85Escape

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It's weird, but it sure seems like we put a disproportionate number of WR's in the league compared to all other positions...and that coming from an option team. I guess it is just the 'full moon effect', but it sure seems like it without doing any real analysis.
 
laoh

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RedPete said:
Coming out of GT, imo Darren dropped too many passes to make it as a pro. (Drops in the Senior Bowl too). How awesome to see how far he’s come, turning his weakness into the strongest part of his game!
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Well unlike Stephen Hill, Waller always caught with his hands, so at least the fundamentals were there to build upon...
 
LongforDodd

LongforDodd

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There is a belief that male brains don’t fully develop until about 27 +/- years old. Darren is about that age, no?
 
CuseJacket

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Chosen by a select group of local media and facilitated by the Oakland Raiders’ media relations department, the Craig Long Award is presented annually to the player who best exemplifies professionalism and collaboration with the media at large.
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Waller, who was named an alternate for the Pro Bowl last week, enters the regular-season finale with a team-high 84 receptions for 1,038 yards and three touchdowns. He became the first Raiders tight end since Todd Christensen in 1986 to eclipse 1,000 receiving yards in a season and his reception total ranks third in franchise history among tight ends. He currently ranks third among NFL tight ends in catches and second in receiving yards. Originally a sixth-round draft pick out of Georgia Tech by the Baltimore Ravens in 2015, Waller was signed by the Raiders from the Ravens practice squad prior to Week 13 in 2018.
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Deleted member 2897

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CuseJacket said:
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LOL he runs the length of the field, gets shoe-strong tackled by the last defender on the 10 yard line, and that “may have saved a touchdown”, LOL.

He finished with 90 catches, 1,145 yards, and 3 TDs. That’s a stellar year!
 
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