Giants' newest pass catcher takes a shot at former team during OTA's
The New York Giants made one of the biggest "splashes" of the offseason when they traded for tight end Darren Waller. The former Pro Bowler looks to unlock a new dimension of coach Daboll's offense assuming he remains healthy. And while teammates have been raving over Waller at the first week of OTA's, he himself […]
The New York Giants made one of the biggest "splashes" of the offseason when they traded for tight end Darren Waller.
The former Pro Bowler looks to unlock a new dimension of coach Daboll's offense assuming he remains healthy.
And while teammates have been raving over Waller at the first week of OTA's, he himself is glad to be somewhere that respects his opinion.
After an impressive end to his first week in Giants blue, Waller stuck around to answer some questions from the media. The talented veteran answered the only he knows how:
Honestly.
"Yeah, they value our opinions here," Waller said when asked about the culture put in place by Brian Daboll. "As a player, I feel like a lot of places I've gone, you're told to do things a certain way and you do those things. But here it's like, they ask a lot of questions. They want to know what you're thinking, what you want to do more."
"So to offer input is a really cool thing because coaches and players have to be in partnership. We're all together and shouldn't be clashing with each other. We're all going in the same direction."
That's good to hear from Waller. A lot of quotes this time of year come off as coach speak or players using cliche after cliche. For Waller to be so transparent about his past and present, it speaks to the acclimation process between him and the Giants. And as Jordan Raanan who covers the Giants for ESPN pointed out, Waller likely feels appreciated for the first time in a while:
The relationship between Waller and the Raiders was characterized as "rocky" by one source close to the tight end who spoke to ESPN earlier this offseason, said Raanan. In particular, there was a point of contention when Waller left during the bye week to propose to Las Vegas Aces star Kelsey Plum instead of rehabbing and didn't provide the team an explanation of where he was going.
"It's different from team to team. I'm on my third now. There's different cultures everywhere you go. There is different types of energies," Waller said. "This is a really light place, a really fun place, a really empowering place where you just be yourself always. And as long as you're not putting the team at risk by getting a flag or things like that, you can really let your personality show."
"That's what I love about being here. It's just been fun. It's also been challenging. Guys holding you to a high standard since I got here and I try to reciprocate that."
While it's still too early to tout head coach Brian Daboll as the next great coach in this league, the more we hear his players talk, the more positive affirmations Giants fans receive.
