WADDLE HAS WARMED TO A STARTING ROLE
Pats’ Waddle more than up to task of filling in for Cannon
FOXBORO — Tommy Tuberville remembers the positive things LaAdrian Waddle did in games when he coached the offensive tackle at Texas Tech.
But what stuck out the most is how Waddle performed in practices.
As with pretty much every football program, Tuberville — who had many stops along his college coaching career and is now an ESPN analyst — wanted to make practices as competitive as possible in order to create a hierarchy for playing time. And, in those situations, Waddle, now a tackle with the Patriots, shined his brightest.
“He’s got a mean streak in him,” Tuberville said. “And (offensive linemen) all have to have that . . . . The defensive ends and stuff, they didn’t really like going against him because he would go to the extreme. He’d try to pin one on the ground. We always had a few fisticuffs and all those things.
“We had some pretty good defensive ends. And it was offensive line vs. defensive line, coaches vs. coaches, and you want to win every damn practice because it was full live in pass rushing. And a lot of our guys shied away from going against Waddle because he’d get his mitts on you, you’re going to have a tough time.”
According to Waddle, that desire to wear his game face in practice never waned. And after right tackle Marcus Cannon went down with an ankle injury, Waddle knows that approach helped the Pats coaching staff look to him to assume the starting role over the last two games, and again today vs. Miami.
“I definitely think (the coaches) paid attention to that,” Waddle said Wednesday. “The reps I got in practice, they watch as a staff and they watch every rep. The offense watches the defensive guys and vice versa. So I know if I went out in practice and showed I could execute and do the things they want me to do that they’d notice, even though I might not necessarily be out there playing. They’d still notice. I think that led up to this year as far as being able to do what I needed to do and they kept me around. Now I’m getting that opportunity to show that I can go out there and perform.”
Form and function
As the Pats face the Dolphins today, Waddle has proved capable of performing that well in games, too. In his starts against the Denver Broncos and Oakland Raiders the previous two weeks, Waddle was tasked with protecting quarterback Tom Brady from the likes of Von Miller and Khalil Mack, respectively. Even after facing two of the premier pass rushers in the game, Waddle has not allowed a sack this season.
That type of protection from a backup is invaluable in the NFL, and most teams don’t have that luxury. In the view of both Tuberville and Waddle, it comes down to fundamentals.
“You’re so out-athleted when you’re trying to block a Von Miller and those guys, so you’ve got to rely on your fundamentals and your technique,” Tuberville said. “(Waddle) was always a technique guy. Again, always asking questions. Even these big guys in college, they still have growing up to do when they come out. They’ll keep developing, especially offensive linemen. Offensive line is an area if you put your technique to work and you keep working at it and you can get better and better. You can’t change your size, your height. You’ve got to do that in the weight room and all that. He had all the makings: big, strong, competitor.”
Indeed, at 6-foot-6, 315 pounds, Waddle has the requisite size, but he said Pats offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia reminds the players to focus on the little things first.
“He always tells us it’s about what we do and not the guy we’re going against,” Waddle said. “He does a good job of making the big things small. He will give you solutions when you have a problem.”
Making the leap
While Patriots fans know Waddle mainly as a backup, that wasn’t the case when he first came in the league. Signed as a rookie free agent with the Detroit Lions in 2013, Waddle started 24 games over his first three seasons before the Pats claimed him off waivers in 2015.
But Waddle had to be patient once he came to the Pats. He played only one offensive snap last season in a win over the Cleveland Browns. If the Patriots went to an extra tackle, it was usually Cameron Fleming who stepped on the field ahead of him.
This season, though, Waddle leapt over Fleming on the unofficial depth chart. For Waddle, it’s been an addictive experience.
“I wouldn’t say it’s tough. It was different,” Waddle said of adjusting to a backup role with the Pats. “I played pretty early in my career, and getting that little taste of playing, that was awesome, man. And when I tell people about how excited I am to play now, honestly, it’s like I’m like a junkie. I get out there, I’m like, ‘Oh, this is what I’ve been missing!’ It’s amazing. I got that taste and I want to get back out there.”
He knows that time can go away when Cannon returns, but Waddle wants to hold on to it for as long as he can.
Waddle said he was ready to play again today even before Cannon was officially ruled out Friday.
“Yeah,” he said Wednesday, “I want to get out there now that I got that taste and now that I’ve played a little bit.”
And when the time calls for it, Waddle knows what it’s like to put that feeling into practice.