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10 questions with Okam

K

ktplaya

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http://www.houstontexans.com/news/Story.asp?story_id=5356

Like his attitude he should really help out in his second year.

10. The Texans are being compared a lot to last year’s Arizona Cardinals. What do you think of that comparison?

“As a player, you enjoy when people say positive things about you or your organization. I hope we can finish with a better record than Arizona did last year. But it's really about getting to the playoffs, getting to the Super Bowl and winning the thing. I would take a comparison to the Steelers; they won the whole thing. Arizona did a great job, but we want to do better."
 
Its hard not to like him...If he could be the player he was his junior year at UT then we'd have a top 10 defense
 
Interesting that he says his job is to occupy blockers and free up everyone else. It goes against what we'd been hearing the D's philosophy is going to be.
 
Goatcheese said:
Interesting that he says his job is to occupy blockers and free up everyone else. It goes against what we'd been hearing the D's philosophy is going to be.
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I would take it to mean that IF he were double-teamed, he would allow holes for aggressive LBs.........and if he was single-teamed, I would hope that he had his GPS set for QB.
 
Goatcheese said:
Interesting that he says his job is to occupy blockers and free up everyone else. It goes against what we'd been hearing the D's philosophy is going to be.
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I don't think he's implying a "read and react" appraoch, I think he's saying because of his size when he is in attack mode its going to take 2 blockers to stop him...that is a pretty big statement though coming from a guy who was a healthy inactive on a few sundays last season
 
Even thought the D seems to be leaning away from a read and react style, DT's still have to keep linemen off of linebackers...Even if he is not double teamed he still has to get his hands on O-linemen and not let them freely chip off of him and head to the second level...

The Defense will still be reading and reacting to a certain degree...If an offensive lineman takes a certain step or does a certain thing he still needs to react to that and act accordingly unless they are stunting..And even during stunts the d-linemen still need to be aware...

Going away from the read and react and going towards a more penetrating agressive style of defense doesn't mean "just put your head down and shoot gaps as quick as you can"...

That'd be the easiest way to allow gaping holes to open up...
 
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I don't see Okam ever being a good player. I've been hearing these articles about him back when he was at UT and he never reached the hype ever. Hell, he was on the front of ESPN magazine being called "The Nightmare" he was expected to be so good. He just isn't that aggressive and doesn't seem to have that mean streak that DT's need to have. He's got the size, the skills, and all of the tools except for the mean streak mentality to dominate and hurt people on the field. My guess is that this will be his last season with the Texans because I don't expect much from him. It would be fantastic for him to prove me and other doubters wrong, but I won't expect it. We'll be needing Okoye to make that turn around and get back on track. OUt of all the DT's Okoye is the one that has the potential to still become a very good DT.
 
Texecutioner said:
I don't see Okam ever being a good player. I've been hearing these articles about him back when he was at UT and he never reached the hype ever. Hell, he was on the front of ESPN magazine being called "The Nightmare" he was expected to be so good. He just isn't that aggressive and doesn't seem to have that mean streak that DT's need to have. He's got the size, the skills, and all of the tools except for the mean streak mentality to dominate and hurt people on the field. My guess is that this will be his last season with the Texans because I don't expect much from him. It would be fantastic for him to prove me and other doubters wrong, but I won't expect it. We'll be needing Okoye to make that turn around and get back on track. OUt of all the DT's Okoye is the one that has the potential to still become a very good DT.
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I think it is too early to tell. There may have been some hype about him early on in his career in college, but certainly not in the past couple of years as evidenced by his draft selection. I think the quotes are encouraging - he is coming in to compete for starting role and the fact that he has dropped some weight shows that he is making this effort.

It has been said before - its all about what is going on in between this guys ears. At the end of the day he has to want it, but good coaching could go a long way here. It would be very good for the unit as a whole if he can come in and contribute some meaningful snaps every Sunday.
 
6. How do you see yourself fitting into defensive coordinator Frank Bush’s scheme?

“Frank Bush worked with the defensive line last year, so I spent the whole year with him. He was always pushing me about what I could do to get better. One thing people probably don’t know about him is what a great motivator he is. He is able to connect with each personality of each player and he finds the way to get the most out of them. He really has motivated me this year and pushed me to compete to be a starter.”

.....
So, how much responsibility did Frankie have as far as the line goes?
:stirpot:
 
Spike said:
I think it is too early to tell. There may have been some hype about him early on in his career in college, but certainly not in the past couple of years as evidenced by his draft selection. I think the quotes are encouraging - he is coming in to compete for starting role and the fact that he has dropped some weight shows that he is making this effort.

It has been said before - its all about what is going on in between this guys ears. At the end of the day he has to want it, but good coaching could go a long way here. It would be very good for the unit as a whole if he can come in and contribute some meaningful snaps every Sunday.
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That would be great if it happened, but I won't count on it. I've heard this line for like 3 to 4 years now with Okam.
 
Texecutioner said:
I don't see Okam ever being a good player. I've been hearing these articles about him back when he was at UT and he never reached the hype ever. Hell, he was on the front of ESPN magazine being called "The Nightmare" he was expected to be so good. He just isn't that aggressive and doesn't seem to have that mean streak that DT's need to have. He's got the size, the skills, and all of the tools except for the mean streak mentality to dominate and hurt people on the field. My guess is that this will be his last season with the Texans because I don't expect much from him. It would be fantastic for him to prove me and other doubters wrong, but I won't expect it. We'll be needing Okoye to make that turn around and get back on track. OUt of all the DT's Okoye is the one that has the potential to still become a very good DT.
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A paycheck (or lack thereof) has a strange way of motivating people. According to Fox Sports, Okam's salary is $473,000. The average DT made about $1.9 million last year, and the franchise players will get about $6 million in 2009. With Frank's talent and intelligence, he should move into that upper echelon.
 
kozanack said:
A paycheck (or lack thereof) has a strange way of motivating people. According to Fox Sports, Okam's salary is $473,000. The average DT made about $1.9 million last year, and the franchise players will get about $6 million in 2009. With Frank's talent and intelligence, he should move into that upper echelon.
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Well, this is his chance to stand out or go to law school.
 
kozanack said:
A paycheck (or lack thereof) has a strange way of motivating people. According to Fox Sports, Okam's salary is $473,000. The average DT made about $1.9 million last year, and the franchise players will get about $6 million in 2009. With Frank's talent and intelligence, he should move into that upper echelon.
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I'm pulling for the guy. But, I have to ask the question, if he is so intelligent, why wasn't he able to figure it out LAST year? Or is it common sense, rather than intelligence that he may be short on?
 
CloakNNNdagger said:
I'm pulling for the guy. But, I have to ask the question, if he is so intelligent, why wasn't he able to figure it out LAST year? Or is it common sense, rather than intelligence that he may be short on?
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My guess is that one or more of the following are true:
-He doesn't like playing football, and only sees it as the means to an end
-He doesn't like working out and/or lacks personal discipline
-He had a hard time going from BMOC with everything served on a silver platter to rookie
-Didn't have to work very hard to succeed in college, and assumed it would be he same in the NFL

If it's the first one, he may not ever amount to much. The rest can be addressed
 
kozanack said:
My guess is that one or more of the following are true:
-He doesn't like playing football, and only sees it as the means to an end
-He doesn't like working out and/or lacks personal discipline
-He had a hard time going from BMOC with everything served on a silver platter to rookie
-Didn't have to work very hard to succeed in college, and assumed it would be he same in the NFL

If it's the first one, he may not ever amount to much. The rest can be addressed
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Maybe the fact he went to UT where the players are sheltered in the nest and not known for being the most physical players coming out college.

In college many of the big guys can by on talent alone, not in the NFL.
 
Texecutioner said:
That would be great if it happened, but I won't count on it. I've heard this line for like 3 to 4 years now with Okam.
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Okam is about start his 2nd year right?


-He doesn't like playing football, and only sees it as the means to an end FALSE YOU DON"T GET ALL THE WAY TO THE NFL WITHOUT "LIKING" FOOTBALL
-He doesn't like working out and/or lacks personal discipline LOST 30 POUNDS FOR CAMP
-He had a hard time going from BMOC with everything served on a silver platter to rookie EVERY PLAYER GOES THROUGH THIS IN SOME FORM
-Didn't have to work very hard to succeed in college, and assumed it would be he same in the NFL THAT"S NOT A DIFFERENT POINT THAN THE PREVIOUS POINT
 
TimeKiller said:
Okam is about start his 2nd year right?


-He doesn't like playing football, and only sees it as the means to an end FALSE YOU DON"T GET ALL THE WAY TO THE NFL WITHOUT "LIKING" FOOTBALL
-He doesn't like working out and/or lacks personal discipline LOST 30 POUNDS FOR CAMP
-He had a hard time going from BMOC with everything served on a silver platter to rookie EVERY PLAYER GOES THROUGH THIS IN SOME FORM
-Didn't have to work very hard to succeed in college, and assumed it would be he same in the NFL THAT"S NOT A DIFFERENT POINT THAN THE PREVIOUS POINT
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I didn't write all of that other stuff at the bottom. That was from another poster, but I do agree with a lot of that stuff as well.

And I'm going back to his college days and his first year in the NFL. Okam's been overrated for years and has had scouts and people expecting him to become some beast, only it never seems to happen. When he was at UT he faced a ton of inferior O lineman that didn't have a ton of talent and Okam still wasn't dominating them either. So why am I supposed to think that he's ever going to be the type of player that will in the NFL at this point when he never seemed to do it in college really? I know that some guys can come on a little later and get better as they get to the pros, and last season I had a feeling that maybe it would happen with him because of his over all ability and talent, but once again he didn't do it. He doesn't have that mean streak and mentality to dominate guys in the trenches.
 
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