imaCafan
Next stop, Hall of Fame!
http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/index.php?sty=46299
Okeafor brings balanced attack to Cards defense
By Darren Urban, Tribune August 17, 2005
An engineering major at Purdue and the son of a college professor, Chike Okeafor comes across as an intellectual when he sits down for a conversation.
There are pauses in his quiet answers, adding a laid-back feeling to his thoughts. Mellow is the word that comes to mind.
It’s a dichotomy to the defensive end’s persona on the field, the one described by teammates and coaches as always intense. One writer who used to cover Okeafor when he played in Seattle said Okeafor was most likely to cause the first scuffle at Cardinals’ training camp because he was always going full-bore, even in practice.
Jekyll and Hyde he’s not. But he acknowledges the difference, which again sounds well thought out.
"There’s a personality that comes out on the field, you are basically doing gladiator (stuff) and it’s different when we’re chillin’," Okeafor said. "When we’re here just talking there’s no reason for me to be all uppity.
"But it’s not anger, it’s fun. But that intensity, you have to have that in order to play well and excel. There is just a time and place for it, know what I’m saying? What we do, if we did it outside of football, we’d go to jail, man. It’s illegal. That’s why the game is so fun."
The joy had apparently waned for Okeafor in Seattle, where he had played for the past two seasons. When he signed with Arizona — a five-year, $25 million contract in March — Okeafor said he "felt alone" on a day-to-day basis.
But that wasn’t all he said at the time.
"Not surrounded by enough people (in Seattle) that thought like me, felt like me, played like me on a dayto-day basis and loved the game like me," Okeafor said in March. "So I was in search for that."
Said Okeafor now, "I saw that on film (with the Cards) and I make calculated decisions."
Okeafor’s comments got back to the Seahawks, many of whom were upset with the sentiment and felt Okeafor was the one who kept to himself. Several Seahawks, when approached by a reporter this week, declined to discuss their former teammate.
The hard feelings will make the two Cardinals-Seahawks games this season interesting.
"He’s a good player. I wish he wasn’t in our division," Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck said. "But at the same time there’s something to be said for the group dynamic."
The Cardinals don’t care about the past.
All they see is a player who has increased his sack total in each of the last three seasons and notched 8 1 /2 last year.
Coach Dennis Green fell in love with Okeafor watching him play against the Cardinals last season, and calls him "pound for pound, one of the best players in the game."
"He has a motor that is unbelievable, and he has self control," said Cardinals linebacker Orlando Huff, Okeafor’s teammate for two seasons in Seattle. "He knows when to use his energy."
Okeafor certainly has a different outlook on his current team. He named every one of his fellow defensive linemen and how he has meshed with them. With those friendships, "it becomes a little more personal to you," Okeafor said.
Then he laughed.
"It’s nice to have that respect of double- and tripleteams all the time, but it ain’t fun."
Lining up with Pro Bowler Bertrand Berry and Darnell Dockett, teams will be hardpressed to double on Okeafor.
His effect on the field has enormous potential.
Off the field, well, he wants to make sure — for his mom’s sake — people pronounce his name right. CHEEK-eh o-KEY-fur. And while he regards himself as a thinker, he tries not to let it creep into his game too much.
"The brain, it drives the body," Okeafor said.
"I definitely have never been accused of being aloof. You don’t want to overthink things, and playing football, you can overthink and be hesitant. You have to have a happy medium.
"I am an alchemist. I’m balanced — know what I’m saying?"
Okeafor brings balanced attack to Cards defense
By Darren Urban, Tribune August 17, 2005
An engineering major at Purdue and the son of a college professor, Chike Okeafor comes across as an intellectual when he sits down for a conversation.
There are pauses in his quiet answers, adding a laid-back feeling to his thoughts. Mellow is the word that comes to mind.
It’s a dichotomy to the defensive end’s persona on the field, the one described by teammates and coaches as always intense. One writer who used to cover Okeafor when he played in Seattle said Okeafor was most likely to cause the first scuffle at Cardinals’ training camp because he was always going full-bore, even in practice.
Jekyll and Hyde he’s not. But he acknowledges the difference, which again sounds well thought out.
"There’s a personality that comes out on the field, you are basically doing gladiator (stuff) and it’s different when we’re chillin’," Okeafor said. "When we’re here just talking there’s no reason for me to be all uppity.
"But it’s not anger, it’s fun. But that intensity, you have to have that in order to play well and excel. There is just a time and place for it, know what I’m saying? What we do, if we did it outside of football, we’d go to jail, man. It’s illegal. That’s why the game is so fun."
The joy had apparently waned for Okeafor in Seattle, where he had played for the past two seasons. When he signed with Arizona — a five-year, $25 million contract in March — Okeafor said he "felt alone" on a day-to-day basis.
But that wasn’t all he said at the time.
"Not surrounded by enough people (in Seattle) that thought like me, felt like me, played like me on a dayto-day basis and loved the game like me," Okeafor said in March. "So I was in search for that."
Said Okeafor now, "I saw that on film (with the Cards) and I make calculated decisions."
Okeafor’s comments got back to the Seahawks, many of whom were upset with the sentiment and felt Okeafor was the one who kept to himself. Several Seahawks, when approached by a reporter this week, declined to discuss their former teammate.
The hard feelings will make the two Cardinals-Seahawks games this season interesting.
"He’s a good player. I wish he wasn’t in our division," Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck said. "But at the same time there’s something to be said for the group dynamic."
The Cardinals don’t care about the past.
All they see is a player who has increased his sack total in each of the last three seasons and notched 8 1 /2 last year.
Coach Dennis Green fell in love with Okeafor watching him play against the Cardinals last season, and calls him "pound for pound, one of the best players in the game."
"He has a motor that is unbelievable, and he has self control," said Cardinals linebacker Orlando Huff, Okeafor’s teammate for two seasons in Seattle. "He knows when to use his energy."
Okeafor certainly has a different outlook on his current team. He named every one of his fellow defensive linemen and how he has meshed with them. With those friendships, "it becomes a little more personal to you," Okeafor said.
Then he laughed.
"It’s nice to have that respect of double- and tripleteams all the time, but it ain’t fun."
Lining up with Pro Bowler Bertrand Berry and Darnell Dockett, teams will be hardpressed to double on Okeafor.
His effect on the field has enormous potential.
Off the field, well, he wants to make sure — for his mom’s sake — people pronounce his name right. CHEEK-eh o-KEY-fur. And while he regards himself as a thinker, he tries not to let it creep into his game too much.
"The brain, it drives the body," Okeafor said.
"I definitely have never been accused of being aloof. You don’t want to overthink things, and playing football, you can overthink and be hesitant. You have to have a happy medium.
"I am an alchemist. I’m balanced — know what I’m saying?"
