His Technique is “Get Out Of The Way”
August 15th, 2011
Frank Okam throws up reps on the bench press over 500 pounds. And his weight isn’t that far behind. Joe refers to other players as manbeasts, but frankly only Okam is the real deal.
Today, Raheem Morris showered Okam with love and admiration to the Bucs press corps, calling Okam a refrigerator in the most loving way possible.
“He’s been moving bodies. He’s different than we’ve ever seen in Tampa. He’s different than we’ve looked for over the past couple of years with the quickness and the quick-twitch. He’s kind of the, I don’t even know what his technique is. It’s just, ‘Get out of the way.’ It works for him. And I like it,” Raheem said.
“He’s certainly in the mix to play. He is 350. (laughs) Maybe. He’s just a big man. He doesn’t get tired. Man, I don’t know. He’s one of those guys. Is he out of shape? Then you look at him and you’re like, ‘No. No. He just looks like a refrigerator.’
“There’s no stomach. Look at him. … He’s not fat. He’s just big.”
Listed at 6-5, 350 pounds, Okam’s in that mold of serious football player out of the University of Texas, along with Tim Crowder and Roy Miller on the defensive line. And Joe can attest that the man is a mountain and exceptionally articulate.
Okam’s another Mark Dominik scrap heap find snatched up last year who played very well in the Bucs’ final two games. Frankly, Joe’s not seeing how Miller is a better player.
August 15th, 2011 at 6:44 pm
if it werent for injuries at UT this kid would have been a top pick. I saw him play more than a few times when he was at UT (when he was a soph and frosh) and thought at the time that the kid was an absolute animal who was going to be a force in the NFL. I really hope he can develop into that.
August 15th, 2011 at 6:46 pm
Okam is a 3-technique, Miller is a NT and they seem emphatic about Frank Okam being the 3 Tech over Nose Guard. AL Woods in no slouch either
August 15th, 2011 at 7:10 pm
Start him and Price, that would be cool. Let gmc spell them.
August 15th, 2011 at 7:11 pm
Before anybody freaks out about Okam benchpressing over 500 lbs, considering his size, that really isn’t very strong. It’s only 1.4X his weight, very unimpressive for people that visit the gym regularly. It is the equal to a 180 lbs person benching 250. He needs to be putting up over 600 lbs to be accomplishing true feats of strength.
But still, he’s a 350 lb man… he’s a fairly slow man, but having a guy with his strength and power mixed in with the other speedier guys on the DL is a nice complement and should be a welcome addition to the regular goal line defensive unit.
August 15th, 2011 at 7:17 pm
KH, I don’t know what injuries at UT you’re talking about. Okam played in an astounding 50 games at UT and started 39 of them (38 in his last 3 seasons). His biggest issues when coming out of UT (and why he was only a 5th round pick) is that he lacked lower body explosion and was estimated to have weight problems (he weighed 347 at the 2008 combine at only 21 years old).
August 15th, 2011 at 7:17 pm
I thought Okam looked pretty Quick
August 15th, 2011 at 7:24 pm
He is pretty quick for a man his size, seemed to be disruptive and in KCs backfield a lot of the time on Friday night.
August 15th, 2011 at 7:27 pm
Brandon, you obviously have no clue what you’re talking about. In the real world it doesn’t matter what percentage of your body weight you can lift, it matters how much you can move in absolute weight. The job of an NFL lineman isn’t to impress dimwits such as yourself, it’s to play with power and technique. Get a clue.
Secondly, Okam isn’t slow at all. He’s very quick. Try turning on some game tape for a change before opening your ignorant yap trap.
August 15th, 2011 at 7:43 pm
All I know about him is what ive seen on the field so far and i like what ive seen from both him and woods. having these two guys makes me feel not so worried about whether price ever truly recovers from his injury
August 15th, 2011 at 7:44 pm
Okam was a monster Friday night in the run and pass. He was demoralizing the Centers, GUards and Tackles of the Chiefs. The Bucs moved him around as well. I saw him playing 1, 2, 3, and 5 technique. He was just as good at both. I guess being heavier than the offensive line is a huge help, but he looked like a mix of Pat Williams and Kevin Williams. He was totally dominating that line.
If he keeps this up, I don’t see how Raheem would refrain from starting him.
August 15th, 2011 at 7:48 pm
Correction *He was just as good at both NT and DT.*
August 15th, 2011 at 9:06 pm
i’ve always wanted the bucs to have thier very own version of gilbert brown. i probably wouldnt ever use him as a starter, but more of a two down type of dt situationally.
August 15th, 2011 at 9:41 pm
gotbbucs- but thats the cool,thing about him hes not just a giant fat load like gilbert brown. he has shown he can penetrate and pass rush from the undertackle,spot.
August 15th, 2011 at 10:20 pm
They need to sign this guy long term!
Price and McCoy may or may not ever pan out as a tandem… so keep Okam too. Please.
If Okam looks this good among the guys we have… then he must be a real beast. IMO, nobodys job is safe along the d line.
August 15th, 2011 at 10:20 pm
KC was playing scrubs on the OL that night. Literally.
I was as impressed as the next guy buy Okam in that game, but come on guys, lets keep a little perspective here on who the competition was. He definitely has big upside (pun intended) with his combination of size and speed but I want to see him do it against some real lineman.
August 15th, 2011 at 10:22 pm
And Brandon… I am the king of alternative perspectives… but you are just flat out wrong.
August 15th, 2011 at 10:24 pm
Leroy, Okam tore it up last year in real games against real d lineman. Go watch those games on NFL Game rewind… man I love that service!
August 15th, 2011 at 10:26 pm
Olinemen… don’t even go there.
August 15th, 2011 at 10:31 pm
FLBoyInDallas,
That’s funny, a total nit-wit like yourself telling me to get a clue. obviously he’s strong on the field, I stated as much. The point I made was that benching 500 lbs at 350 is not a big deal. Or did you not get that? Reading comprehension is obviously another in a long line of weaknesses for you.
Most likely, my saying that benchpressing 1.4X his weight hit a nerve with you, probably because along with being a football-know-nothing, you’re birdchested wimp as well. Thanks for advertising that little factoid to the rest of the world.
And yes, Okam is pretty damn slow… no, not slow like you mentally, but not particularly quick. Sure, he moves okay for his size, but speed and quickness are not his strong suits and that’s fine. He’s 350 lbs and plays with strength, which I said before, is a nice complement to our speedier, smaller players.
As far as watching game tape, football is the only sport I watch. I don’t waste my time with any other sports and the chances are heavily in my favor that I am far more knowledgeable in the sport than you could ever hope to be.
August 15th, 2011 at 10:55 pm
Brandon, not sure if you totally understood what the article said. He doesn’t max out at 500, that’s what he does his reps at. Maybe you caught that, I don’t know. He probably maxes out at well over 600 pounds. Either way, it doesn’t really matter. He’s a big boy and adds a nice dimension to our DT rotation.
August 15th, 2011 at 11:48 pm
Tore it up? I remember him playing well, but tore it up? Really??
My point is more so about this collective infatuation with everyone’s play against KC. Was anyone paying attention to their situation? They hadn’t even had a live practice before our game and were missing multiple starters.
I know we were as well, but I just caution to say that someone is gunna be a star when they performed as well as they should when they were going against 2nd teamers.
I would be upset if we didn’t blow them out to be frank. It is very encouraging that we executed as well as we should, but lets not rush to crown everyone as the NBT after a glorified scrimmage.
August 15th, 2011 at 11:52 pm
And enjoy your NFL Game rewind… I’ll be watching the game in real time this Thursday, while you wait for your rewind to grace you with its presence on your TiVo.
I’ll smell it and taste it too. Your gadget have that?
August 15th, 2011 at 11:53 pm
Leighroy- Tampa –> Bay is right . Okam was looking real good against New Orleans the last game of the season. I mean the dude ended up with 15 tackles on the season. Thats a good amount of tackles for a DT to rack up in the extremely limited playing time Okam saw last year.
August 16th, 2011 at 6:43 am
Brandon. When you are 200 lbs or less the 1.4X is a good mark, but the larger you get the more that comes down. Take for instance power lifters, I power lifted, wrestled, and played DE back in the day. I should add my football skills were not so grest, I was third on the chart and only really saw ST time. Anyway. Take a power lifter lifting in the 308 weight class, which includes men over that weight but not under. 450 to 550 is what you see most of these guys benching. Any human putting up more than 500 lbs is a beast, regardless of weight. That being said, a 200 lb man benching 300 is still impressive. Most people that do not work out are luck if they can bench 80% of their weight.
August 16th, 2011 at 6:50 am
I should add the 450 to 550 are the top end athletes. Just like in football, the lower body strength is money. Huge dealifts and squats will help more than the bench press when penetrating the O-Line. I strong bench tends to help an olinmen more, but lwer body strengh is key there to.
August 16th, 2011 at 11:56 am
Guys, love your comments, from both sides. Just a little physics here. Bigger lifters do less on a percentage basis because as the lift weight goes up , the power needed goes up by a factor of the 3Rd power. As a result , twice the weight requires 8 times the power. Add in the extra weight of the required muscle & bone & you can see why there’s a point of deminishing returns. That said, raw strength & quick feet will never be detrimental for a D-lineman, & Morris made note of both. I think Okam will be around for a while, unless he flat falls on his face, somehow.