Arizona’s Alex Okafor expecting big things from himself, Cardinals
Alex Okafor knows sometimes it’s good to be lucky.
The former University of Texas star easily could have ended up in Jacksonville, St. Louis, Miami, Tennessee or Tampa Bay, teams that drafted right around pick No. 103 in the 2013 draft. Instead, Okafor ended up in Arizona.
The Cardinals have gone 32-13 in Okafor’s three seasons.
“To be honest, more than anything, I just feel blessed,” Okafor said in a phone interview. “I know a lot of the guys I trained with and a lot of guys I played with, either they’re not in the league anymore or they’re on a team that’s not doing well.
“My worst season was my rookie season when we went 10-6, and that’s still a pretty good year. So I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to play with a team that has started a winning tradition, and I’m just ready to continue that.”
The Cardinals rank among the Super Bowl favorites with 13-2 odds to win it all. That’s just behind the Carolina Panthers and the New England Patriots.
It was being mentioned in the off-season. Our coach, Bruce Arians, is not afraid to talk about it, and we’re not afraid to talk about it. We feel that we can achieve that.
Alex Okafor on the Cardinals’ Super Bowl aspirations
The Cardinals are unafraid to utter the words out loud.
“It was being mentioned in the off-season,” Okafor said of the Super Bowl. “Our coach, Bruce Arians, is not afraid to talk about it, and we’re not afraid to talk about it. We feel that we can achieve that.”
Okafor, 24, opened the season with two sacks against Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints. But the outside linebacker hasn’t had another since.
Okafor also has 21 tackles, a fumble recovery and a pass breakup. He’s expecting more.
He missed three games in the middle of the season with a calf injury and just now feels like himself again.
“I think it’s starting to pick back up,” Okafor said. “I thought I was playing pretty well when I got hurt, and then I came back and I was little bit rusty. I think I’m just now starting to catch stride again, which is perfect timing for the last couple of games and the playoffs. ... There’s still a lot of football left.”
Okafor missed all but one game of his rookie season with a torn biceps tendon. He missed three games last season with a torn quadriceps but still led the team with eight sacks.
“It’s happened every year,” Okafor said. “That part is what’s frustrating. The fact that the team is winning has kept me motivated and wanting to come back and help in any way I can.”
Charean Williams: 817-390-7760, @NFLCharean
My five cents
1. DeMarco Murray won the rushing title last season with Dallas, gaining 1,845 yards. He has 603 this season with Philadelphia, averaging 3.5 yards per carry, including only 2.9 on first down. Murray, who signed a five-year, $40 million deal in the off-season, has only 19 carries the past two games as the Eagles have gone to a running back rotation.
2. Bills defensive end Mario Williams might find himself on the free-agent market again. He has a cap hit of $19.9 million in 2016, and he doesn’t appear to be a fit in Rex Ryan’s scheme. The worst season of Williams’ career has resulted in only four sacks and 16 tackles, with no forced turnovers.
3. Ryan Tannehill’s record is only 28-33 since the Miami Dolphins drafted him in the first round. The former Texas A&M star has a career-worst nine fumbles (three lost), has a career-low 92 rushing yards and ranks 22nd in passer rating at 88.0.
4. Alabama has won four national championships the past 25 years and could make it five next month, but it hasn’t produced winning NFL quarterbacks in that time. Jeff Rutledge stands as the school’s most recent quarterback to win an NFL game — in 1987. With Andy Dalton sidelined, Cincinnati Bengals backup A.J. McCarron gets a chance to break the streak.
5. It doesn’t appear Cam Newton can do anything to lose the MVP award. The Carolina Panthers are 13-0, and he has the NFL’s best fourth-quarter passer rating at 115.0. In the past seven games, Newton has 19 touchdown passes, three interceptions and three rushing touchdowns. Newton should receive all 50 MVP votes.
Who’s hot
Oakland Raiders linebacker Khalil Mack has nine sacks and a forced fumble the past three games. He leads the league with 14 sacks. The second-year player broke Howie Long’s 32-year-old team record for sacks in a game with five against the Denver Broncos last week. Mack got to Brock Osweiler in an average of 2.39 seconds on his five sacks, including 1.81 seconds on the sack that led to a safety.
Who’s not
Detroit Lions receiver Calvin Johnson nearly went without a reception for the first time in his career. He had five targets, with his one catch going for 16 yards with 2:30 left in the loss to the St. Louis Rams. It extended his streak to 132 consecutive games with a reception, only the seventh game he has produced just a single catch.
Number game
7 Consecutive seasons the New England Patriots have won the AFC East. That ties the Los Angeles Rams, who won the NFC West from 1973-79, for the longest streak of division titles.
2016 NFL Draft
Dane Brugler of CBS Sports and NFLDraftScout.com gives his projections for teams selecting 21-32 for the 2016 draft:
21. Redskins Andrew Billings, NT, Baylor
22. Texans Connor Cook, QB, Mich. St.
23. Seahawks Kenny Clark, DT, UCLA
24. Chiefs Jack Conklin, OT, Mich. State
25. Colts DeForest Buckner, DL, Oregon
26. Packers Jarran Reed, DL, Alabama
27. Vikings Josh Doctson, WR, TCU
28. Broncos Jonathan Bullard, DL, Florida
29. Bengals Corey Coleman, WR, Baylor
30. Cardinals Noah Spence, DE/OLB, E. Kentucky
31. Patriots forfeited selection
32. Panthers Jason Spriggs, OT, Indiana
Blitz
The Philadelphia Eagles have allowed 29 touchdown passes this season, the second most in the league.
Vikings running back Adrian Peterson needs one more rushing touchdown to tie Emmitt Smith for second place in NFL history with eight seasons of 10 or more scores. LaDainian Tomlinson holds the record of nine seasons with 10 or more.
The Pittsburgh Steelers have won at least eight games in 12 consecutive seasons. That ranks second to the Patriots’ current string of 13 seasons in a row without a losing record.
Panthers cornerback Josh Norman held Houston’s DeAndre Hopkins, Tampa Bay’s Mike Evans, Indianapolis’ T.Y. Hilton, Dallas’ Dez Bryant and Atlanta’s Julio Jones to a combined nine receptions for 89 yards, according to the NFL Network.
Saints quarterback Drew Brees, with 421 touchdown passes, trails only Peyton Manning (539), Brett Favre (508) and Tom Brady (425) in NFL history.
Cardinals defensive end Dwight Freeney secured a $200,000 bonus with his fourth sack of the season.
The Denver Broncos have gone 23 consecutive possessions without a touchdown, dating to the first quarter against San Diego on Dec. 6.
Texans backup quarterback T.J. Yates has a 3-3 record as a starter.
The Indianapolis Colts have never lost to the Texans in Indianapolis, going 13-0.
The Seattle Seahawks have a 313-312 record all time, the first time in franchise history the team has been over .500.
Browns tight end Gary Barnidge has eight touchdowns. The franchise record for tight ends is the nine that Hall of Famer Ozzie Newsome had in 1979.
Raiders safety Charles Woodson, in his 18th pro season, is tied for second in the league with five interceptions, has three fumble recoveries and forced a fumble.
Information from The Sports Xchange was used in this report.
This story was originally published December 19, 2015 at 6:07 PM with the headline "Arizona’s Alex Okafor expecting big things from himself, Cardinals."