Post by Purple Pain on Dec 29, 2019 10:05:53 GMT -6
Ifeadi Odenigbo looked around the tea shop on University Avenue in St. Paul that he picked out sight unseen for an early dinner to share his life story over.
There were plush couches and indoor trees and, most importantly, not a single other patron. He talked loud and fast and frequently used a certain four-letter word as a verb, adjective, and, on especially impressive occasions, as a noun.
“I can talk reckless,” Odenigbo said.
So in that case, it’s for the best that we had Heritage Tea to ourselves. His Porsche is parked out front and doesn’t exactly blend into this neighborhood, but he’s proud of the significant upgrade he made since selling his Honda Pilot upon making the Vikings’ 53-man roster. In some ways it’s fitting. Odenigbo has rarely fit in with ease.
His parents are first-generation Nigerians and it wasn’t always easy growing up in football-mad Centerville, Ohio, which is more than 85 percent white, while his parents didn’t allow him to play the sport. He never cared about academics quite as much as his parents, a doctor and an engineer, and certainly not as much as his fellow classmates at Northwestern, so college wasn’t the easiest transition. And in the NFL, he always felt a step behind, stuck trying to use his instincts because he didn’t feel he had the coaching of everyone else at that level.
He first walked through the doors of the tea shop at 4:15 p.m. on a Tuesday afternoon wearing a coat emblazoned with the college he doesn’t have fond memories of. Forty-five minutes later, he realized the shop was about to close, and he was only up to his sophomore year of college in the re-telling of his life.
“Let’s ask if we can stay longer,” he said.
He wanted his story known, both the good and the bad, and the owner agreed to leave the door unlocked for another hour.
What Odenigbo shared is a story of constant doubt, often from those charged with uplifting him, and occasionally from within, too. He’s a tale of recruiting stars damaging the slow but significant growth that football players like him take. But it’s also a saga of perseverance, of fighting through a failed position change and frequent times falling out of the favor of coaches to become a reliable pass rusher who boasts the third-most sacks on a talented Vikings defense.
It took years, of course, to get to this point. There were countless days when Odenigbo wanted to quit football. It happened in high school when the sport was overwhelming, in college when the supposed-wunderkind was benched, and just this fall, too, when the prospect of being cut from the Vikings a third straight year prompted him to ready his resume for corporate America.
“I’m telling you,” he said, “my life’s been crazy.”
Two weeks ago, fans watched Odenigbo scoop a fumble in Los Angeles and take it 56 yards for the first touchdown of his football career, a punctuation on a breakout season. If Vikings fans didn’t already know him before then, they do after the Chargers game.
But what isn’t as well known is all that led to Odenigbo even being on the field for that play.
A few weeks before, he and defensive line coach Andre Patterson sat together for a long and honest chat. Odenigbo was great on the limited snaps he got early in the season and he wanted to know why that wasn’t leading to more.
Patterson was blunt. It’s because of how you practice, Patterson told Odenigbo. Throughout his career, Odenigbo knew he wasn’t great during midweek drills. But he watched teammates — ones he called “practice All-Americans” — who did everything right during the week but couldn’t carry it into games. Odenigbo was always the opposite. He’d goof off a bit at practice, make a few mistakes here and there. But when game time came, he would deliver.
“At some places, that’s OK. But it’s not OK here,” Patterson said. “I’m not that kind of guy. I tell him all the time, you earn playing time and you earn it by showing me what you can do in practice.”
Odenigbo felt differently. He’s a self-described slow learner and in the NFL, game plans change each week. It took him time to learn each system. But he told Patterson that he takes notes after each practice. He writes down everything he did wrong and then fills his notebook with what he was supposed to do instead. So, sure, he may get things wrong Wednesday through Saturday. But on Saturday night, he reviews everything he wrote down and then it doesn’t happen in the game.
“I understand I make mistakes,” Odenigbo said. “I’m not trying to minimize that. I’m not giving the whole Allen Iverson — ‘We talking about practice.’ Nah, I get that sh*t. But to me, it’s better to make mistakes in practice than in games. I’ve really harped on it and I’ve been playing more. I think they’re starting to take note that Ifeadi brings the juice on game day — and I do.”
That conversation and the ensuing focus on practice for Odenigbo got him on the field in Los Angeles, now a part of the team’s nickel defense and increasingly used on early downs, too. But to understand how he got to the Vikings in the first place, you have to go back further.
There were plush couches and indoor trees and, most importantly, not a single other patron. He talked loud and fast and frequently used a certain four-letter word as a verb, adjective, and, on especially impressive occasions, as a noun.
“I can talk reckless,” Odenigbo said.
So in that case, it’s for the best that we had Heritage Tea to ourselves. His Porsche is parked out front and doesn’t exactly blend into this neighborhood, but he’s proud of the significant upgrade he made since selling his Honda Pilot upon making the Vikings’ 53-man roster. In some ways it’s fitting. Odenigbo has rarely fit in with ease.
His parents are first-generation Nigerians and it wasn’t always easy growing up in football-mad Centerville, Ohio, which is more than 85 percent white, while his parents didn’t allow him to play the sport. He never cared about academics quite as much as his parents, a doctor and an engineer, and certainly not as much as his fellow classmates at Northwestern, so college wasn’t the easiest transition. And in the NFL, he always felt a step behind, stuck trying to use his instincts because he didn’t feel he had the coaching of everyone else at that level.
He first walked through the doors of the tea shop at 4:15 p.m. on a Tuesday afternoon wearing a coat emblazoned with the college he doesn’t have fond memories of. Forty-five minutes later, he realized the shop was about to close, and he was only up to his sophomore year of college in the re-telling of his life.
“Let’s ask if we can stay longer,” he said.
He wanted his story known, both the good and the bad, and the owner agreed to leave the door unlocked for another hour.
What Odenigbo shared is a story of constant doubt, often from those charged with uplifting him, and occasionally from within, too. He’s a tale of recruiting stars damaging the slow but significant growth that football players like him take. But it’s also a saga of perseverance, of fighting through a failed position change and frequent times falling out of the favor of coaches to become a reliable pass rusher who boasts the third-most sacks on a talented Vikings defense.
It took years, of course, to get to this point. There were countless days when Odenigbo wanted to quit football. It happened in high school when the sport was overwhelming, in college when the supposed-wunderkind was benched, and just this fall, too, when the prospect of being cut from the Vikings a third straight year prompted him to ready his resume for corporate America.
“I’m telling you,” he said, “my life’s been crazy.”
Two weeks ago, fans watched Odenigbo scoop a fumble in Los Angeles and take it 56 yards for the first touchdown of his football career, a punctuation on a breakout season. If Vikings fans didn’t already know him before then, they do after the Chargers game.
But what isn’t as well known is all that led to Odenigbo even being on the field for that play.
A few weeks before, he and defensive line coach Andre Patterson sat together for a long and honest chat. Odenigbo was great on the limited snaps he got early in the season and he wanted to know why that wasn’t leading to more.
Patterson was blunt. It’s because of how you practice, Patterson told Odenigbo. Throughout his career, Odenigbo knew he wasn’t great during midweek drills. But he watched teammates — ones he called “practice All-Americans” — who did everything right during the week but couldn’t carry it into games. Odenigbo was always the opposite. He’d goof off a bit at practice, make a few mistakes here and there. But when game time came, he would deliver.
“At some places, that’s OK. But it’s not OK here,” Patterson said. “I’m not that kind of guy. I tell him all the time, you earn playing time and you earn it by showing me what you can do in practice.”
Odenigbo felt differently. He’s a self-described slow learner and in the NFL, game plans change each week. It took him time to learn each system. But he told Patterson that he takes notes after each practice. He writes down everything he did wrong and then fills his notebook with what he was supposed to do instead. So, sure, he may get things wrong Wednesday through Saturday. But on Saturday night, he reviews everything he wrote down and then it doesn’t happen in the game.
“I understand I make mistakes,” Odenigbo said. “I’m not trying to minimize that. I’m not giving the whole Allen Iverson — ‘We talking about practice.’ Nah, I get that sh*t. But to me, it’s better to make mistakes in practice than in games. I’ve really harped on it and I’ve been playing more. I think they’re starting to take note that Ifeadi brings the juice on game day — and I do.”
That conversation and the ensuing focus on practice for Odenigbo got him on the field in Los Angeles, now a part of the team’s nickel defense and increasingly used on early downs, too. But to understand how he got to the Vikings in the first place, you have to go back further.
Yes, he learned at the start of September that he finally made the 53-man roster on his third try. But another message was clear. Don’t get too comfortable. You’re the first one out if we bring someone else in.
The first four games came and went this season for Odenigbo. He played between seven and 20 snaps each contest but had only one total tackle to show for it.
“I was stressed out every day,” Odenigbo said.
If he didn’t show something soon, he thought, he’d be cut.
Against the Giants in the fifth game of the season, Odenigbo got the first sack of his career and added two other tackles. He started to relax a bit more. Three weeks later, he got a sack against Washington. And another the next week in Kansas City. He added one on Aaron Rodgers last week, making six total so far this season.
His playing time started to increase, sparked by that conversation with Patterson about practice. He’s averaged over 27 defensive snaps the past six games, over 34 the past three.
Now his added comfort level is leading to big plays, and he’s developed into a reliable pass rusher for the Vikings as they prep for the playoffs. He’s no longer stressed each week or contemplating quitting. He knows he still needs to take practice seriously and focus and study and do all the things that got him to this point. But he’s also done having people mistake his goofy, fun-loving, quick-talking personality for someone who doesn’t take football serious on Sundays.
“I don’t think people understand — there’s a switch,” Odenigbo said. “How I play is completely different from how my personality is.”
The first four games came and went this season for Odenigbo. He played between seven and 20 snaps each contest but had only one total tackle to show for it.
“I was stressed out every day,” Odenigbo said.
If he didn’t show something soon, he thought, he’d be cut.
Against the Giants in the fifth game of the season, Odenigbo got the first sack of his career and added two other tackles. He started to relax a bit more. Three weeks later, he got a sack against Washington. And another the next week in Kansas City. He added one on Aaron Rodgers last week, making six total so far this season.
His playing time started to increase, sparked by that conversation with Patterson about practice. He’s averaged over 27 defensive snaps the past six games, over 34 the past three.
Now his added comfort level is leading to big plays, and he’s developed into a reliable pass rusher for the Vikings as they prep for the playoffs. He’s no longer stressed each week or contemplating quitting. He knows he still needs to take practice seriously and focus and study and do all the things that got him to this point. But he’s also done having people mistake his goofy, fun-loving, quick-talking personality for someone who doesn’t take football serious on Sundays.
“I don’t think people understand — there’s a switch,” Odenigbo said. “How I play is completely different from how my personality is.”
... and neither is this Chris guy.