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 Posted in News on August 30th, 2010 at 3:30 PM


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Karlos Dansby

New Dolphins LB Karlos Dansby hopes to live up to the hype in Miami.

 

Miami’s newly acquired LB Karlos Dansby knows Dolphins fans have huge expectations for him in the 2010 season.

His response: bring it on.

“[Coach Sparano] is expecting more, I’m expecting more, my family’s expecting more, shoot, everybody’s expecting more,” Dansby told the Sun Sentinel. “I’m so anxious, so anxious to get this thing rolling.”

In March, Dansby signed a 5-year, $43 million deal with the Dolphins in the offseason, making him the richest inside linebacker in the NFL at the time. (49ers LB Patrick Willis signed a 5-year, $50 million in May) He’s recorded 228 tackles over the past 2 seasons in Arizona: a stat he is quick to point out.

“However you want to look at it,” he said. “I’m the most versatile, most productive linebacker in the league by far. Especially over the last six years. I haven’t seen anybody with the stats, nor the production, nor the big-play capability that I have. And the versatility to move from the outside to the inside, and still be more productive on the inside than I was on the outside. I haven’t seen it. Have you seen it?”

The 28-year-old former Auburn product was put on the national radar last January when he returned a fumble for a game-winning touchdown against the Green Bay Packers in the highest-scoring game in NFL playoff history. With the recognition he’s been longing for, he decided to bring his talents to the AFC East to try and run in a harder, faster, more publicized division than the struggling NFC West.

“It was already there,” he said of the bullseye on his back that comes with the added attention. “It was already there, man. And I know it’s there. And I will accept that challenge. I’m not scared, not scared at all. I’m not going to back down. I’m ready to roll.”

Dansby and the Dolphins have one final test in Dallas before kicking off the regular season in Buffalo against their division rival Bills on Sept. 12.


Read more: http://www.footballnewsnow.com/2010/dolphins-lb-karlos-dansby-ready-to-get-this-thing-rolling-with-new-team/#ixzz0y6TeLtJD




 Posted in News on August 16th, 2010 at 7:00 PM


By Brian Biggane

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

The fact that a smile never leaves the face of Karlos Dansby might have more to do with the outcome of a car accident 11 years ago than the five-year, $43 million contract he signed with the Dolphins in March.

Dansby was a high school student in Alabama in 1999. He and three friends, including current New York Jets wide receiver Jerricho Cotchery, were driving back to their native Birmingham from a summer-league basketball practice in Tuscaloosa when a tire blew out, sending the car out of control.

"We flipped about seven times into oncoming traffic and the driver, Brian Talley, went through the windshield and was killed," Dansby said. "The rest of us had a few scratches and that was it.

"That was a turning point in my life. I didn't take life for granted anymore. You can be here one minute and the next you can be gone. I thank God every day."

Dansby, an all-state basketball player as a junior at Woodlawn High School in Birmingham, would soon concentrate his energies on football, earning All-America honors as a linebacker at Auburn before being selected in the second round of the 2004 draft by Arizona.

Considered the top free-agent linebacker on the market this spring, Dansby made headlines when the Dolphins made him the highest-paid linebacker in the NFL at that point.

Dansby, who will make his Dolphins debut Saturday night when Miami opens the pre-season against Tampa Bay at Sun Life Stadium, said he'll prove he's worth every penny.

"The people who know football and watch football understand I'm a game-changer," he said. "My goal is to be a legend in this game. Right now I'm the best in the league. That's the way I feel."

Channing Crowder, the other starting inside linebacker in the Dolphins' 3-4 defensive alignment, won't discourage that kind of thinking.

"Hell, no," Crowder said. "When I go out and talk to kids in the schools I say, 'If you don't think you're the best thing in the world, nobody will.'

"I think I'm the best-looking, best-talking, the fastest, the smartest. I love the confidence. And to play with a guy who has the same outlook I do kind of pushes us. We have a great relationship and I really care about him."

Dansby, 28, dismisses the absence of a Pro Bowl on his resume - "That's out of my hands," he said of the selection process shared by fans, coaches and players.

It certainly didn't help that he spent the first six years of his career on a team that, at least until recently, was often overlooked, and that Pro Bowl rosters are based on a 4-3 alignment, meaning that only two inside linebackers are selected each year.

Still, it's hard to argue that Dansby should have been ahead of either 2009 NFC starter Patrick Willis, whose five-year, $50 million extension with San Francisco in May topped the Dansby deal, or backup Jon Beason of Carolina. Both had more tackles, sacks and interceptions than Dansby.

Where Dansby has earned a reputation is as a playmaker, particularly in big games.

In Arizona's 51-45 overtime playoff victory over Green Bay last January, he forced a Donald Driver fumble that led to one score, deflected a pass into the hands of cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie to set up another and returned a fumble 17 yards for the winning touchdown.

It's those kinds of plays, plus his 4.56 speed in the 40, long arms and athleticism that have coach Tony Sparano excited.

"I always had a high opinion of Karlos from playing against him," Sparano said. "When you see a player that big, running that fast and covering that kind of ground at his position, that's pretty intimidating."

Crowder, who played alongside Akin Ayodele and Reggie Torbor the last two years, said there's no telling how good Dansby can be in coordinator Mike Nolan's attacking defense.

"He's just so smart. He's so athletic, and he's huge," Crowder said of Dansby, who is 6-foot-4 and 250 pounds. "He wears like size 16 (shoes) and is still so quick. His God-given ability is so good, and as smart as he is, that makes for a great player."




 Posted in News on August 12th, 2010 at 9:50 PM


 

Former Cardinals standout says he's "a game-changer," and plans to show that in 2010 with Dolphins

By Omar Kelly, Sun Sentinel

7:43 PM EDT, August 11, 2010

 

DAVIE —There's no doubt in Karlos Dansby's mind that he's the best playmaking inside linebacker in the NFL.

The lofty five-year, $43 million contract the Dolphins gave him this offseason backs that claim up. But what Dansby can't understand is why he's never been selected to a Pro Bowl in his six seasons.

"It's a lot of political things that go behind that. That's out of my hands," said Dansby, who has produced five straight seasons with 80 or more tackles, and has registered 25.5 career sacks and 10 interceptions in his career.

"All I can do is go out and play the game the way it's supposed to be played. The people who know football and watch football understand I'm a game-changer," Dansby said. "My goal is to be the best in the game, a legend in this game. Right now I'm the best in the league."

Dansby plans to prove that this season working with Channing Crowder as the Dolphins' two inside linebackers. Coach Tony Sparano said Dansby's versatility allows the coaches to put a lot on his plate, which likely means plenty of blitzes, and coverage assignments from this former Auburn standout.

Despite his Pro Bowl subs, Dansby said he's not worried about tabulating gaudy statistics in his first season with the Dolphins. He realizes he'll be measured by team success, which is why he's working hard to provide the leadership presence the defense needs.

"If we're winning, I'm happy," he said. "The goal is to get the ring and everything else will be smooth."

CLICK HERE for the full article




 Posted in Camp on August 6th, 2010 at 1:58 PM


8/04/2010 11:30 AM ET By Chris Harr
Senior NFL Writer



DAVIE, Fla. -- Given the A-list of newsmakers that flooded the South Florida sports scene the last few months, conspicuously absent from the headlines has been a certain Miami Dolphins linebacker.

That's fine with Karlos Dansby.

Let the spotlights shine on LeBron and his buddies, Marlins flamethrower Josh Johnson, and even new Dolphins teammate and passing-game savior Brandon Marshall.

"Oh yeah, that's perfect, man. Just perfect," Dansby told FanHouse from Dolphins training camp this week. "That's way cool. I can fly under the radar all day long."

That's kind of what Dansby has done, which is somewhat puzzling given the circumstances with which the former Arizona Cardinals standout arrived at the start of free agency last March. How often does a player sign a $43 million contract -- with more than half guaranteed -- and skate into town with relative anonymity?

He does when the other new guy getting a similar contract is Marshall, the big-play, big-body and big-headache wideout whom the Dolphins acquired (same might say "stole") from Denver for two second-round draft choices.

But don't underestimate the impact Dansby, the 6-foot-4, 250-pound inside linebacker and seventh-year pro, could mean for a Dolphins defense that is revamping its scheme under new coordinator Mike Nolan after finishing a disappointing 24th overall last season and surrendering 390 points (24.3 per game).

"I personally don't like to sing a lot [about] any of these guys, [but] I've really been impressed with what's happened with Dansby right now," Miami Coach Tony Sparano said. "He's so long and he runs so well for a big guy. The thing I think the most is that when Karlos sees it, he pulls the trigger right away."

That's how Dansby, who led the 2008 NFC champion Cardinals in tackles the last two seasons, attacks ballcarriers. But it's also the way he seized his spot with the Dolphins when he became an unrestricted free agent after back-to-back seasons wearing the lucrative but one-year franchise tag in Arizona.

"When we had the opportunity to get this player, there was no question in my mind whether I wanted this guy on my team. All I know is this guy makes plays. He's always around the football. With our defense and what we're asking him to do right now, he can be a heckuva player."
- Tony Sparano For Dansby, the pitch from Miami executive vice president Bill Parcells, the arrival of Nolan, and the thought of returning to the South (he's from Birmingham, Ala., and played at Auburn) to become a focal point on this defense were too enticing. The money didn't hurt, either. Nor did the fact the Cards were moving in utter rebuilding mode following the retirement of quarterback Kurt Warner and decision to cut ties with wide receiver Anquan Boldin (traded to Baltimore) and safety Antrel Rolle (signed with the New York Giants).

"It wasn't a difficult decision at all," Dansby said. "Nothing bitter about it. My time there was just done. Sometimes, when you run a race you get to the point where you have have to move on and look for other challenges. I wasn't challenged there. I wasn't bettering myself at Arizona anymore. ... It seemed like they were trying to start over, build their new team a certain way and I just wasn't in their plan. Once I thought I wasn't in that plan anymore, I had to move forward."

The Cardinals willingness to let a player who averaged 108 tackles over the last three seasons may seem curious, but the prevailing thought in the Arizona front office was that too many of Dansby's tackles occurred too far downfield; too few of his collisions at the point of attack. The Cardinals defense only ranked in the league's top 10 in yardage allowed once during Dansby's six seasons there.

"Offense," he said, "that's what they promoted there."

It's definitely how the Cards were built; and what got them to the postseason the last two years.

Nolan's plan in Miami calls for the Dolphins to vary from the pure 3-4 scheme they're run for years, using new and varied looks, with defensive linemen attacking gaps inside so both Dansby and sixth-year veteran Channing Crowder can more involved up front.

"He's going to make a huge impact," strong safety Yeremiah Bell said of Dansby. "He's proven himself in the league and came in here like a leader. With him teaming with Channing, they're going to be a force to reckon with."

In the perfect Dolphins world, Dansby will bring the kinds of splash, game-changing plays he turned in last January against Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers in that epic NFC wild-card game in Arizona.

Rodgers and the Pack came in red hot, winners of seven of eight and a fashionable pick to make a Super Bowl run. On the first play from scrimmage, Dansby blitzed and flushed a flustered Rodgers -- making his postseason debut -- out of the pocket and into an interception that set up a Cards touchdown. On the second Green Bay series, Dansby thwarted a bubble screen to Donald Driver, forcing a fumble the Cards recovered and turned into another touchdown.

Then, of course, on the game's final play -- in overtime -- Dansby caught a Rodgers fumble on a sack in mid-air and raced 17 yards into NFL Films immortality, giving Arizona a 51-45 win in one of the greatest postseason shootouts in league history.

Sparano smiled, admittedly embarrassed, that just about every game he'd ever coached against Dansby (whether during his first as head coach in Miami, or a couple times facing the Cards as Dallas offensive line coach), Dansby had done something to change the game.

"When we had the opportunity to get this player, there was no question in my mind whether I wanted this guy on my team," Sparano said. "All I know is this guy makes plays. He's always around the football. With our defense and what we're asking him to do right now, he can be a heckuva player."

Maybe even the face of the defense.

"Yes, I have an opportunity here to do that here," Dansby said. "But I have to earn that. I have earn to that respect."

He'll gladly try to do it in the shadows of his fellow $40-plus-million buddy. Dansby, in fact, swears he predicted the sequences of events to his "homeboys" early in the offseason when Miami emerged as his No. 1 choice.

"They said, 'No way in hell y'all are getting Brandon Marshall too!' I said, 'You watch!' Now look," he said. "All the pieces of the puzzle are starting to fit together. The Dolphins are hungry. Brandon and me are hungry. It's all starting to mesh together. It's gonna be nice."

Dansby pointed to the threatening Florida skies above.

"Yeah," Dansby said. "It's gonna be a thunderstorm down here, baby."

If he's right, look for LeBron and friends on the Dolphins sidelines.




 Posted in Camp on August 6th, 2010 at 1:30 PM


 

Coach Sparano was asked who impressed him the most so far in camp.

He replied, "Karlos Dansby. I personally don't like to single out any of these guys, but I've been really impressed with what's happening with Dansby right now."

Play recognition and Dansby's immediate ability to react has been what has stood out to the Dolphin's head man.

"He runs so well for a big guy," Sparano said. "When Karlos sees it, he pulls the trigger right away. Some people don't do that.”

 

 





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