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.