Dansby - The Latest...

[82CardsGrad]

Cardinals want to keep Dansby, might use franchise tag to do it
By BOB BAUM, AP Sports Writer
December 27, 2007

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) -- The Arizona Cardinals don't intend to let big-play linebacker Karlos Dansby get away when he becomes an unrestricted free agent after this season. If they can't re-sign him, expect the Cardinals to use the franchise tag to force him to stay.

"Karlos is a valued player and he's recognized as being one of our core players," general manager Rod Graves said on Thursday. "It's our intent to do everything we can to try to keep him here."


Dansby, who said he expects to be back next year, didn't mind the prospect of becoming a franchise player.
"I think it would be an honor," he said. "If that's the steps I have to take in order to get where I want to go, that's fine."

If Dansby gets the exclusive franchise tag, he would have no choice but to remain under contract with Arizona. He would receive the average one-year salary of the five highest-paid linebackers in the league. Last season, that was $7.2 million.
Dansby is thought to want much more in a long-term deal, and he said the sides were "not very close."

Graves said contract talks have been sporadic.
"But I definitely assume that's going to pick up immediately after the season," he said.
Dansby's agent Kirk Wood said that he will talk to the team once the season ends.
"Carlos is very happy with the Cardinals," Wood said. "He's really impressed with the new coaching staff and the organization that's in place. He wants to be there long-term and we're going to work very hard to make that happen."

Shifted from outside linebacker to the middle by new coach Ken Whisenhunt and his staff, Dansby is having the best season in a pro career disrupted by injuries. Even though he missed two games with a knee injury, Dansby leads the team in tackles with 112, 81 solo. He has three interceptions, eight passes defended, four forced fumbles, 3 1/2 sacks, two quarterback pressures and two quarterback hits.

He didn't make the Pro Bowl, but he believes he should have.
"I made a lot of big plays, flying around, just being electrifying. That's what I call it," he said. "I think it was definitely a Pro Bowl season."
Against St. Louis on Oct. 7, Dansby had a career-high 17 tackles, 13 unassisted. He was NFC defensive player of the week after intercepting two passes and forcing a fumble in Arizona's victory over Detroit on Nov. 11.

Concern about injuries kept the Cardinals from seriously pursuing contract talks after last season. Dansby missed all of training camp and the season opener a year ago with toe and leg injuries. Then-coach Dennis Green once intimated that Dansby wasn't working hard enough.
Injuries kept him out of three other games in 2006.
"People may ask, 'well, why did we wait this long to try to get Karlos under contract,"' Graves said. "It, quite frankly, was questions about his durability. But we also recognized that whenever he was healthy, he was an impact player."

The durability concerns have eased, Graves said, but he wants the issue to be addressed in any new contract
"He did miss some games for us, and I think from a contractual standpoint that will be something we would want to focus on is play time and that sort of thing," he said. Whisenhunt is counting on Dansby. "Certainly there were questions about his role this year, and he's been very productive," Whisenhunt said. "I anticipate he'll be a very important part of what we want to do defensively from this point forward."

 

[SuperSpck]

"Dansby, who said he expects to be back next year, didn't mind the prospect of becoming a franchise player.
"I think it would be an honor," he said. "If that's the steps I have to take in order to get where I want to go, that's fine."



And I breathe a HUGE sigh of relief.

 

[Jetstream Green]

Thank U Karlos, many players see the tag as an insult but Dansby seems to not mind it. I hope the long term deal works out but Dansby is a breath of fresh air with his attitude

 

[DaisyCutter]

The durability concerns have eased, Graves said, but he wants the issue to be addressed in any new contract
"He did miss some games for us, and I think from a contractual standpoint that will be something we would want to focus on is play time and that sort of thing," he said.

It would be a shame if this were to become a holdup on a long-term deal. Anquan Boldin had missed some games with injury before his new contract, but we didn't hear anything about it then...

...and, yes, Karlos Dansby is as important to the defense as Anquan Boldin is to the offense.

 

[Jetstream Green]

Wilson is the defensive equal to Fitz and your right DaisyCutter, Boldin = Dansby and I think the injury likewise should be thrown out the window if the same was handle in such way with Boldin

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Wilson is the defensive equal to Fitz and your right DaisyCutter, Boldin = Dansby and I think the injury likewise should be thrown out the window if the same was handle in such way with Boldin

we tend not to agree on much, but i'm with you here.

 

[Trey]

"Karlos is a valued player and he's recognized as being one of our core players," general manager Rod Graves said on Thursday.

"Carlos is very happy with the Cardinals," Wood said.

No wonder they're so far apart. They're not even talking about the same player...

 

[8ndkorner]

Dansby's agent Kirk Wood said that he will talk to the team once the season ends.
"Carlos is very happy with the Cardinals," Wood said. "

I think it's a shame that his agent is the only one in the story that can't spell his name correctly.

 

[Cbus cardsfan]

Reading that just gives me less and less confidence in Graves,not that i had alot to begin with. To me,if anything, Dansby has shown he'll play hurt and is still the best defensive player out there. This is the NFL, guys miss time because of injuries. Like people said, it wasn't an issue with Boldin. I can't remember exactly but it seems like Hayes had some injury issues. Is Leinart not going to extended,if warranted, because of his injury problems? Let's face it. Graves rolled the dice and lost. He was waiting to see if Dansby's play fell back or rose up. It rose way up and now will cost the Cards alot more money. It figures Graves tries use the one negative and base his negotiation on that. Why doesn't he look at the positive things he will bring to the team like having a premier LB wearing Cardinal red for about 5 more years and get him signed.I think they will get a deal done but i can't say i have alot of faith in Graves. At least they'll use the tag if they have to.

 

[Mitch]

RG is right to be concerned about Dansby's durability...it's been a question mark about him since he's been here. The fact that he's stepped up big-time in his contract year shows what Dansby is capable of when he is highly motivated, which is why it would make perfect sense for RG to sign Dansby to an incentive-laden contract.

While on the one hand it is nice to know that Dansby would not balk at being franchise tagged, let's not forget that Dansby could then miss most of training camp and then collect a cool $7.2M for the season as a late reportee. And let's not forget how Dansby was basically a no-show for training camp the year before when he cited mystery ailments.

One of the major reasons why Dansby has had such a good year is the unprecedented commitment he made during the off-season. If his commitment this off-season isn't as avid, one has to wonder what kind of production the team will get from Dansby, especially if he misses a large portion of training camp.

No one can deny Dansby's talent, particularly when he's in shape, motivated and focussed. Perhaps Dansby has turned the corner and has evolved into a committed professional. That's basically what the Cardinals will be counting on if they re-sign him for mega-millions...

It might be wisest to tag Dansby for one year and see how the year goes...if Dansby stacks back-to-back good years (which he hasn't yet as a Cardinal), then the lucrative long-term deal would make more sense.

 

[Cbus cardsfan]

2004- Dansby 15 games
2005 Dansby 15 games
2006 Dansby 14 games
2007 Dansby 14 games(including Sunday)

so in 4 years he has missed 6 games.

Gerald Hayes:2004 16 games
2005 0 games
2006 14 games
2007 16 games
in 4 years, he's missed 18 games

Anquan Boldin:2004 10 games
2005 14 games
2006 16 games
2007 12 games
he's missed 12 games in 4 years

Adrian Wilson will miss more games this year than Dansby has in 4 years.

Let's look at some of the top LB's in the game over the last 4 years
Urlacher missed 7 games
Zach Thomas 16 games
Merriman 6 games(over 3 years and a suspension)
Julian Peterson 12 games
Mike Peterson 16 games
Ray Lewis 13 games

So,please explain to me again how durability is an issue with Dansby .

 

[SuperSpck]

2004- Dansby 15 games
2005 Dansby 15 games
2006 Dansby 14 games
2007 Dansby 14 games(including Sunday)

so in 4 years he has missed 6 games.

Gerald Hayes:2004 16 games
2005 0 games
2006 14 games
2007 16 games
in 4 years, he's missed 18 games

Anquan Boldin:2004 10 games
2005 14 games
2006 16 games
2007 12 games
he's missed 12 games in 4 years

Adrian Wilson will miss more games this year than Dansby has in 4 years.

Let's look at some of the top LB's in the game over the last 4 years
Urlacher missed 7 games
Zach Thomas 16 games
Merriman 6 games(over 3 years and a suspension)
Julian Peterson 12 games
Mike Peterson 16 games
Ray Lewis 13 games

So,please explain to me again how durability is an issue with Dansby .

As a bona fide playmaker and a man who's very presence can change the course of a game, each time he misses one if feels like more of a blow, unlike another player, albeit solid, but without as many stand out tendencies who may not be as missed.

 

[BigRedRage]

Dansby's agent Kirk Wood said that he will talk to the team once the season ends.
"Carlos is very happy with the Cardinals," Wood said. "

I think it's a shame that his agent is the only one in the story that can't spell his name correctly.

His agent didn't write the article....

 

[seesred]

IMO Dansby will be signed prior to next years camp. Graves has been good at getting guys resigned over the last few years. Look also for a Pace deal, Fitz deal and maybe Johnson. We will go after 1-3 FA's the draft and go to battle.

GBR
40

 

[joeshmo]

Just get it done before having to use the franchise tag. Dansby may be fine with the franchise tag only because he can wait until after OTA's and training camp to sign it, not having to go up to Flagstaff and still have 7+Mill in gauranteed money.

Also depending on the deals that Suggs and Briggs sign this offseason Dansbys Franchise tag tender may be a lot higher then we want to pay. If any one of those guys gets a front loaded deal it could really screw with the 2008 LB franchise tag amount. Could be way higher then last year 7.2 amount.

 

[AntSports Steve]

Joe, before the new CBA, the Franchise tag's values were calculated based on the previous years contracts and then set that way for the year.

Is the F-Tag now recalculated as each new player signs a deal?

 

[Billy Flynt]

His agent didn't write the article....

I'm sure the agent was speaking phonetically...


This is certainly promising news. Especially since I bought an authentic Dansby jersey two years ago when the new unis came out.

 

[Duckjake]

RG is right to be concerned about Dansby's durability...it's been a question mark about him since he's been here. The fact that he's stepped up big-time in his contract year shows what Dansby is capable of when he is highly motivated, which is why it would make perfect sense for RG to sign Dansby to an incentive-laden contract.

As opposed to the other three seasons where combined he had 17 sacks and 4 INTs including 2 he returned for TDs along with over 200 tackles?

I just don't think Dansby has turned it up just for a contract. He's played just like he always has imo. Considering the record D Green had I think that 2006 was just Denny being Denny and not a reflection on Dansby.

 

[joeshmo]

Joe, before the new CBA, the Franchise tag's values were calculated based on the previous years contracts and then set that way for the year.

Is the F-Tag now recalculated as each new player signs a deal?

I am not completely sure but, Last year the DE franchise tag amount went up for the DE that Detriot tagged last year becuase of Freeneys new deal signed in July of 2007. So I assume it is know the top 5 salaries up to the last cut down date of that year (or another new date that I am unsure of at this time).

 

[ajcardfan]

So,please explain to me again how durability is an issue with Dansby .

*crickets chirping*

 

[joeshmo]

As opposed to the other three seasons where combined he had 17 sacks and 4 INTs including 2 he returned for TDs along with over 200 tackles?

I just don't think Dansby has turned it up just for a contract. He's played just like he always has imo. Considering the record D Green had I think that 2006 was just Denny being Denny and not a reflection on Dansby.

It wasnt just Green who had that opinion of Dansby. It was many of the sports writters and radio show people as well. The issues Green and his staff had with Dansby go all the way back to his college days and a reason why Dansby left early, he was wearing thin on his coaches in college as well. It is why he fell in the draft despite having good combine and production in college. It is why Graves who has a history of getting guys re-signed waited on him.

As for the first paragraph Dansby is without question in my mind having his best season yet.

Best Tackles total yet - has 9 More tackles then his next best year in 2 fewer games.
Best forced fumble total - in 2 fewer games.
Best coverage yet - has 3 more PD's then his next best year in 2 fewer games, ties his best INT total, and we are ranked 4th in the league in defending TE recieving.
Combine that with almost being at his career average in sacks and TFL with one game left to play and he is without a question in mind having his best most consistent season yet.

Now, is that becuase of the position change or becuase he is actually practicing this season? I think its a combo of both.

 

[Gee!]

we tend not to agree on much, but i'm with you here.

This phenomenon has always intrigued me.. Why do people feel the need to point out a negative like "we never agree", before pointing out a positive like "we agree on this one"? Ive never understood this line of thinking..

Sorry Ouchie, you just happen to be the one when I decided to ask this.. Ive been seeing it alot with alot of different people though..

 

[Crazy Canuck]

His agent didn't write the article....

It was a JOKE!!!

 

[joeshmo]

*crickets chirping*

It is not just made up. He is notorious for missing camps, practices, and in some cases not able to finish games becuase of nagging and sometimes mysterious injuries. Goes all the way back to his college days.

He doesnt miss a lot of games but it is also why coaches get so frustrated with him and why he has that tag on him. They all feel he could be all world if he just put in the effort and time in practice instead of just settling for being good. Its like any coach who is hardest on the player they feel can be the best. But that shouldnt be an excuse to not have already re-signed him becuase he is still good.

 

[CardLogic]

As opposed to the other three seasons where combined he had 17 sacks and 4 INTs including 2 he returned for TDs along with over 200 tackles?

I just don't think Dansby has turned it up just for a contract. He's played just like he always has imo. Considering the record D Green had I think that 2006 was just Denny being Denny and not a reflection on Dansby.

Maybe you can copyright that phrase, Dj!

I criticized Dansby for his apparent reluctance at the beginning of the season last year (2006). In hindsight, it can be surmised that the cause of Dansby's hesitance was due almost entirely to the antics of Dennis Green.

It now is obvious that the Cardinals should have done a contract extension for Dansby last year. The Cardinals rolled the dice with this situation last season, now they have to pay up! It is critical to the franchise to get it done.