Larry Brown Sports

Linebacker Karlos Dansby is one of the latest cap casualties of the 2013 offseason, as the Miami Dolphins announced on Wednesday morning that they have cut the 10-year veteran. Dansby was signed through the 2014 season, so many believed he would be cut after the upcoming year. The Dolphins instead decided to clear some cap space now in an attempt to keep getting younger.

Many veteran players who are cut are taken by surprise, but Dansby reminded us on Wednesday that it’s always a good idea to keep your cell phone handy when the free agent period begins. During an interview with Sid Rosenberg on 640 AM in Miami, Dansby said he found out about his release in an unfortunate manner.

Dansby said to @sidrosenberg he missed Jeff Ireland’s call while working out, then found out by text message & watching ESPN that he was cut

— Ben Volin (@BenVolinPBP) March 13, 2013

Hey, at least Ireland attempted to let him know first. Stories like this haven’t exactly given the Dolphins GM the best reputation, but he tried. Rosenberg said that Dansby sounded “hurt” by the fact that he was cut. The 31-year-old said he truly had no idea he was going to be let go.

“Not one indication, not a hint,” he said, via Ben Volin of the Palm Beach Post. “It was all, ‘Let’s get ready for the next season.’ I’m not angry with the organization. I know it’s business. … I was expecting this after this season, though.”

I’m sure there are plenty of players around the league who have felt the exact same way over the past few weeks, and there are probably more to come. When it comes to making business transactions, no player is off-limits.

Chad Johnson’s career in Miami has ended before it really even started. In the wake of his arrest for domestic violence and allegedly head-butting his new wife Evelyn Lozada over the weekend, the Dolphins have officially cut Johnson.While it is the first time Johnson has been in trouble with the law, the Dolphins were reportedly not willing to deal with any extra baggage he might bring along and felt no reason to hear the full story before giving him his release. Linebacker Karlos Dansby wishes they had.

“It’s going to be a bigger distraction because we let him go,” Dansby said during an appearance on 640 Sports in Ft. Lauderdale according to Pro Football Talk.  “He didn’t get that third strike. That’s just me personally. … We’ve been through worse. We’ve seen worse.

“That’s not Chad. If anybody knows Chad, that’s not Chad. The man don’t drink, the man don’t smoke. He may clown around but when it comes to football, he’s all about football. That’s his life. For him to be in this situation, that’s unfortunate. And it’s out of character.”

Whether he deserved another chance or not, it’s officially time for the artist formerly known as Ochocinco to start looking for a career in porn. Johnson was already on thin ice with the Dolphins organization for saying ridiculous things to reporters and talking too much during HBO’s “Hard Knocks.” Head coach Joe Philbin’s patience was wearing thin with him, so the arrest was likely the final nail in the coffin. Second and third chances are typically not reserved for players who have a history of being a distraction.

Photo credit: Steve Mitchell-US PRESSWIRE

The Broncos have won six of seven games with Tim Tebow as their starting quarterback. Most of their wins under Tebow have come in the final few minutes, sparking a “Miracle of Tim Tebow” study.

The string of Tebow magic began with a comeback to beat the Dolphins in Week 7. Down 15-0, the Broncos scored 15 points to tie the game in the final three minutes before winning in overtime. You figure Miami would still be upset with blowing the game, but that’s not how linebacker Karlos Dansby sees it.

“I think us losing to Tim Tebow the way we did, we’ve seen it first hand,” Dansby told Jim Rome. “The young man is blessed. The young man has a special anointing on him. For God to show himself in the game the way He did, through the guy He did it through, it opened a lot of guys’ eyes on our team. It brought a lot of guys closer to God. Everything happens for a reason.

“That was something that we couldn’t control, and it was out of our control. My hat goes off to Tim, and God working through him like that. It opened up a lot of eyes. He’s a blessed young man, and I wish him much success the rest of his career.”

Many people don’t believe that God has a hand in the outcome of athletic events. Some people even feel that Tebow needs to cool it on the religious talk. But then you have guys like Dansby, who became a believer after witnessing the miracle of Tebow.

I don’t know if God determines athletic events, but I’ve always been a believer when it came to sports. I’ve always felt that if you put in the proper amount of work and preparation, you get rewarded on game day. Call it God, or call it something else, but there is a lot to be said for doing things the right way and seeing a good outcome.

When the Dolphins signed linebacker Karlos Dansby back in 2010, they knew they were getting an impact player. If they thought Dansby was an average defender, they would not have given him a five-year, $43 million contract that included $22 million guaranteed. However, they may not have known they were signing a Hall of Famer — one that is better than every other linebacker in the game.  Why do we say that about Karlos, you ask?  Because he insists.

“I feel like I’m the best, and now I just have to prove it,” Dansby told the Miami Herald. “I’ve been saying it for the last couple of years, and I’m just now getting my opportunity to be on the stage to show it.”

Naturally, reporters went into feasting mode as soon as he started talking like a jackass.  When one asked Dansby if he thought he was better than Ray Lewis, what do you think he said?

“I’m better than everybody,” he said immediately. “Everybody. Period. Point blank. I just haven’t had the recognition, man. I’m more versatile than everybody. Period. Pont blank. I’m more versatile than everybody. Hands down. I can do it all.”

Read The Rest of the Story…

Channing Crowder has been all over the headlines this week.  Earlier in the week, he made some comments about Derrick Mason being an old man and Mason responded by saying he’s been catching passes since Crowder was still wetting himself.  According to the Dolphins linebacker, the war went beyond words during the Miami-Baltimore game on Sunday, which the Ravens won 26-10.

Crowder told The Miami Herald after the game that Ravens running back Le’Ron McClain spit in his face during the third quarter.  Crowder then proceeded to call McClain a “bitch-ass punk” and a “ho.”  Meanwhile, Mason was in the Ravens locker room telling reporters that Crowder is a “bad player” who will be out of the league before Mason — who’s 36 — retires.

Things kept getting uglier, at least from a verbal standpoint.  The most memorable quotes about the situation came from Dolphins linebacker Karlos Dansby.

Man, if I’d have seen that, there would have been a damn brawl out there, straight up,” Dansby said. “We don’t play that. We some tough guys. But if you take a cowardly way like that, you need to be straightened. Hopefully, Roger Goodell will look at the film and he’ll do something about it. If he don’t, we’ll see him in the street and we’ll have to handle it like men.”

Them there are fightin’ words — literally.  I’d be willing to wager nothing happens “in the street,” but it would probably be wise for Goodell to take a look at the situation and try to do something to diffuse it.  Otherwise the refs will need to be armed with stun guns and riot shields in the unlikely event that the two teams should meet in the playoffs.