Karlos Dansby’s interception return against Indianapolis a result of hard work
Nov 25, 2013, 5:28 AM
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Arizona Cardinals linebacker Karlos Dansby seemingly has been in the right place at the right time week after week, positioning himself in the crossfires of several errant passes from opposing quarterbacks.
The poor guy has tortured Cardinals nation, which has wanted to erupt every time he gets his hands on the football. Yet, he kept failing to secure the ball when it came his way.
Dansby was dropping balls as frequently as Rashad “Hot Hands” Hanon — from the ever-popular football movie “Little Giants” — until the boy resorted to “Stickum” to hold on to the football. Too bad Dansby can’t use that today in the NFL.
This begs the question, What do you do when you’re having trouble dropping interceptions? Since Stickum is illegal in the NFL, Dansby chose the next best thing: Borrow a pair of Larry Fitzgerald’s gloves.
So what resulted following the wardrobe change?
How about a pick-six off Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck, contributing to the team’s biggest victory in the Bruce Arians era.
“I thought he was going to get another one. That was a huge one, a huge one. Big momentum swing,” said head coach Bruce Arians of Dansby.
For what it’s worth, those gloves have assisted Fitzgerald in corralling more than 11,000 receiving yards and 85 touchdowns over his career.
“Yeah, they had a lot to do with it,” Dansby acknowledged. “I put the work in. 100 balls a day all week long. It shows that if you put the work in, you’ll be successful.”
It was Dansby’s second interception of the season and the 13th of his career. He also notched his fourth career touchdown — counting the playoffs.
No one was happier about the big play than defensive end Darnell Dockett, who helped force the interception by sacking Luck as he released the football under pressure. Dockett was the first person to congratulate Dansby in the end zone, and he said he couldn’t care less who gets the credit for the play.
“I told him it was going to pay off,” Dockett said, referring to the effort that Dansby has been putting in all season. “I’ll give you the most crap during practice when you don’t catch it, but I’ll be the first person to congratulate you when you do.”
The defensive end also commended Dansby on staying after practice everyday for the previous three weeks and working with receivers on catching passes.
Looking back on that play, Luck said in his postgame press conference that he wishes he had held onto the ball and took the sack or simply threw the pass earlier.
“They [Cardinals defensive backs] created a bit of a hornet’s nest. Give credit to them,” the quarterback said.
Wait till next week to see if Dansby asks to borrow Fitzgerald’s gloves again.
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