Because it had been far too long since he ruffled feathers, Karlos Dansby let the world know just what he thought of his Miami Dolphins teammate Cameron Wake being held off the field during the New England Patriots' game-clinching drive on Sunday.
Late in the game, the Pats reeled off a 15-play, 77-yard drive to set up a game-icing field goal with 1:15 to go (they got the ball with 8:28 to go, leading by seven at the time). Wake was on the sideline for the first eight plays, and Dansby was not happy when he found out about it.
"That's tough man, that's tough," he told WQAM-560. He said he did not know at the time that Wake was out. "You have to go into the game with players that are going to have an impact. I'm saying they're starters, they need to be in the game. Period."
According to The Miami Herald, Wake tried to go on the field twice during the series before coaches called him back.
"I know if it was me on the sideline," Dansby added, "I'd be raising hell trying to get back in the game."
Wake was more diplomatic, telling the Herald that he wants to be in every snap.
"I trust the coach's decision. I don't think it would have changed the outcome if they hadn't done that," he said.
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Dolphins defensive coordinator Kevin Coyle defended the move earlier this week, saying Wake and other defensive linemen are kept on a rotation to keep them fresh. "We did continue with the rotation right up to the very end," he told The Associated Press.
"We didn't play particularly well in that last drive, but that had nothing to do with who was in the game in terms of the rotation."
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Until Dansby spoke up Wednesday, the Dolphins had not said anything negative about the plan. "There was a different rotation this game, just the way we scheduled it," DE Jared Odrick said after the game. He was also on the sideline for a portion of the last drive.
Dansby has never been afraid to speak his mind, and in this case, he makes a good point. Down 7 to the best offense in the NFL, the Dolphins badly needed a defensive stop. The Pats were content to run the ball and drain the clock, which they did to perfection.
If that's not a time to put your Pro Bowl lineman in the game, when is?
With the Dolphins likely headed for another season without a playoff berth, the outcome is not a big deal in the grand scheme of things. But it will be interesting to see how much the Dolphins stick to their rotations in crunch time through the rest of the season.
