heath evans.jpg
Former Auburn fullback Heath Evans is an analyst for the NFL Network.
(Courtesy of NFL Network)
Heath Evans and Karlos Dansby were teammates on the 2000 Auburn football team. Evans was in his final season as a head-banging fullback for the Tigers. Dansby was making the transition from wide receiver to linebacker and, as a partial academic qualifier, didn't play as a freshman.
But Evans took exception to something Dansby said about another of Evans' former teams last week.
During an appearance on "PFT Live" on Thursday, Dansby was asked his opinion on the NFL's suspension of New England quarterback Tom Brady and penalties against the Patriots following the Deflategate investigation. Dansby recalled a game he played with the Arizona Cardinals in New England in 2008 when his in-helmet communications with the defensive coordinator wouldn't work.
"My headset was working fine every game until the very last game of the year," Dansby said. "We get in Foxborough, they couldn't get my helmet fixed for nothing in the world. Nothing in the world."
Asked if he thought that was a coincidence, Dansby answered: "Come on, man. Come on. It's not a secret. They got to do what they got to do to win, man. They're going do what they got to do to win. It's just how they operate. It's not a secret."
Evans was on the other sideline in that game as the Patriots' fullback. New England won 47-7 in a snowstorm, although the Patriots missed the playoffs while Dansby and the Cardinals advanced to the Super Bowl that season. Now an analyst for the NFL Network, Evans used that platform to respond to Dansby's implication the Patriots had sabotaged his headset.
"I'm torn because Karlos is an Auburn guy," Evans said. "I'm his biggest defender. I ripped the Miami Dolphins to shreds when they got this guy out of Miami. He's one of the best complete linebackers in the game. He's smart. He's tough. He does it all. He also said some crazy stuff. Karlos, you're kidding me. ...
"Our heaters didn't work that day. I don't know about our communication system between our coaches and everything else. I can't speak for that. I know our heaters broke for a time. I know the benches that heat us up weren't working for a time. I know a phone call between me and (offensive coordinator) Josh McDaniels wasn't working at a time. I hate to say it, but it's such a loser's mentality."
Evans pointed to New England's 40-point margin of victory.
"The problem is: He accused us of cheating?" Evans said. "I'll accuse Karlos of not bringing his defense to Foxborough that day because it was a butt-whooping. That's what it was. Period. The end. ...
"It surprised me of Karlos because that's not the championship mentality he plays with on Sunday."
Dansby remains a starting linebacker in the NFL. The former Woodlawn High School standout is preparing for his second season with the Cleveland Browns.
In the Deflategate controversy, an independent investigator concluded it was "more probable than not" the footballs used by the New England offense in the first half of the AFC Championship Game in January were purposefully under-inflated to benefit quarterback Tom Brady. The NFL suspended Brady for the first four games of the 2015 regular season, fined the Patriots $1 million and stripped the team of its first-round selection in the 2016 NFL Draft and its fourth-round selection in the 2017 NFL Draft. Brady has appealed his suspension.