Cardinals notebook: Dansby relishes role as man in middle

Karlos Dansby looked like he was born to be a middle linebacker Monday night. His shift from the outside paid off, as Dansby looked like the best defensive player on the field.

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“My new position is perfect,” he said. “It’s panning out just like the coaches planned it out.”

Coach Ken Whisenhunt, sounding his most familiar theme, praised Dansby while calling for consistency.

“Some of the things we thought we saw in the offseason that would benefit him from the inside showed up in the game.

Can he do that over the course of the season? That’s the question.

“I think Karlos is excited about what he did. I expect him to do that over the course of the season.”

Dansby said, “I’m in a groove. I just want to keep it rolling.”

Same goes for the defense as a whole.

Saying the defense “had a great performance” — except for the finish, of course — Dansby said, “We’ve got to get more turnovers and put our offense in great position to get wins.”

The emphasis in division games, such as Sunday’s vs. Seattle, will be to stop an elite running back.

“We’ve got a great group of running backs we play against twice a year,” Dansby said. “We’ve got to put a lot of emphasis on the run game in the division.”

WHICH CARDINALS ARE THEY?

The past few days have allowed everyone close to the team to reflect on the expectations that were turned upside down.

The offense was supposed to be highlight material, well, except for the running game.

Instead, the offense was bad, except for the running game.

By contrast, the team’s suspect defense turned out to be the strength. The Cards are the league’s No. 2-ranked defense after the first week; they were 29th at the end of last season.

“Everybody thought we were going to light it up,” Whisenhunt said. “And we didn’t.” “A lot of people didn’t have expectations for our defense. “We did. We thought our defense would do well. They did.”

But, he cautioned, “It doesn’t mean anything unless we do it again. We want to be a consistent team.” Sunday poses a great test, because, “They have one of the top offenses in the league.”

MOVING ON

The Cardinals can’t afford a repeat of last year, when their worst collapse of the season — the memorable Monday night pratfall vs. Chicago — seemed to throw off the next week. That’s when they hit their season’s low point: a 22-9 trouncing by the lowly Oakland Raiders. So they have to leave Monday’s last-minute loss behind them.

In Pittsburgh, Whisenhunt said, “Coach (Bill) Cowher used to say ‘the 24-hour rule,” ’ that once a full day passes, “You move on.” In this case, “It’s easier when you’re playing Seattle, the division champ. You better get focused or you’ll get embarrassed.”

HOLMGREN’S PLANS

Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren sounds noncommittal on his long-term plans, other than he’ll coach through next season (when his contract expires).

“Now I’ve been at this a little while, and there are times at the end of the season where I feel like I need some time away,” he said. He indicated he would keep going “as long I’m cranked up and feeling good. ... But I think you reach a point in your career where you do take it a year at a time. In fairness to everybody, that’s kind of where we are now.’’

EXTRA POINT

Sunday’s game vs. the Seahawks is sold out. It will be televised locally on Ch. 10.