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Patrick Robinson Film Study

For the Saints to fully implement new defensive coordinator Rob Ryan's vast and complex defense, the corners must be very proficient in man-to-man coverage. Ryan's defense has a lot of moving parts along the front line, mostly meant to converge at the quarterback. The corners need to make it so the quarterback has to hold on to the ball as long as possible. I previously detailed how I believed newly acquired corner Keenan Lewis, might be the beneficiary of this new scheme. With as good as I believe he will be for the Saints, there's another corner on the roster with all the prerequisite skills to possibly be even better!

As a youth, one of my favorite players in the NFL happened to be former Green Bay Packers and New Orleans Saints corner Mike McKenzie. I'd been a fan of corner play ever since Deion Sanders left his mark on an entire culture here in Atlanta, Georgia. Ever since, I've been in love with the fact that one player could make another player disappear from the stat sheet.

Now don't get me wrong, McKenzie was nowhere near the class of Deion Sanders. But the aspect that Sanders lacked in his game, McKenzie excelled at. McKenzie was one of the most physical press corners I've ever seen. When he played in Green Bay with fellow press-corner savant Al Harris, it was a thing of beauty for fans of physical corner play.

The tenacity that both McKenzie and Harris played with is one of the reasons I value current Saints corner Patrick Robinson. I've recognized his great skill set ever since I scouted him at Florida State University. At 5-11, 195 pounds, Robinson has the perfect build to excel in physical play. He's built a lot thicker than most corners, and is very similar in physical stature to all-world corner Darrelle Revis of the rival Tampa Bay Buccaneers. His 4.3 sec. in the forty-yard dash just adds to the allure of his skill-set. He has the complete makeup of a shutdown corner.

He deserves to be judged on a different curve than most corners
Heading into his fourth season, I feel as though this is a make or break time period for Robinson. As a first round pick in 2010, most felt as though Robinson and Super Bowl hero Tracy Porter would lead the Saints in tandem for many years to come. After two seasons, Porter left via free agency, which in turn showed a clear delineation on who was the future number one corner. In his first season as the Saints primary corner, Robinson's play was a mixed bag to say the least. His 64 tackles, three interceptions (one for a 99-yard TD!) and one forced fumble were pretty good. But it was his 18 passes defensed (6th in the NFL) that really stood out. As a matter of fact, between Keenan Lewis and Patrick Robinson, the Saints now have the number two and number six ranked players as far as passes defensed in the entire NFL, respectively.

As much positive play as Patrick Robinson displayed in the 2012 season, one could argue that it was an equally tough season overall for him. Robinson was beaten numerous times for big plays, with some resulting in highlight-reel touchdowns. To his credit, the Saints had him follow around each team's top receiving threat the majority of the year. This is why I only judge players off of game film, and never look at "premium stats" to make my argument. Patrick Robinson's stats overall would probably look a lot better if he just played a specific side, where he could essentially play against the teams worst receiving threat a good deal of the time.

But having him follow around Dwayne Bowe (Chiefs), Hakeem Nicks (Giants), Steve Smith (Panthers), Demaryius Thomas (Broncos), and Dez Bryant (Cowboys), can make the best of the best seem ordinary at times. For that simple fact, I think he deserves to be judged on a different curve than most corners. There's no substitute for competition in this great game we call football. Those with more difficult tasks, outweigh from a competitive standpoint, more than "premium stats" can measure. I work 100% off of game film.

So lets hit the film room to see truly what Patrick Robinson's strengths and weaknesses are.

Continue reading: New Orleans Saints Cornerback Patrick Robinson Film Study - Canal Street Chronicles

Another well done article by Canal Street Chronicles. There's a ton of film study with stills. Very interesting.