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METAIRIE — In a span of just three games, New Orleans Saints cornerback Patrick Robinson went from being inactive to starting at one of the most demanding positions in pro football.

It’s not the typical transition for a first-round draft pick, but one Robinson had to endure to earn his stripes with the reigning Super Bowl champions after Tracy Porter was knocked out of the lineup by arthroscopic knee surgery earlier this month.

Robinson, who played mostly on special teams in his NFL debut against the Minnesota Vikings in the season opener, was inactive for a Week 2 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers.

But since then, he’s made steady progress over the first half of his rookie season: starting the past three games and likely starting again Sunday night when the Saints take on the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Superdome.

Robinson didn’t want to talk about what led to his being inactive for the 49ers game, but Saints coach Sean Payton last week indicated that it was part of being a rookie even though he was a high draft pick.

“Like with any rookie, there are a lot of things,” Payton said when asked if being inactive was an eye-opener for Robinson. “In his case, he’s continued to make good progress, and that’s a good sign, especially for a young player.

“Are they getting better week by week, and are they practicing well enough to give you confidence to play them on game day.”

Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, who has said that he doesn’t like rookies, strongly hinted at that in training camp when he said midway through the four-week camp that he didn’t have any trust in Robinson.

“Patrick has a lot of skill, but right now he doesn’t know how to play,” Williams said after the preseason opener when Robinson missed several tackles and an interception. “He has to take the next step up in pro football. He had too much down time and doesn’t know how to take care of his body. Right now, he’s my whipping boy.”

Williams’ tune changed dramatically since Robinson was forced to step up after injuries felled Porter and nickel corner Randall Gay, who’s now on injured reserve.

“I said last week, or two weeks ago, that he’s really coming on, and he has been,” Williams said before Robinson’s starting debut in a Week 5 game against the Arizona Cardinals. “He’s been coming on and improving.”

Robinson, who recorded four tackles and broke up a pass in his return after being inactive, registered a team-high eight tackles and broke up a pass in his first start against the Cardinals.

“I think I made a lot of progress,” said Robinson, a 5-foot-11, 191-pounder who has 18 total tackles and three pass breakups for the season.

2theadvocate.com | Sports | Saints' Robinson making strides — Baton Rouge, LA

dizzle88

Pat Robinson has really come along in just 3 short games, I like what I'm seeing outta this kid, it's really difficult to stick a rookie in and expect high results, especially at the cornerback position. I'm just happy to see he's kept everything infront of him, his acceleration to the ball is immense. Keep up the good work Pat, I for one respect the job you have done after being thrown right into the action!
This guy is gunna be a serious player for years to come!!