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Patrick Robinson remembers feeling a sense of loss on a day when he could have been pumped up about his arrival as a projected starter in the NFL.

Tracy Porter, a starting cornerback with the Saints the past four seasons, had just signed a free-agent deal with Denver.

That move left Robinson, a 2010 first-round draft choice out of Florida State, as the heir apparent to Porter's old job.

''I was kind of sad because when I first got here, (Porter) was definitely one of the guys who helped me a lot,'' Robinson said. ''I knew eventually I was going to get my chance to start, but I didn't know it was going to be when it happened. That's what it is now. I'm a starter and I've got to make the plays.''

He has started to do that in practice. He intercepted Drew Brees' pass intended for Marques Colston deep down the left sideline this week.

New defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo was impressed, particularly because Robinson made the play in his first practice back from a sprained left shoulder that had forced him to miss more than a week of practice, as well as two preseason games.

''He stayed stride for stride. He was in phase with the receiver which tells you he's got skill enough to run with him,'' Spagnuolo said. ''If you can get that kind of play out of your corner, it helps you call defenses pretty good because you can do some things you wouldn't typically be able to do.''

Robinson is slated to start on Friday night when the Saints (No. 9 in the AP Pro32) host Jacksonville (No. 31) in a game that will also mark Robinson's first action of the preseason.

''I'm anxious to see that,'' Spagnuolo said. ''He had a good week of practice, made a couple of plays. I know the defense is real comfortable when he's in there communicating-wise on the back end. So we'll see where he is.''

Robinson's emergence began last season, when he started seven games because of injuries to Porter. In other games, he was the nickel back, and wound up leading the club with four interceptions.

His performance in 2011 represented a drastic improvement over 2010, when he took a lot of criticism for getting caught out of position and had some impatient fans wondering if he was a first-round bust.

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