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New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton wasn't surprised that teammates voted to give the annual Ed Block Courage Award to cornerback Patrick Robinson.

But was he was taken aback by the overwhelming support.

"I want to say, in the nine years I've been here, that vote by the team was by the largest margin of votes," Payton said. "It wasn't even close."

The locker room has clearly been rooting for the fifth-year cornerback even as he fought through injuries in 2013, lost his job in 2014 and quietly clawed his way back over the last several weeks.

Robinson has played well recently and could be positioning himself for a return to the starting role he lost after a rough start to the season.

When New Orleans (4-6) plays the Baltimore Ravens (6-4) on Monday night at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, the Saints will be trying to assemble a secondary with starting safety Rafael Bush out, starting cornerback Keenan Lewis injured and Corey White, the player who took Robinson's job, struggling.

Robinson talked to reporters for the first time in several weeks on Saturday. He hadn't been hiding; players at his position seldom get noticed unless something wrong. The silence was good news.

"I guess so," said Robinson, who is a relatively soft-spoken presence in the corner of the Saints locker room dominated by the secondary. "I'm just trying to do my job. Staying focused on doing what the coaches tell me to do. And that's it."

Payton said Robinson's recent improvement has been real.

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dizzle88

Why not keep him in the slot if he's playing so well there?

|Mitch|

injuries

hagan714

well now is the time if there evrr was one

jeanpierre

He was a first round pick, he should be our 'shut-down corner' or at the very least a very difficult to navigate traffic cone...

Not sure if it's been coaching, player failing to put in the required time to be successful, scheme or a recipe of all the above, but he really should have stepped up in his first season as a first round pick...

QBREES9

He was a first round pick, he should be our 'shut-down corner'

dizzle88

The truth of it is, is that Patrick Robinson was a giant reach by our team

Draft boards had him going late second - early third round, and we spent a first rounder on him, idiotic if you ask me because he'll never be a great player for us

He'll continue to be hot and cold

Jack Vegas

He can still be a good player, but it won't be with the Saints unless it's a cut-rate contract.

I'd love to see what he can do in a more aggressive man-coverage scheme like we had last year. This dude can't play a lick of zone defense to save his life.

Jack Vegas

That was a real crappy draft though. A ton of busts.

hagan714

Spags style of defense was 180 degree turn around from Williams style
Not sure about how different Robs is from Williams but it is not the same for sure.

yep the lack of stability at DC and secondary coaches along with a pretty lengthy injury history does make for an easy road.

well to this point i have to say the cards have been stacked against him a bit.

He was rated as low 1 or high two by most. others dropped him to a mid 2 or 2/3 because of he was very inconsistent. the raw talent is there with out a doubt. can he ever get it all together was the question. and still is.

slot maybe the best spot for him

"We may have lost the game, but you'll be hurting tomorrow." Doug Atkins