SmashMouth

For Craig Robertson, signing with the New Orleans Saints in March was an easy decision.

The 28-year-old linebacker spent the past four years with the Cleveland Browns after going undrafted out of North Texas in 2011 and experienced zero team success. During the past four seasons, the Browns went 19-45 and finished last in the AFC North each year.



The Saints haven't done great the past two years, going 7-9 each season, but 7-9 was the Browns' best record during Robertson's time in Cleveland, a four-year stretch he called "rough" even though he and his teammates compete every week.

Under Saints coach Sean Payton, though, 7-9 has become unacceptable.

"To be honest, I came here for the opportunity to win, to be honest," Robertson said after practice at The Greenbrier on Sunday. "It's just an organization that it just surrounds itself around winning. ... I talked to Sean (Payton), and that's what the whole meeting was focused on was like hey, how are we going to get back to what we do when we're winning. And that's all I want to be a part of."

If Robertson keeps playing how he has the first few days of training camp, he could play a significant part in the team's hopeful improvement. He's had a fair amount of work with the first-team defense and already has a few pass break-ups, and he said his coverage skills are a strength, which would help him earn a role on defense.

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