Arizona Cardinals rookie defensive lineman Darius Robinson has his first 22 NFL snaps under his belt and he is expected to attack this practice week with a vengeance after he was disappointed in himself.
He said as much after Sunday’s loss to the Vikings.
“I’m a game-changer and I didn’t change the game at all,” Robinson said. “I’ve got to get better.”
When asked about the five sacks the defense had, Robinson said, “They were ballin’. I just didn’t do my part today. But I’ll be better moving forward.”
That’s what his teammates and coaches also believe, stressing to Robinson that the NFL is usually about stacking games and getting better every day. That’s the mantra that head coach Jonathan Gannon preaches.
“I thought he did some good things,” Gannon said. “I thought he was disruptive. His plan fell out how we wanted it to fall out. I think he had a really good learning experience. (The) first time he’s played in three months, got lathered up, made some plays, rushed some different people and played the run versus different people.
“I think he’ll take a big step forward as we keep moving on. He’s hard on himself, I feel like, which is what you want but he also did some good in that game too. He’ll learn from it and grow.”
Linebacker Mack Wilson Sr. said, “He was pretty down on himself like he didn’t do what he’s capable of, but I’m just trying to keep talking to him and let him know you’re just getting back into it. I know it’s gonna turn. I know the DRob I’ve seen in training camp is going to eventually come out and it’s just a waiting game and being patient and just staying locked in, focus on the task at hand and execute when your number’s called.”
Defensive coordinator Nick Rallis emphasized the reality of the NFL, noting that “there was good and bad. This is his first NFL game, so it wasn’t gonna be perfect. I knew that. He’s hard on himself because he wants to be great. And he probably is too hard on himself. I think there was some really good stuff and some stuff we gotta clean up.”
Asked if it’s good in a way that he’s hard on himself, Rallis said, “Absolutely. We just gotta make sure that we channel that and that it’s actually really maximizing and he’s learning from it.”
For himself and Robinson, Rallis said, “It’s a performance-based mindset, so I’m not gonna linger on those mistakes and make them affect me (him) negatively. I’m gonna use that to correct it and then move on and clear my head and make it so that my (his) performance is going forward and I’ve (we’ve) learned from it and not stressed out about it.”
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