"That was then," Mark Robinson was telling me Tuesday morning at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex, where he and the Steelers were about to embark on Day 1 of minicamp. I'd asked him about his encouraging NFL debut this past December in Baltimore, how much he'd absorbed, etc. And he wanted none of it. "What I'm focused on now is looking forward."
OK, I followed up, what's he see in that future?
"The field. I see the field. I just need to get out onto that field."
Oh, man. All concerned can only hope that'll be the case.
No hype. The way I see it, sporting cynic that I'm becoming in accompaniment with every other born-and-bred Pittsburgher, if this half-changed defense is to sustain its solid level of play over the 7-2 finish to the 2022 season, it'll need at least one of those newer pieces to be ... I don't know, not all that basic?
Trying to phrase this respectfully, the inside linebackers in this facility haven't wowed anyone since the Ryan Shazier injury, and it's a reach to see either of Cole Holcomb or Elandon Roberts, the heirs apparent to Myles Jack, Robert Spillane and Devin Bush, bringing a whole lot of wow. Yeah, both are sound, serviceable and experienced and, by all accounts, they were respected as precisely that through their respective tenures with their previous employers, the Commanders for Holcomb, and the Dolphins and Patriots for Roberts.
But sorry, it's long past time for some sizzle in the middle. Jack was fine before injuries dragged him down in the second half of 2022. Spillane was workmanlike but a living liability in coverage. And Bush ... yeah, enough of that. Between them, those three totaled one sack, zero interceptions, zero forced fumbles, zero fumble recoveries and, being blunt, zero splash.
Again attempting to stay respectful, this was Pro Football Focus' explanation in early April for why they rated the Steelers' current inside linebackers the league's weakest such positional group: "The Steelers were seemingly unhappy with their linebacker performance in 2022, as they released Jack while letting Spillane and Bush walk in free agency. However, it is debatable whether they have managed to upgrade the position. Holcomb, a former fifth-round pick, had a promising sophomore season but has failed to live up to that potential in the two since, as he missed more than half of 2022 and has yet to play more than 800 snaps in a season. Roberts played mostly a situational role at his previous stops, never more than 700 snaps in a season, and earned an overall strong grade just once since his rookie season in 2016."
More's needed. Much more.
It's possible that won't come from Robinson.
He's a seventh-round pick out of Ole Miss a year ago, he didn't don a helmet until the calendar had flipped, appearing in the final two games against the Ravens and Browns, and he'd log all of 44 snaps on defense, 16 on special teams. In that scenario, it'd be impressive if he achieves nothing more in his second NFL season than to see regular rotational duty.
But ...
First-and-10, meet second-and-11.
That's from the Baltimore game I've referenced. Watch No. 93 on the Pittsburgh side, lined up in the middle of the defense. He reads the handoff to J.K. Dobbins, a low-center-of-gravity tank at 5-10, 212, he encounters Dobbins at the line of scrimmage and ... boom! Yeah, T.J. Watt and DeMarvin Leal came, too, but not another millimeter's gained, and it's the low man making sure.
That, my friends, is what the coaching staff loves about this kid. He'll see the tackle, he'll execute the tackle, and he'll do so with impunity. I've compared this specific trait to that of a rookie Kendrell Bell in 2001, for those who go back with the franchise, and that's earned a few nods in this fold. Like a heat-seeking missile. Robinson showed this instantly last summer in Latrobe, then into the preseason, and it'd only strengthen with each sequence.
As the season progressed, he became Brian Flores' pet project, as Flores had been among those who'd loved his film out of Ole Miss and loved that finish. Those two worked on the side, principally on playbook fodder, and Robinson eventually gained Mike Tomlin's trust to the point he was inserted into that Baltimore game as a potential foil for John Harbaugh's transparent plan to pound away on the ground. And it worked, with Dobbins held to a modest-for-him 93 yards and Robinson registering seven tackles, two solos and 1.5 stuffs.
"Explosive" is what Aaron Curry, the new inside linebackers coach, would call Robinson on this day, while also adding, "He's learning."
That was similar to the sentiment expressed by Teryl Austin, the defensive coordinator, minutes later, calling Robinson "still a work in progress" and adding, "Still probably not quite ready, but really making good strides. I think when you watch him as I watch him, he's better at communication, he's better at pass coverage, he's better at some of the things where he was hurting last year. But he still has a ways to go, still has ways to go."
Felt compelled to say that twice. Hardly encouraging, as it relates to Robinson starting in 2023.
Much the same came from Tomlin when asked to evaluate Robinson's growth and replying, "I'm not looking for growth at this time of year. It's just teaching and learning, and he's gotten better in that regard, and he's positioning himself to compete for work and show that growth once we get to training camp."
Woo.
Three things on all of the above, though:
1. With rare exceptions, coaches hate building up youngsters.
2. There are open -- and real -- worries about both Robinson's play-reading and his pass coverage, as the Austin remark supports.
3. At the same time ... take this for what it's worth, but everything I'm hearing peripherally points to Robinson having a bona fide shot to start once all this process shifts to Latrobe. No one within the organization's doubting him or what he can do.
Neither's he, for the record.
I asked where he feels he most needs to get better:
"I know what I can do," Robinson would further tell me. "I believe in myself."
Look, there's no hill upon which to die here. If he's ready, he's ready. If he isn't, then stick with the two guys who've done it and rotate Robinson in when appropriate.
But I can't possibly be the only one who's wondering how the defense could yet again be forced to compensate for what should represent the heart and soul of the defense.
I can't possibly be the only one who's weighing all the potential positives for everyone if even one of them rises up.
And my goodness, I can't possibly be the only one who's weary of hearing their inside linebackers described the way Austin, maybe unwittingly, did here.
"Well, we signed those guys because we knew we had two guys who can start," he'd say. "E-Rob is really a first- and second-down thumper-type of guy. Cole might give you a little more flexibility to be able to play every down. And so, we know they're capable starters in the NFL, and we thought that we saw enough from Mark-Rob that we could bring him along."
Bring him along with a press of the pedal, huh?
