There was so much excitement around Dominique Robinson when the Chicago Bears drafted him in the 5th round last year. It was felt the Miami of Ohio product had so much untapped potential as a pass rusher. If developed properly, he could become a legitimate sack artist. Things started so well too. In the season opener against the San Francisco 49ers, Robinson was a force with 1.5 sacks. His flashes were hard to deny. It offered a possible sign of big things to come. Nobody expected what followed.
Robinson didn’t register a sack for the rest of the season. It was a major disappointment for fans who thought he would’ve shown more growth. Yet nobody was more shocked than the man himself. Robinson explained how much the lack of production ate at him as the season progressed on The Good Athlete Podcast.
“That trial and error of 17 or 16 more games and not getting a sack at all? It was hard. It was like, ‘What am I doing wrong?’ It looked so easy in Game 1. Now 17 games later, I haven’t made any jump of anything.”
Ability wasn’t the problem. Robinson knew he had the tools to be good. For whatever reason, opposing tackles were shutting him out week after week. It was here he admitted something that was a slight shock.
“Here’s another thing. I have a problem asking for help. I do. It got to a point where I was like, ‘I’m gonna need help.’ My thing was I can figure everything out on my own.”
It was a humbling admission.
Despite being surrounded by veteran players and a good coaching staff, Robinson stubbornly refused to seek help on what he was doing wrong. This went on for months. Then he finally hit rock bottom. He described the game that woke him up to how bad he was and that things weren’t getting better.
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“I got there late. We play Philly, and I played so bad. Philly, you know, that RPO offense was just…I couldn’t pick (it) up. And I watch tape, don’t get me wrong. I watch tape and I study it. I go with the plan. Mailata confused me so bad that day that I was getting off the ball slow because I couldn’t see if it was run or pass. I was processing, literally. I was processing so slow. And I was like, ‘This is bad.’ I was just watching it on tape. I didn’t want to watch it the next day.
So that was the point where I was like, ‘Alright.’ Went up to my D-line coach and his assistant. Took great things from both. Had the best time my last three games. I was getting off the ball faster. I was striking better. It was just one of those things where like, man, just ask.”
Dominique Robinson did show signs of life.
Over the previous five games, he registered only two pressures on the quarterback. During the final three to end the season, Robinson had four. It wasn’t a huge leap, but it was a sign that he had discovered a new gear that hadn’t been there for months. That was a way to at least build some positive momentum going into a pivotal off-season. He should feel fortunate. For all the upgrades the Bears made across their defense, the team didn’t address the edge rusher position much outside of DeMarcus Walker and Rasheem Green.
That leaves the window open for Dominique Robinson to seize a more permanent spot in the starting lineup. This is easily the most important summer of his football career. Things were easy for him in college because he was a special athlete. That won’t fly in the NFL. Everybody is a great athlete. The only way to win is through speed, discipline, and intelligence. He must learn to play faster and utilize his length and hands better. He’s figuring out that the transition from wide receiver to defensive end is not as easy as it looks.
Perhaps his humbling rookie experience was exactly what he needed.
