METAIRIE, La. -- Say this for New Orleans Saints cornerback Patrick Robinson: He’s resilient.

The former first-round draft pick’s entire career has been a non-stop roller-coaster ride because of his highs and lows on the field and injury issues off the field.

But Robinson has continued to battle back each time -- something he has again been doing quietly over the past month after losing his starting job early in the year.

And this week, Robinson was honored by teammates as the 2014 recipient of the Ed Block Courage Award for the way he came back from the major knee injury he suffered last year.

“I'd say in the nine years that I've been here, [Robinson won by] the largest margin of votes. It wasn’t even close,” Saints coach Sean Payton said. “With the injury he suffered and the rehab, he was here every day in the offseason. It was just like he was a fixture in the building. I think it was an easy decision for his teammates and certainly well deserving.”

More recently, Robinson has shown his resilience on the field, playing noticeably more decisive and aggressive in his nickelback role. He was officially credited with a total of three passes defensed in Weeks 9-10, and he easily could have been credited with two more this past Sunday against Cincinnati.

Former Saints cornerback Jabari Greer made a point to stress the improvement he’s been seeing from Robinson when he broke down the Saints earlier this week. And Greer suggested that Robinson’s speed could make him a good matchup against the Baltimore Ravens’ speedy deep threat, Torrey Smith, on Monday night.

Payton and defensive coordinator Rob Ryan both praised Robinson on Saturday for his improved play -- and his improved confidence, which Robinson himself admits has always been one of his biggest issues. Ryan said he’s seen the game start to “slow down” for Robinson.

“It was pretty tough. But I think it was all on me,” Robinson said of being demoted while he was struggling early in the year. “[I was] not being as fundamentally sound on my technique. And I think I was playing a little … like I don’t want to get beat instead of just playing football, pretty much.

“Right now, I’m just trying to do my job and that’s it. If I get beat, oh well. On to the next play.”