Robinson steals the show

Class of 2013 enshrinee  Dave Robinson was one of the best ever when it came to covering receivers in the defensive backfield. The three-time All-Pro linebacker was typically matched up against a tight end, much to the frustration of the opposing team.

The results were a key ingredient to the Green Bay Packers’ dominant defense in the 1960s when they won three NFL championships in a row (1965-67) and enjoyed victories in Super Bowls I and II with Robinson. By the end of his career, that included two final seasons with the Washington Redskins, Robinson intercepted 27 passes. That total currently ranks him fifth among all linebackers enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Here’s how Robinson’s interception numbers stacks up against the 22 linebackers immortalized in Canton.

	Hall of Famer	G	Int	Yds.	Avg.	TD
1T	Nick Buoniconti	183	32	312	9.8	0
1T	Jack Ham	162	32	218	6.8	1
3	Sam Huff	168	30	381	12.7	2
4	Jack Lambert	146	28	243	8.7	0
5T	Willie Lanier	149	27	440	16.3	2
5T	Dave Robinson	155	27	449	16.6	1
7T	Bobby Bell	168	26	479	18.4	6
7T	Ted Hendricks	215	26	332	12.8	1
9	Ray Nitschke	190	25	385	15.4	2
10	Joe Schmidt	155	24	294	12.3	2
11	Dick Butkus	119	22	116	7.5	0
12	Chuck Bednarik	169	20	268	13.4	1
13	Chris Hanburger	187	19	347	18.3	2
14	Bill George	173	18	144	8.0	0
15	Les Richter	112	16	206	12.9	0
16	Dave Wilcox	153	14	149	10.6	1
17	Harry Carson	173	11	212	19.9	0
18	Lawrence Taylor	184	9	134	14.9	2
19	Rickey Jackson	227	8	68	8.5	0
20T	George Conner	90	7	66	9.4	0
20T	Mike Singletary	179	7	44	6.3	0
22T	Derrick Thomas	169	1	20	20.0	0
22T	Andre Tippett	151	1	42	42.0	0

Here is a listing of each of Robinson’s career picks. Robinson's team had a 21-5 record when recording an interception.

Date	Opponent (Score)	INT	Yards	TDs	Quarterback
Oct. 31, 1965	at Chicago Bears (L, 10-31)	1	41	0	Rudy Bukich
Nov. 21, 1965	at Minnesota Vikings (W, 38-13)	1	13	0	Fran Tarkenton
Dec. 12, 1965	at Baltimore Colts (W, 42-27)	1	87	0	Gary Cuozzo
Sept. 25, 1966	Los Angeles Rams (W, 24-13)	1	14	0	Roman Gabriel
Oct. 2, 1966	Detroit Lions (W, 23-14)	1	6	0	Milt Plum
Oct. 9, 1966	at San Francisco 49ers (L, 20-21)	1	23	0	George Mira
Nov. 20, 1966	Chicago Bears (W, 13-6)	1	6	0	Rudy Bukich
Dec. 4, 1966	San Francisco 49ers (W,20-7)	1	11	0	John Brodie
Oct. 1, 1967	Atlanta Falcons (W, 23-0)	1	4	0	Randy Johnson
Oct. 22, 1967	at New York Giants (W, 48-21)	2	0	0	Fran Tarkenton
Nov. 26, 1967	at Chicago Bears (W, 17-13)	1	12	0	Jack Concannon
Sept. 22, 1968	Minnesota Vikings (L, 13-26)	1	0	0	Joe Kapp
Oct. 28, 1968	at Dallas Cowboys (W, 28-17)	1	18	0	Don Meredith
Sept. 27, 1970	Atlanta Falcons (W, 27-24)	1	13	0	Bob Berry
Oct. 12, 1970	at San Diego Chargers (W, 22-20)	1	20	0	John Hadl
Sept. 26, 1971	Denver Broncos (W, 34-13)	1	20	0	Don Horn
Oct. 3, 1971	Cincinnati Bengals (W, 20-17)	1	23	0	Ken Anderson
Nov. 7, 1971	at Chicago Bears (W, 17-14)	1	1	0	Bobby Douglass
Sept. 17, 1972	at Cleveland Browns (W, 26-10)	1	7	0	Mike Phipps
Dec. 3, 1972	Detroit Lions (W, 33-7)	1	3	0	Greg Landry
Oct. 14, 1973	at New York Giants (W, 21-3)	1	28	1	Norm Snead
Oct. 21, 1973	St. Louis Cardinals (W, 31-13)	1	39	0	Jim Hart
Nov. 5, 1973	at Pittsburgh Steelers (L, 16-21)	1	10	0	Terry Hanratty
Nov. 22, 1973	at Detroit Lions (W, 20-0)	1	21	0	Bill Munson
Nov. 3, 1974	at Green Bay Packers (W, 17-6)	1	0	0	Jack Concannon
Nov. 28, 1974	at Dallas Cowboys (L, 23-24)	1	29	0	Roger Staubach
CAREER TOTAL		27	449	1