Raiders Activate Robinson and Will Play Him Inside

Jerry Robinson officially joined the Raiders Monday, when he was listed on the roster. To make room for him, the Raiders waived rookie quarterback Russ Jensen of Cal Lutheran, who was activated last week as a precaution because of Marc Wilson’s sprained ankle.

Raider Coach Tom Flores said Robinson will play inside linebacker, adding credence to the earlier suggestion that he is ticketed for rookie Reggie McKenzie’s spot.

Once, the Raider way meant man-to-man pass defense, a long-passing offense, quarterbacks holding the ball a long time to allow the receivers to get deep, and quarterbacks calling their own plays.

All that is being tinkered with. After the Chicago blitz of 1984, they put in some shorter quarterback drops and quicker patterns.

So far, with the changing of quarterbacks and the line’s problems, it hasn’t paid a huge dividend. Raider quarterbacks have been sacked 21 times, third-most in the NFL.

When their prize cornerbacks got burned in Kansas City, they started giving them deep help, especially Lester Hayes, who had problems that night with Carlos Carson.

And Sunday, the Raiders called Marc Wilson’s plays for him, something they didn’t even do when he was breaking in. One of their concerns has been that Wilson isn’t decisive enough, so they took some of the burden off his shoulders.

Wilson said he was comfortable with it. He completed 18 of 29 passes, one for a touchdown, and threw no interceptions.

Hayes had a good day Sunday, shutting Carson down on a key third down in the fourth quarter.

Mike Haynes was twice beaten on fly patterns, which is fairly astonishing considering his unofficial Raider record, a season and a half without getting beaten deep.

There are two things that might be noted:

--If the Raiders are giving Lester Hayes more help, they’re giving Haynes less.

--The Raiders still figure to be playing the run on first down, which maximizes the chance of finding single coverage on the wide receivers.