Direct route to QB working better for Robison

With a microphone in hand and a cameraman in tow, veteran defensive end Brian Robison stalks his Vikings teammates in the locker room, popping out from around the corner when they have nowhere to go.

Every Thursday, Robison films a weekly segment for Vikings.com called "96 Questions," a play on his jersey number. Robison asks his teammates a silly question and hilarity usually ensues.

Would you rather fight a grizzly bear or three wolves? Which player would you want your sister to date? Or, which teammate would you want with you when walking down a dark alley?

He often picks on the players most likely to show up on camera with a deer-in-the-headlights stare.

So what are the guys thinking when they see Robison closing in on them?

"Run," kicker Blair Walsh said Thursday on his way out of the locker room. "He's too funny, and he's always got some kind of quick-witted response for you. So run."

Opposing quarterbacks can relate to the feeling, certainly more so this season than last.

After a down year in 2014, his first season under coach Mike Zimmer, Robison is back to being a difference-maker for a Vikings defense that has been one of the league's best so far this season. He has defended the run better, and he has spent a lot more time around the quarterback, even if it isn't reflected in his sack total.

Robison has been credited with only one sack in five games, but he has pressured the passer on 20 other plays this season, according to Pro Football Focus. Only six defensive ends playing in 4-3 schemes have flustered quarterbacks more often.

So here's a question for Robison: What's different this season compared to last?

"A lot of times I was just running too far up the field," Robison said. "So the key, to put it in layman's terms, is making the shortest line between two points. And for me, that's been the biggest deal this year, having the proper angle where it allows me to get in the backfield or in the quarterback's face a little bit quicker."

Zimmer and defensive line coach Andre Patterson sat Robison down after last season and showed him tape of his play. They pointed out that flaw in his game.

"It was just a habit that I kind of built up," he said. "Everybody watches tape in this league, and they knew what I was doing. I think that's part of the reason why they were able to block it. Changing it has helped me to get back there a little bit more."

That tweak, along with other subtleties such as hand placement, have helped Robison rebound after recording just 4 ½ sacks in his 2014, his lowest total in five seasons as a starter. He's also averaging nearly twice as many tackles per game in 2015.

"As you get comfortable with the scheme, now you can work on the intricacy part of the game," Zimmer said. "And I think even though he's a veteran guy, he's learning a lot of things now, understanding … the way that we're trying to do it."

At 32, Robison is one of the oldest players on the roster. And he will have a salary of $3.75 million and a salary cap hit of more than $5 million next season, which might be more than the Vikings will be willing to commit after drafting Scott Crichton and Danielle Hunter in the third rounds in 2014 and 2015, respectively.

Robison has watched his longtime teammate, linebacker Chad Greenway, agree to a pay cut to remain on the team each of the past two offseasons. But Robison said he doesn't have the mind-set to worry about what this offseason may bring for him.

"I live in the moment, and everything's about today," Robison said. "When you start thinking about tomorrow, then you let today pass you by."

Instead, Robison is focused on getting to the quarterback Sunday against Detroit.

Away from football, Robison, along with his wife, announced the formation of his Reel Em' In Foundation, which will support a different cause every year. In 2016, it's K9s4Cops.

And, of course, there is coming up with a clever question every Thursday morning and posing it to his unsuspecting teammates.

"That's exactly his personality," Walsh said. "He's one of those guys that keeps everything light around here. He can do it and he can get away with it because he works so hard and he's so respected."